The Sonoma Disaster Council met on May 14th and received 2 presentations.
Mark Netherda, Deputy Health Officer, Sonoma County, updated the council on the H1N1 Swine Flu. The detailed presentation included the method of transmission for this novel virus, history of pandemics world wide, and the five levels of criteria used to assess the severity of influenza to determine proper mobilization of resources to treat and control the disease. The good news for H1N1 is the rate of transmission is much lower than expected at this time. For more information, visit their website at http://www.sonoma-county.org/health/ph/index.htm
2-1-1 Call Centers Activated: Bill Myatt, Program Director of Sonoma County, reported on the level of response being received at call centers now that 2-1-1 was activated three months ago. While 911 is for emergencies, 2-1-1 callers can access many community services such as support for families, seniors and persons with disabilities, physical and mental health resources, and food and clothing to name a few. Prior to the 2-1-1 call centers going “live”, of those calls made to 911, only 35,000 out of 200,000 calls were real emergencies. Currently 2-1-1 services cover 85% of California with rural areas not yet covered; the goal is to have total coverage by 2012. So far in 2009, 14 million calls have been received nationwide, including Canada. With an excellent routing system, callers can be routed to different call centers (i.e. during the Louisiana hurricanes, calls were routed to Los Angles and San Francisco. Call Centers operate 24-7, 365 days a week.) During challenging economic times, the volume of calls has far exceeded what was anticipated. More information is available at www.211wc.org
