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Responding
to a possible pandemic flu in King County is an effort that must involve
regional and local governments along with businesses, essential service
providers, community-based organizations, schools and the public.
On Monday, August 28, the next County Council Town
Hall will focus on preparing our community for the possible
impacts an influenza pandemic would have on daily life.
The Town Hall will be held at Emerald Downs
Racetrack, 2300 Emerald Downs Drive, Auburn. The public is
invited to meet face-to-face with King County Councilmembers at an
informal reception starting at 9:30 a.m. The Town
Hall will begin at 10:00 a.m.
“Preparing for a possible pandemic flu outbreak
is as vital as preparing for an earthquake or terror attack,”
said Council Chair Larry
Phillips. “Public involvement is critical to preparedness.
The public needs to know about the plans already in place and the
role they’ll have in responding to a potential pandemic.”
“The crowd at a community meeting I held was
very concerned about how our region would respond to a pandemic,”
said Council Vice-Chair Pete
von Reichbauer, whose district is hosting the Town Hall.
“King County is leading the nation in preparing for natural
or manmade disasters. Public input, education and participation are
vital steps in that preparation.”
The Town Hall will involve briefings on what
pandemic flu is and how individuals can prepare; the possible impacts
of a pandemic; and how the county is coordinating with other governments
and the private sector to minimize the effects of an outbreak. The
public and Councilmembers will hear presentations from:
•
Michael Loehr, Manager of Emergency Preparedness
for Public
Health—Seattle and King County, who will discuss
what a pandemic flu is and how the public can prepare themselves.
• Eric Holdeman, Director of King
County’s Office of Emergency Management, who
will brief members on King County’s role in preparing for
a possible pandemic.
• Caroline Whalen, with the King County Executive’s
Office will moderate a panel discussion on the community impacts
of a possible pandemic and the consortium of local governments,
businesses, essential service providers, community-based organizations,
and schools working together on a strategy to minimize those impacts.
Confirmed panel members include, Anne Searle, Senior
Vice President of Washington Mutual Bank and Cathryn Rice,
Special Projects Manager for Metro Transit.
Audience
members will have an opportunity to question presenters and panelists.
At the conclusion of business, the Council will also take public testimony
on any issue.
The Town
Hall meetings are part of Councilmembers’ initiative to “get
out of the courthouse” and into the communities they serve,
in order to enhance local representation on regional issues. Town
Halls in 2006 have examined regional transportation, disparities in
public health, new technologies used by law enforcement to protect
our communities and the regional response to global warming. Each
Town Hall is a special meeting of the Council’s Committee-of-the-Whole,
the only standing committee on which all 9 members serve. It considers
complex legislation and policy issues of interest to the entire council.
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