Four Essential Public Health Services and Ways of Storing Patient Information During Emergency

Public Health Preparedness
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Public Health Preparedness
I. Introduction
One vital aspect in the administration of a public health institution is public health preparedness for emergency response. As a hospital executive, it is necessary to have outstanding response policies and emergency preparedness that can make sure the institution achieves its goal of protecting the health of individuals if an emergency that has detrimental effects occurs (CDC). A crisis can arise at any moment, and health facilities must be prepared to respond to natural disasters, pandemics, radiological, and chemical threats. When responding to emergencies, public health preparedness is essential as it helps in saving lives and safeguarding communities from potential health threats such as the spread of diseases and occupational or environmental threats. For an executive in healthcare to have adequate preparedness for a tragedy such as a terror attack, it is crucial to adopt adequate strategies and policies that will guarantee proper surveillance to identify and respond quickly in the event of an attack. This would require the hospital executive to consider the existing measures associated with The Ten Essential Public Health Services to ensure the health facility adheres to its core roles of safeguarding the health of individuals. The healthcare facility should establish necessary procedures for ensuring its patients are well cared for.
II. Discussion
The Ten Essential Public Health Services give a proper description of public health and provide a framework for the duties of local public health systems. The Ten Essential Public Health Services focus mainly on substantiating the public health paradigm. The most significant element in the execution of the Ten Essential Public Health Services is prevention (DCD, 2014). In this situation, four of the Ten Essential Public Health Services are required. The first essential service that I would implement is “Enforce laws and regulations that protect the health and ensure safety” (CDC, 2014). Health care institutions may not always know how public health regulations have impacted the environment. This makes it difficult for unplanned events like an attack or a disease outbreak to occur. Enforcing laws and regulations that ensure safety and safeguard health involve public health activities such as evaluating the quality of medical services, avertable injuries, and hazards. I believe laws must first be enforced before anything else follows.
The second essential public health service I would choose is “Diagnose and investigate health problems and health hazards in the community” (CDC, 2014). Investigating and diagnosing health hazards and health issues in the community involve public health activities such as epidemiological detection of emerging health threats. The primary function of epidemiological detection is serving the public by providing verified health information to avoid harmful exposure and taking reactive public health measures.
The third essential public health service I would choose is “Mobilize community partnerships to identify and solve...