Survey to Assess Emergency Preparedness on Kaua‘i

This was the view from the Mayor’s Office in Lihu‘e’s Historic County Building in Sept. 11, 1992 as Hurricane ‘Iniki ripped across Kaua‘i. Contributed photo

The Kaua‘i Emergency Management Agency (KEMA) is assisting the Department of Health’s (DOH) Kaua‘i District Health Office to conduct a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER) survey to assess the emergency preparedness level of local residents, according to County of Kaua‘i news release.

Survey members will go door-to-door starting today, July 20, through July 22, to 30 census tracts that are weighted towards more populated areas within the county. Seven houses within each tract will be systematically selected and surveyed.

Survey teams are comprised of DOH staff with support from KEMA, Kaua‘i Medical Reserve Corps, American Red Cross, and the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers.

Selected households will be asked about emergency preparedness, communication preferences, health status and evacuation plans following a disaster. Team members will have on vests identifying themselves as part of the DOH survey team and will carry identification cards. All survey responses will be confidential, and survey teams will not be collecting names or addresses.

Survey results will build upon last year’s efforts to establish a baseline for the percentage of Kaua‘i households that have the supplies necessary to support their families after an emergency. This data will help to inform county and state emergency plans, as well as enable DOH to best meet the community’s health needs following a disaster.

The CASPER survey methodology was developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as a way to rapidly assess the health and other resource needs of a community after a disaster. Alternatively, the methodology can also be used in a non-disaster scenario to assess the current preparedness levels of a community.

Kaua‘i residents who have questions about the CASPER survey or the survey teams conducting the assessments can call Lauren Guest, DOH public health preparedness planner, at 241-3496