Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management (OPEM)

We collaborate with public health and healthcare partners to ensure that they have the knowledge, plans, and tools to prepare for, respond to, and recover from threats to public health. We also provide information and resources to help the people of Massachusetts feel safe and prepared for all types of emergencies or disasters.

Our preparedness program is funded largely by a Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) grant from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response. Funds from these 2 grants are applied to a wide variety of essential functions, including but not limited to:

• Local health departments and hospitals disaster planning efforts
• A 24/7 duty officer program for responding to public health emergencies
• A 24/7 Health and Homeland Alert Network
• The Strategic National Stockpile program
• Public health laboratory testing
• Surveillance and epidemiological investigation
• Building and supporting a cadre of public health emergency volunteers