Information for First Responders on Maintaining Operational Capabilities During a Pandemic (Revised March 2020)   [open pdf - 986KB]

From the Executive Summary: "First responders have a critical role in prehospital emergency care and must continue to provide this essential service and fill the many emergency response roles in a community. [...] During a severe pandemic, workloads will increase, and staff sizes will diminish as employees and their families become ill or are quarantined. Contingency planning can help reduce the worst impacts; smart planning can save lives. To help with planning for the impacts of a severe pandemic, this document provides the following kinds of information for first responders: [1] Potential ways to adjust operations to maintain readiness and response. [2] Potential ways for leaders in the first responder community to plan at the local level; including a planning tool for these efforts. [3] Present out-of-the-box planning and operations concepts to drive thought and discussion. [4] Reference sheets with discipline-specific potential action steps."