Practice makes perfect. Once your plan is in place, and you have discussed it with your family, it is time to practice it.

Walk through your plan from start to finish. This way, everyone knows what they should do during an emergency. You may also find potential problems with your plan and find a better way to do things.

It is better to find the mistakes of your plan during a practice run instead of during a real emergency!

THE DUPAGE COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENT PRACTICES THERE PLANS

DuPage County has an all-hazards emergency response plan in place. It is modeled after the National Response Plan authored by the United States Department of Homeland Security. Our plan uses the National Incident Management System (NIMS), a chain of  command structure, which provides a consistent framework for event management at all jurisdictional levels, regardless of the cause, size, or complexity of the incident.

To assure readiness, the Health Department has engaged in a rigorous training plan. Once trained, staff and community volunteers are required to participate in drills and exercises. One such exercise was TOPOFF2. This international event tested the Department’s ability to respond to a covert release of a biological agent while other municipalities reacted to terrorist events in Seattle; Washington, D.C.; and Canada. DuPage, Kane, Lake, and Cook Counties, City of Chicago, and the State of Illinois participated with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies to test their systems during an event.

Health Department employees participated in TOPOFF 2