Moving the Dial on Preparedness: CDC’s 2018 National Snapshot

Photo of a flooded apartment complex and office building during Hurricane Harvey.

Every year, CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response publishes the Public Health Preparedness and Response National Snapshot, an annual report that highlights the work of CDC and our partners. No matter the type, size, or cause of a public health emergency, we must work together to respond to the best of our ability.

Photo of the cover of the Public Health Preparedness and Response 2018 National Snapshot report.
Read the full 2018 National Snapshot Report.

The Snapshot includes two sections:

  • The Narrative describes CDC preparedness and response activities in 2016 and 2017 and demonstrates how investments in preparedness enhance the nation’s ability to respond to public health threats and emergencies.
  • The Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Program Fact sheets provide information on PHEP funding from 2015 to 2017 and trends and progress related to the 15 public health preparedness capabilities defined in the PHEP Cooperative Agreement. They also feature a short story that demonstrates the impact of the PHEP program.

Here are some highlights from the Snapshot that showcase how CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Emergency Response worked to keep people safer in 2017.

Hurricane Response and Recovery

In late summer 2017, three major hurricanes—Harvey, Irma, and Maria—made landfall in the United States and territories. This was the first time the United States experienced three Category 4 or greater hurricanes during a single hurricane season. CDC activated its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) on August 31, 2017 and the response is ongoing. CDC epidemiologists, environmental health specialists, emergency managers, health communicators, and scientists with expertise in waterborne and vector-borne diseases continue to work together to monitor and address public health threats in the aftermath of the storms.

Learn more about CDC’s role in the hurricane response.

The Opioid Epidemic

From 2000 – 2015, drug overdoses killed more than half a million people in the U.S. Six out of 10 of these deaths involved an opioid. CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control and the PHEP Program work together to support communities responding to the opioid epidemic. State health departments are using PHEP funds to identify communities hardest hit by the epidemic and to support the distribution of naloxone, a medical treatment to prevent death from opioid overdose.

Learn more about what states are doing to fight the opioid epidemic.

State and Local Readiness

Between 2017 and 2019, CDC and Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) program recipients will conduct nearly 500 medical countermeasure operational readiness reviews nationwide. Nearly 60% of the U.S. population resides in 72 metropolitan areas that are included in the reviews of 400 local jurisdictions. The reviews evaluate a jurisdiction’s ability to execute a large response that requires the rapid distribution and dispensing of life-saving medicines and medical supplies.

Learn more about the role of the PHEP program in state and local readiness.

Cutting-Edge Science to Find and Stop Disease

In 2017, CDC’s Federal Select Agent Program (FSAP) developed a new electronic information system to improve the efficiency of information sharing and exchange between FSAP and registered entities.

Learn more about how CDC safeguards lifesaving research with deadly pathogens and poisons through the Select Agent Program.

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If you have any feedback about the 2018 National Snapshot, please email us at preparednessreport@cdc.gov.  We welcome your suggestions and will use your feedback to improve future editions of the Snapshot.

Recognizing the Vital Work of Our Nation’s Public Servants

Greg Burel receiving SAMMIE award.
Photo credit: Aaron Clamage/clamagephoto.com

In April 2015, an Ohio doctor made an urgent call to CDC concerning a possible life-threatening botulism outbreak that posed a risk to as many as 50 people who had attended a church potluck dinner.

Within hours, CDC, the Ohio Department of Health, and a local hospital had determined that botulism antitoxin was needed to treat the food-borne illness. They made an immediate request to the only U.S. source: CDC’s Strategic National Stockpile (SNS).

Greg Burel received the request just after 2 p.m. that day. He quickly issued his approval and set in motion a process that rapidly deployed and delivered botulism antitoxin to Ohio just after midnight to help save the lives of 18 people who had become seriously ill.

For Burel, this was all in a day’s work.

Burel serves as Director of the Division of Strategic National Stockpile at CDC, where he manages the federal government’s $7 billion Strategic National Stockpile of emergency medicines and medical supplies, which are stored in warehouses across the country.

In a public health emergency, the U.S. pharmaceutical supply chain may be unable to immediately provide a medical countermeasure that may be required to prevent, mitigate, or treat adverse health effects resulting from an intentional, accidental, or naturally occurring public health emergency. SNS ensures the right medicines and supplies are available when and where they are needed to save lives.

And The Sammie Goes To…

In recognition of his exceptional leadership and unmatched excellence in the management of CDC’s SNS, Burel was the recipient of one of this year’s prestigious Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medals―also known as the “Sammie” award―specifically in the Management Excellence category. In his decade-long tenure as Director of SNS, Burel has spearheaded 10 large-scale responses, including national responses to flooding, hurricanes, and influenza pandemics, and more than 30 small-scale deployments for the treatment of individuals with life-threatening infectious diseases including the botulism outbreak and the Ebola crisis.

Burel’s most recent challenge has been dealing with the Zika virus. In the wake of the Zika virus outbreak, SNS is working with diverse partners such as CDC Foundation, commercial pharmacies, and vector control companies to implement public health interventions that wouldn’t have been possible without the expertise and capability of SNS staff to bring it all together. “It’s more than just having the right product on the shelf and an established plan to use it,” Burel said. “We recognize the shifting realities of today’s public health threats and work with partners spanning the public and private spectrum to develop the capacity to respond to any public health emergency.”

Under Burel’s watch, the SNS has steadily expanded its focus so that it is capable of responding to all the global hazards of the 21st century. He says, “I am honored to receive the prestigious Sammie Award, and privileged to work alongside the many esteemed public servants who play an instrumental role in the stockpile’s daily operations.”

With more than 30 years of civil service, Burel has risen through the ranks of the federal government to become a proven leader in medical supply chain logistics, disaster and emergency management, financial management, quality improvement, and organizational design. He began his career at the Internal Revenue Service, and served in leadership roles in the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

The “Oscars” of Government Service

Burel is one of many dedicated and hardworking federal employees across the world. The Sammie Award is an award program that publically highlights excellence in the federal workforce. The awards are also known as the “Oscars” of government service and honor those employees who have made the commitment to make our government and our nation stronger. They are named for the Partnership for Public Service’s late founder, Samuel J. Heyman, who was inspired by President Kennedy’s call to serve in 1963. These awards align with his vision of a dynamic and innovative federal workforce that meets the needs of the American people. The prestigious medals are awarded to a handful of federal employees each year for outstanding service to their country and humanity.

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