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Okeechobee
County
Health
Department
Emergency
Operations
(863) 462 -
5807 |
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Steven
Lasley serves as the Safety and Emergency Operations Director
for the Okeechobee County Health Department (Okeechobee CHD).
He works to coordinate our efforts with those of other local agencies, other state agencies as well as other offices of the Department of Health.
In August of 2002, William
Casian was hired as the Bioterrorism Coordinator for Okeechobee County Health Department. He works to coordinate bioterrorism preparedness and training efforts in our County and in conjunction
with the other 8 counties in Region 6.
For additional
information please visit the website of Okeechobee
County Emergency Management. |
BEGINNING as early as 1999, the County
Health Departments began engaging in a wide range of measures
designed to respond to and to mitigate the possible effects of a terrorist
event. These efforts have dramatically intensified since 9/11.
In February of 2002, Congress approved
a multi-billion allocation in response to these events. The bulk of
this money is earmarked for the individual states for the enhancement of
terrorist planning and response capabilities. Florida is in the
process of receiving approximately fifty million dollars of these funds.
A month after the tragic events, Florida
created a Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF), designed
to strengthen the states capability to prepare and to respond to
terrorist activities. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) is
overseeing this effort. This action divided the state into seven geographic
regions, roughly corresponding to the present FDLE regions. Southwest
Florida is part of Region 6, encompassing Lee, Charlotte, Collier, DeSoto, Glades, Hendry, Highlands, Okeechobee and Sarasota counties.
Each regional task force is composed of five
subcommittees - Health/Medical, Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Law
Enforcement, Fire Services and Public Information.
Judith Hartner, M.D.,
M.P.H., director of the Lee County Health Department is the regional Chairperson of the Health/Medical
Subcommittee for Region 6, Michael Hill, M.P.A.,
M.P.H.(c) administrator of the
Okeechobee County Health Department is the co-chair of the Health/Medical
Subcommittee.
