Report #170a, June 2005
OVERVIEW
In this report, the Commission renews its call for an evidence-based and data-driven strategy for reducing threats. This report updates recommendations the Commission made in its January 2002 report, Be Prepared: Getting Ready for New and Uncertain Dangers, and its April 2003 report, To Protect & Prevent: Rebuilding California’s Public Health System.
In its follow up review of emergency preparedness and public health, the Commission found that several of its prior recommendations for improvements have not been made a priority. The State has not deployed a public health surveillance system that could detect serious threats in time to save thousands of lives. The State has not stopped the erosion of its laboratory capacity, which is essential to analyzing and informing medical responses. The State does not have a cohesive strategy for developing the surge capacity necessary to accommodate large numbers of injuries or illness. The State has not assessed the consequences of budget cuts that local officials say will thwart a coordinated response to regional disasters. And the State does not have in place a plan – or even a deadline for establishing a plan – to ensure that first responders from different agencies can communicate when they respond to the same disaster.
The Commission reiterates and refines its recommendations from 2002 and 2003 and recommends the state fortify its public safety and emergency response infrastructure.