Continuity of Operations

Acknowledgments

About Public Health – Seattle & King County

Public Health – Seattle & King County (PHSKC) provides a broad array of services: primary care and family planning at 11 public health centers; the King County Medical Examiner; Emergency Medical Services as an Advanced Life Support (ALS) service provider in South King County; and medical services to inmates at two King County correctional facilities. Interruptions to many of these services would cause serious and immediate impacts to life and safety. PHSKC has invested significant resources in developing, testing, and improving continuity of operations plans and is adapting these practices into models to assist other local health departments.

King County, the 14th most populous county in the nation, covers 2,134 square miles – making it nearly twice as large as the average county in the U.S. – and is geographically, economically, and socially diverse. PHSKC serves a resident population of 1.9 million in an environment of great complexity and scale. The county is home to 39 cities, 130 special-purpose districts, two tribal nations, and over 100 spoken languages. There are 18 hospitals with emergency services, five specialty hospitals, 30 community clinics, 1,100 long-term care facilities, 19 acute-care hospitals, over 7,000 medical professionals, and more than 65,000 healthcare workers.

The most prominent natural hazards for the county include earthquakes, flooding, and severe storms. But the region is also at high risk for infectious disease outbreaks, transportation incidents, and terrorism due to its position as an epicenter for national and international travel and trade, proximity to international waters and borders, economic and industrial vitality, and symbolic icons.

Principle Author: Ali Jaffe-Doty

Seattle & King County Advanced Practice Center extends special thanks to:

Mark Alstead, Operations Manager (fmr.), Jail Health Services, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Jeff Boudreau, Program Manager, Preparedness Section, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Byron Byrne, Program Manager, Emergency Medical Services Division, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Karen Crimmings, Disease Prevention and Investigation Service Manager, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
MaryAnn Deminsky, Preparedness Planning & Training Manager, Community Health Services Division, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Susan Eisele, Senior Administrator, Prevention Division, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Carina Elsenboss, Program Manager, Preparedness Section, Seattle & King County Advanced Practice Center
Jessica Guidry, MPH, CHES, Region 2 Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Program Coordinator, Kitsap County Health District
Brian Hanft, Deputy Health Director, Environmental Health Service Manager, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
John Hartman, Health Services Administrator (ret.), Community Health Services Division, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Jim Henriksen, Supervisor, Environmental Health Services Division, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Scott Jones, Division Administrator (fmr.), Office of the Director, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Ron Osterholm, Health Director, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
Malaika Schwartz, AmeriCorps Vista Volunteer, Public Health – Seattle & King County
Monica M. Strachan, MPH
Deirdre “Dee” Totten, MBA, CEM, King County Office of Emergency Management
Cliff True, Information Technology Manager, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
Kara Vogelson, Organizational Development and Research manager, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
Jodi Willemsen, Public Health Preparedness Service Manager, Cerro Gordo County Department of Public Health
Maria Wood, Board of Health Administrator, Public Health – Seattle & King County
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The Advanced Practice Centers Program is coordinated and managed by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) and receives its funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under Award Number 1H75TP000309-01. The contents of this publication are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC.