Texas Emergency Management ONLINE2012 Vol. 59 No. 11

Message From The Chief

The key to a successful state response is building relationships with federal, state, local, and tribal officials and emergency management partners across agencies and organizations in order to conduct planning for effective emergency response, and to facilitate coordinated preparedness and response activities for emergency situations across Texas. One of those key partners is the public health and medical community.

Whether it's a public health or medical emergency, emergency management is involved. Americans have discovered the challenges with hospitals during disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy. Loss of electricity, patient evacuations, and equipment failures severely compromise patient care. A public health emergency requires assistance from emergency management partners across disciplines. As emergency managers, we need to ensure integration with our counterparts in public health and with medical systems across the state.

How can we better integrate?

  • Reach out to the Texas Department of State Health Services Health Service Region in your area.
  • Meet the emergency managers at your local hospital systems.
  • Be familiar with local public health and medical preparedness plans that address emergency management issues in your area.
  • Familiarize yourself with the Texas Disaster Medical System (TDMS).
  • Attend the annual EMS Conference

The Texas EMS Conference is scheduled for November 11-14, 2012, at the Austin Convention Center. Several thousand attendees from across Texas converge in Austin to experience all things EMS. In an effort to join with our public health and medical counterparts, TDEM facilitates a track of emergency management workshops covering topics from Emergency Management in Texas to AMBUS Operations to Animals in a Disaster. For more information please use the following link.

http://www.texasemsconference.com/index.htm

Chief W. Nim Kidd, CEM®
Follow @chiefkidd on Twitter

http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/preparedness/

http://www.texasprepares.org/

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