{"id":36,"date":"2016-08-11T17:10:43","date_gmt":"2016-08-11T17:10:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/west-piedmont\/?page_id=36"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T18:27:08","slug":"office-of-emergency-preparedness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/west-piedmont\/office-of-emergency-preparedness\/","title":{"rendered":"Emergency Preparedness"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"pl-36\"  class=\"panel-layout\" ><div id=\"pg-36-0\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-36-0-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-36-0-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"0\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<figure id=\"attachment_5115\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5115\" style=\"width: 640px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit.jpeg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-5115 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit-1024x512.jpeg\" alt=\"A graphic on how to build an emergency kit\" width=\"640\" height=\"320\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit-1024x512.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit-300x150.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit-768x384.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit-1536x768.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Build_an_Emergency_Kit.jpeg 1833w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-5115\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Having an emergency kit will help you be prepared for whatever unexpected situation may arise. You should also have a kit in your car. Click on either graphic to enlarge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The West Piedmont Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness coordinates the response of the local health departments to any public health emergency through preparation, collaboration, education, and rapid intervention. We work with local, regional, and state emergency response partners to enhance readiness and response to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. Some response measures include monitoring and surveillance of all reportable communicable diseases and investigation of disease outbreaks within the community; dispensing of medication; and immunization to limit disease transmission.<\/p>\n<p>Other areas of responsibility include:<br \/>\n- managing the region's cache from the Strategic National Stockpile;<br \/>\n- working with partners to create strong emergency sheltering plans so people have a safe place to go after a catastrophic event;<br \/>\n- helping event coordinators create strong emergency and safety plans for public events such as fairs and concerts, and assisting them to prepare event plans that fit well with the county and city plans, as well as COVID-19 guidelines set by the CDC, VDH, and the Governor of Virginia.<br \/>\n- The Public Health Emergency Coordinator is available to speak at meetings, clubs, and school events to discuss and teach personal disaster preparedness and business continuity during disasters and emergencies. To schedule a visit or presentation, call 540-484-0292.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-36-1\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-36-1-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-36-1-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"1\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t><h3 class=\"widget-title\">Be prepared!<\/h3>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<ul>\n<li><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ready.gov\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ready.gov<\/a> <\/span>is a great resource with a wealth of information about preparing for and responding to emergencies of all kinds.<\/li>\n<li>For severe weather preparedness information go to <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/severe-weather-preparedness\/\">www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/severe-weather-preparedness\/<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<li>For winter weather preparedness information go to\u00a0<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/winter-weather-preparedness\/\">www.vdh.virginia.gov\/news\/public-relations-contacts\/winter-weather-preparedness\/<\/a><\/span>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pgc-36-1-1\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-36-1-1-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-image panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"2\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-image so-widget-sow-image-default-8b5b6f678277-36\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"sow-image-container\">\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Emergency_Car_Kit.png\"\n\t\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<img \n\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Emergency_Car_Kit-188x300.png\" width=\"188\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Emergency_Car_Kit-188x300.png 188w, https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/content\/uploads\/sites\/111\/2025\/03\/Emergency_Car_Kit.png 480w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 188px) 100vw, 188px\" title=\"Click on graphic to enlarge.\" alt=\"A graphic of a car emergency kit.\" \t\tclass=\"so-widget-image\"\/>\n\t\t\t<\/a><\/div>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"pg-36-2\"  class=\"panel-grid panel-no-style\" ><div id=\"pgc-36-2-0\"  class=\"panel-grid-cell\" ><div id=\"panel-36-2-0-0\" class=\"so-panel widget widget_sow-editor panel-first-child panel-last-child\" data-index=\"3\" ><div\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\tclass=\"so-widget-sow-editor so-widget-sow-editor-base\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t>\n<div class=\"siteorigin-widget-tinymce textwidget\">\n\t<p>If you are interested in volunteering, visit<span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/mrc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/mrc<\/a><\/span> to learn about and\/or apply to the Medical Reserve Corps.<\/p>\n<p>The West Piedmont Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness consists of the Emergency Coordinator and Epidemiologist.<\/p>\n<p><strong>District Epidemiologist \u2013 <\/strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><a href=\"mailto:sharon.ortiz-garcia@vdh.virginia.gov\">Sharon Ortiz-Garc\u00eda<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The West Piedmont Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness coordinates the response of the local health departments to any public health emergency through preparation, collaboration, education, and rapid intervention. We work with local, regional, and state emergency response partners to enhance readiness and response to infectious disease outbreaks and other public health emergencies. Some response [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":52,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Emergency Preparedness - West Piedmont<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"West Piedmont Health District Office of Emergency Preparedness coordinates response of the health departments to public health emergency.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.vdh.virginia.gov\/west-piedmont\/office-of-emergency-preparedness\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Emergency Preparedness - 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