The Florida Department of Health in Leon County’s (DOH-Leon) Office of Public Health Preparedness is responsible for coordinating the preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation to emergencies with potential public health and/or medical consequences.
During an activation of the Emergency Operations Center, DOH-Leon leads Emergency Support Function 8, Health, and Medical (ESF 8) under the Leon County Emergency Management structure. DOH-Leon engages in an ongoing process of planning, training, and preparing with our partners.
Roles and Responsibilities
- Distaster Preparedness: We promote tools and resources to help you and your family prepare for any disaster, find information about current hazards, and know what to do before, during and after public health emergencies.
- Community Preparedness: We work to develop informed, empowered, and resilient health care systems and residents.
- Healthcare System Preparedness: We ensure that there is capacity and capability for provision of critical public health and medical services in order to reduce the potential for adverse health outcomes during any event.
- Preparedness Training: We ensure that Florida’s public health system, health care system, and supporting partners are properly trained, practice their response roles, perform response duties, and are prepared to respond to any and all hazards.
- Environmental Health Preparedness: We leverage resources through proactive planning and strategic collaboration with a variety of local, state and federal partners to evaluate and prevent potential health risks from chemical, biological, radiological and physical agents in the environment.
- Preparedness Planning: We provide for a systematic framework to develop, implement, evaluate, and improve plans across the emergency management cycle.
- Disaster Response Resources: We share resources available for disaster response throughout Florida and ensure that plans, personnel, equipment, and systems are in place to protect the safety and health of responders.
- Special Needs Shelters: Special needs shelters are designed to meet the needs of persons who require assistance that exceeds services provided at a general population shelter. A special needs shelter is a place to go when there is no other sheltering option. Shelters may be activated during an emergency event to provide care for people who cannot safely remain in their home. For more information about the Leon County Special Needs Registry, view our brochure.
Be Prepared
Every family should have an emergency plan in place and an emergency supply kit ready and stocked.