Seattle-King County Advanced Practice Center (APC)

The Seattle-King County Advanced Practice Center (APC) is a resource for local public health agencies throughout the nation as it develops plans and builds local and regional capacity for responding to an act of bioterrorism or other public health emergency.

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) currently funds eight local public health agencies to serve as APCs. Building best practices, APCs combine forces to help all local public health agencies nationwide prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies.

What the Seattle-King County APC can do for you

The Seattle-King County APC has made unique contributions to the nation’s preparedness for a bioterrorist event or a disease outbreak of national significance, including development of a number of tools and resources for preparedness that can be used by public health departments nationwide. Some of these products include:

	Building a Healthcare Coalition The King County Healthcare Coalition is a network of healthcare organizations and providers that are committed to coordinating their emergency preparedness and response activities. The purpose of the coalition is to develop and maintain a comprehensive system that assures coordination, effective communications and optimal use of available health resources in response to emergencies and disasters. King County Healthcare Coalition resources from the 2007 APC Training Conference.
	Planning and Managing Isolation & Quarantine Web Toolkit Includes tools for putting a plan together, an I&Q response center model, and tabletop exercises for testing your I&Q plan.
	"Hello, how may I help you?" - Creating and operating a Public Information Call Center A toolkit to assist public health departments in building capacity to handle a surge in phone calls during an emergency (in MS Word)
	Emergency Risk Communication Course For public health professionals and students. Developed in collaboration with the University of Washington School of Public Health and Community Medicine, this course was designed to provide an introduction to emergency risk communication concepts and principles.
	CD-based Emergency Risk Communications Training Guide For anyone communicating with the public in a crisis, Speak First: Communicating Effectively in Times of Crisis and Uncertainty is a proven, practical training for building the skills to delivering first messages in the early hours of a crisis. Learn what you need to know, to sharpen your skills and to teach others how to master these best practices. Order now through National Association of County & City Health Officials.
	Public Health Workforce Activation A web-based toolkit to guide local public health agencies in the development of a response-ready workforce by defining surge functions and matching staff resources to emergent response needs.
	Pandemic flu preparedness resources for business engagement

For more information on this APC or these tools, please contact:

Carina Elsenboss
APC Program Manager
Public Health - Seattle & King County
401 5th Ave, Suite 1300
Seattle, WA 98104
Carina.Elsenboss@kingcounty.gov
206-263-8722