Public Health-Seattle and King County (WA) developed the Vulnerable Populations Action Team (VPAT) to ensure that vulnerable populations have access to public health information and services about preparedness, response, and recovery. The team includes a diverse cross section of staff with public health expertise in vulnerable populations, preparedness and infectious diseases. The team's goals are:
1. To identify and better understand the preparedness, response, and recovery needs of CBOs that serve vulnerable populations;
2. To enable CBOs to have the skills and capacity to train their staffs and clients to continue delivery of core services and to provide basic response and recovery services;
3. To ensure that essential public health information will reach residents in all vulnerable population segments prior to and throughout an emergency event; and
4. To integrate vulnerable population planning activities into all government, healthcare, CBO, and internal public health systems.
VPAT offers training and assistance to community-based organizations, provides emergency information to residents through a communications network, and advocates on behalf of vulnerable populations for greater inclusion in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning. The website shares specific planning initiatives and tools in the areas of resource management, technical assistance/ trainings, MOU development, communications coordination, and partner/stakeholder engagement that can be used at the local level to improve any community's level of preparedness.