Public Health Surveillance and Emergency Response Assistance on a State Level through the National Toxic Substance Incidents Program

Abstract

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) has recently developed and implemented emergency response guidelines for handling hazardous chemical emergencies. As part of the guidelines, LDHH staff receives on average 30-50 chemical event reports per day. Centralized LDHH staff review the reports and then provide the nine LDHH regions of the state with copies of all the reports specific to their region. If follow-up public health action is necessary, the program can provide an emergency response packet. Events are monitored at local clinics and hospitals to determine the need for follow-up public health investigations.