The marriage of medical, health, and traditional emergency management

About the Program

Category: Risk and Emergency Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Throughout the nation, there are three complex programs responsible for similar emergency management activities: emergency medical services, public health disaster management, and traditional emergency management. These programs are typically located within separate, dynamic departments, each with its own set of directives and objectives. This separation creates limited visibility across disciplines, gaps in coordination, and duplications of effort. The County of Riverside, CA acknowledged the need for collaboration to join these programs and create new partnerships and interdependencies. The result is a single, collaborative, all-hazards department that reports directly to the County Executive Officer. This novel and innovative approach to emergency management creates a stand-alone department this is better prepared to tackle challenges together through shared best practices. The new department is known as the County of Riverside Emergency Management Department (EMD). The integration of these three programs creates a seamless system in which information is shared and barriers are eliminated. EMD personnel now efficiently develop response plans, conduct training and exercises, respond to incidents, coordinate volunteers, and manage grants with an all-hazards approach. The financial benefits of this new approach include: the ability to leverage grants, leverage expertise and skills, reduce program overlap, and reduce administrative overlap. As a result of this industry-leading management system, Riverside County is now better positioned to prepare and plan for, mitigate for, respond to, and recover from emergencies, including natural, health, medical, and terrorist-related disasters. As a result, there is a new model for emergency management in the nation. The County of Riverside is leading the way by integrating emergency medical services, public health disaster management, and traditional emergency management.