Nixon hosts roundtable on emergency response

Russ Conroy, left, addresses a roundtable discussion group Monday at the Missouri State Public Health Labratory. Conroy is director of emergency preparedness and safety for Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Gov. Jay Nixon, background right, and representatives of local public health and safety agencies and hospital systems discussed lessons learned in past emergencies and how to better prepare for future ones.
Russ Conroy, left, addresses a roundtable discussion group Monday at the Missouri State Public Health Labratory. Conroy is director of emergency preparedness and safety for Mercy Hospital in Springfield. Gov. Jay Nixon, background right, and representatives of local public health and safety agencies and hospital systems discussed lessons learned in past emergencies and how to better prepare for future ones.

Representatives from emergency preparedness and public health agencies across the state joined Gov. Jay Nixon in a roundtable discussion highlighting the states' improved ability to respond to public health emergencies.

"Public health is a key part of emergency response" Nixon said.

Nixon pointed to the agencies' efforts addressing public health threats like H1N1, Zika and Ebola viruses that have raised public concern statewide. Issues concerning patient tracking and food-borne illnesses were also mentioned during the discussion.

He attributed the state's success to their ability to consistently communicate with the public in the event of an emergency.

"From my perspective, one of the issues that have not been talked about is the consistency of the communication to the public," Nixon said. "It has really been nice to have one position, one voice in these instances."

The 2011 Joplin tornado was highlighted as one example of how Missouri's state emergency and preparedness agencies came together to help the citizens recover quickly.

After the tornado, Nixon emphasized 180,000 plus volunteers over a 15-month period came down to Joplin to help clean up after the destruction.

"That communication was really helpful in lifting the confidence of the public," Nixon said.

Administrators from hospitals, health departments, law enforcement and emergency preparedness agencies all agreed that the partnerships among all of the agencies have really made a difference in their level of effectiveness.

"It comes down to having good partnerships with responding agencies," said Becky Hunt, director at Madison County Health department.