The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s emergency management program, which includes the emergency operations center, has been accredited again by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program

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for excellence in emergency management.

“Our emergency management program is at the core of CDC’s mission and we’re ready to protect Americans from health threats domestically and internationally,” said CDC Director Robert R. Redfield, M.D. “Being reaccredited is the result of constant learning from experience and studying the science of emergency response.”

CDC’s emergency management program was first accredited in 2013. The program led CDC’s management of numerous emergency responses, including the 2014 Ebola response and the 2016 Zika response. CDC activated the Emergency Operations Center to simultaneously manage four emergencies in 2016 (Global Polio Eradication, Ebola, Zika, and the Flint Michigan Water Contamination).

“Our emergency management program allows us to deploy people, goods, and services as expeditiously as possible after hearing of an emergency as well as to coordinate with states, partners, and other governmental agencies,” said Stephen C. Redd, M.D., director of CDC’s Center for Preparedness and Response. “Being reaccredited indicates that the agency is ready to protect Americans from health threats domestically and internationally.”

Accreditation means a program has completed the five-step EMAP process

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, including self-assessment, on-site appraisal, and committee review. Programs are evaluated on standards related to program management, administration, and finance; hazard identification, risk assessment, and consequence analysis; hazard mitigation; operational planning and procedures; communications and warning; exercises, evaluations, and corrective management; and emergency public education and information. Reaccreditation is required every five years.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES