Design and implementation of a local Health Alert Network

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began implementing a national Health Alert Network (HAN) to act as a communications infrastructure for response to bioterrorist events and other emergencies. State and local health departments are starting to use this communication system. The implementation and use of the HAN at the local level is different from use at the state and federal level. At the local level, the users are often responders in the field rather than in office settings and they may be in direct contact with hazards and agents. Monroe County, New York, developed a local HAN by forming an extranet among four county existing networks.