Preparedness Summit

Health Department to Host Emergency Preparedness Summit for Long-Term Care Facilities

November 20, 2006

The Fairfax County Health Department will host an emergency preparedness summit for staff of nursing homes and assisted living facilities on Wednesday, Nov. 29, 9 a.m.- 4 p.m., at the Fair Oaks Hilton Garden Inn in Fairfax.

More than 120 administrators, nursing directors and facility staff are expected to attend the summit which will focus on emergency preparedness planning, evacuation procedures and pandemic influenza (flu).

“The lessons from the Hurricane Katrina disaster taught us that each health care facility’s emergency plan is vital to our community’s overall preparedness,” said Gloria Addo-Ayensu, M.D., M.P.H., health director, Fairfax County.

Addo-Ayensu and Raja’a Satouri, M.D., assistant medical director, will provide an introduction and overview of pandemic flu, and discuss the county’s pandemic flu preparedness plan. Wesley McDermott, M.S.P.H., emergency preparedness coordinator for the Health Department, will discuss emergency preparedness and response for special needs populations.

To register for the Emergency Preparedness Summit for Long-Term Care Facilities, call 703-246-6016, TTY 703-591-6435.

The Emergency Preparedness Summit for Long-Term Care Facilities is one of several pandemic flu conferences hosted by Fairfax County. The county began planning for pandemic flu in 2005, and has posted its Pandemic Flu Response Plan online. The county will continue hosting educational events to help residents, businesses, health care providers and community organizations prepare for pandemic flu and other public health emergencies.

For more information about public health emergency planning in Fairfax County, call the Health Department at 703-246-2411, TTY 703-591-6435, or visit the Health Department Web site. Information about pandemic flu and additional resources are available on Fairfax County’s pandemic flu Web page.