Emergency Management
A public health emergency is an event that can harm a person’s health or a community’s well-being. These events can happen at any time, anywhere and include:
- outbreaks, such as COVID-19, Mpox, Zika, and flu
- accidental releases of industrial chemicals that can harm people’s lungs, skin, and overall health
- intentional acts with biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear agents
- natural disasters, such as tornadoes, floods, wildfires, and hurricanes
Emergencies can have a major impact on public health given any of the above-mentioned items or other health-related items not mentioned. Serious communicable diseases or exposures can potentially cause panic and social disruption. Public health planning and response requires multi-agency/multi-jurisdictional coordination as events often overlap geopolitical boundaries.
Metro Health's Role in Public Health Emergencies
During a public health emergency, the Metro Health Medical Director is appointed as the Bexar County Health Authority, an officer of the state with duties under Texas Health and Safety Code Sections 121.021 – 121.029. Metro Health has the power to investigate suspected incidents and outbreaks of communicable diseases.
Disease Prevention & Control Measures
The Communicable Disease Prevention and Control Act – codified as Chapter 81, Texas Health and Safety Code – provides control measures to protect the public health, including:
- immunization
- detention
- restriction
- disinfection
- decontamination
- isolation
- quarantine
- disinfestation
- chemoprophylaxis
- preventative therapy
- prevention
- education
Texas law allows control measures to be imposed on individuals, property, municipalities, and common carriers.
Emergency Response Planning
As part of the National Response Plan – Emergency Services Function (ESF) #8 (PDF) Health/Medical, the Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Division is responsible for all Health/Medical Response activities within a given jurisdiction, including:
- Strategic National Stockpile (SNS): bioterrorism, chemical terrorism, radiological and emerging infectious disease
- natural disasters: flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes and earthquakes
To respond rapidly to a large-scale public health event, Metro Health coordinates with first responders and emergency agencies at the local, regional, state, and federal levels.
To minimize cost and maximize resources, Metro Health and the Texas Department of State Health Services Region 8 initiated the Medical Reserve Corps Coordinating Committee to oversee volunteer management.
They also established agreements with various organizations for these volunteers, including:
- private companies
- universities and colleges
- independent school districts
- nonprofit organizations
- faith-based organizations
Bioterrorism Preparedness
The SNS is a national repository of life-saving pharmaceuticals and medical material, built to respond to a large-scale public health emergency or terrorism event. The stockpile is designed to:
- provide fast delivery of a broad spectrum of support, including pharmaceuticals and other medical supplies, in the early hours of an ill-defined threat.
- provide large shipments of specific material when a threat is known.
- provide technical assistance to help the affected area receive, distribute, and reorder SNS material during an event.
In the event of a bioterrorism incident or infectious disease outbreak, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) would deploy assets from the SNS to the community.
Metro Health SNS staff are responsible for staffing and securing points of dispensing (PODs) within the community. SNS assets are distributed in these PODs according to the local mass dispensing plan found in the City of San Antonio (COSA) Basic All Hazards Plan.