Emergency Preparedness and Epidemiology

The mission of the Virginia Department of Health’s Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP) is to effectively respond to any emergency impacting public health through preparation, collaboration, education, and rapid intervention. The Central Virginia Health Department's Emergency Preparedness and Response involves state, regional, and local emergency response partners working together to enhance readiness response for all hazards, including bioterrorism, infectious disease outbreaks, and other public health emergencies. Some response measures include:

• Hazard mitigation planning 
• Mass prophylaxis dispensing to limit disease transmission
• Serving as the district liaison for all-hazard emergency preparedness activities

Another component of Emergency Preparedness is Epidemiology.  The Health Department's Epidemiologist works with partners and applies epidemiological principles to infectious diseases affecting the citizens in healthcare settings and the community, with the mission of improving patient-level outcomes and protecting the population.

In collaboration with the Virginia Department of Health’s Division of Surveillance and Investigation (DSI), the staff provides surveillance, investigation, and follow-up of communicable diseases that are reportable by medical providers and laboratories. 

These include: 

• Community outreach, education, and in-service training 
• Sexually transmitted disease (STD) treatment, counseling, and referral
• Childhood and adult immunizations, counseling, and referral