Online CDC Emergency Assessment Tool Now Available
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has developed an Environmental Health Shelter Assessment Tool with the purpose of assisting environmental health practitioners in conducting a rapid assessment of shelter conditions during emergencies and disasters.
The tool is an assessment form that covers 14 general areas of environmental health, ranging from basic food and water safety to pet (companion animal) wellness. It allows for the documentation of immediate needs in shelters and can be easily modified to meet local needs.
The Environmental Health Shelter Assessment Tool is intended to:
- Serve as a standardized instrument for rapidly assessing environmental health conditions in shelter facilities;
- Assist in identifying and prioritizing health and safety issues in shelters;
- Provide shelter management officials with data and an assessment of environmental health conditions and recommendations for improvement;
- Capture data and create documentation for use in future planning and improvement of shelters.
- The tool provides supplemental guidance and information that should be used in conjunction with existing plans, procedures, guidelines, resources, assets, authorities, and incident management systems. It is not a substitute for shelter preparedness and planning activities.
To develop the tool, CDC convened a working group of experts from local, state, federal, academic, and non-governmental institutions including the American Red Cross. For more information, go to www.emergency.cdc.gov/shelterassessment.