Critical Infrastructure is defined as the physical and virtual systems that are ‘so vital to the United States that the incapacity or destruction of such systems and assets would have a debilitating impact on security, national economic security, national public health or safety’ (includes major highways, bridges, power plants, public transportation, etc). CHHS has worked with jurisdictions in order to assess risk to specific critical infrastructure sites, assisting in the prioritization of resources and grant funds. Similarly, CHHS has worked to address virtual threats to computerized systems throughout government; this is also known as Cybersecurity.

CHHS regularly provides, in conjunction with plan development, training for agency personnel on relevant issues. Training allows plan users to become familiar with various portions of the plan, and their roles and responsibilities therein. CHHS develops personalized exercises (a disaster scenario simulated in a low-stress, discussion based environment) to test each plan it develops. Representatives from government agencies attend these exercises to gain a better understanding of how their plans work. (CHHS walks agency personnel through a mock disaster scenario and asks what they would do at various stages of the disaster from the warning signs through recovery.) Exercises also help identify gaps in the plans, which are then captured in an after-action report, so they can be addressed prior to an actual emergency.

Interoperability plays an important role in emergency management and homeland security planning. Interoperability is the ability of first responders and other emergency management personnel to communicate with each other, both within a jurisdiction and between neighboring jurisdictions, when an emergency occurs. A common problem is the lack of radio interoperability between neighboring jurisdictions’ first responders. CHHS has assisted in identifying gaps in interoperability, and developing solutions to fill those gaps.

The field of emergency management now also addresses public health threats such as pandemic flu and bioterrorism. CHHS has worked with numerous public health organizations on issues such as: medical surge planning, legal issues surrounding public health emergencies, and hospital preparedness and response.