Capability 1: Community Preparedness

Definition: Community preparedness is the ability of communities to prepare for, withstand, and recover — in both the short and long terms — from public health incidents. By engaging and coordinating with emergency management, healthcare organizations (private and community-based), mental/behavioral health providers, community and faith-based partners, state, local, and territorial, public health’s role in community preparedness is to do the following:

• Support the development of public health, medical, and mental/behavioral health systems that support recovery
• Participate in awareness training with community and faith-based partners on how to prevent, respond to, and recover from public health incidents
• Promote awareness of and access to medical and mental/behavioral health resources that help protect the community’s health and address the functional needs (i.e., communication, medical care, independence, supervision, transportation) of at-risk individuals
• Engage public and private organizations in preparedness activities that represent the functional needs of at-risk individuals as well as the cultural and socio-economic, demographic components of the community
• Identify those populations that may be at higher risk for adverse health outcomes
• Receive and/or integrate the health needs of populations who have been displaced due to incidents that have occurred in their own or distant communities (e.g., improvised nuclear device or hurricane)

Functions and Associated Performance Measures:
This capability consists of the ability to perform the functions listed below. At present there are no CDC-defined performance measures for these functions.

Function 1: Determine risks to the health of the jurisdiction
Function 2: Build community partnerships to support health preparedness
Function 3: Engage with community organizations to foster public health, medical, and mental/behavioral health social networks
Function 4: Coordinate training or guidance to ensure community engagement in preparedness efforts