Harris County Public Health to Survey Klein Residents
Harris County, Texas – On Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, 20 teams of Harris County Public Health (HCPH) staff and volunteers will be going door-to-door asking Klein residents how well prepared they are for a variety of emergencies. The goal of this survey, called Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER), is to assess the community’s level of emergency preparedness. CASPER is a state-based health department model and Klein neighborhoods are randomly selected by a computer using census block information. Residents will not be asked their names, addresses will not be included on the surveys and all answers are anonymous.
Some questions that residents will be asked are:
- Do they have an emergency supplies kit;
- Do they have a working generator;
- Does anyone in the household have a medical condition or disability that would make it difficult for them to evacuate; and,
- If they have pets, what will they do with them if they had to evacuate?
“We continue to seek information from our residents to help our public health department evaluate the Klein community’s readiness and determine what assistance we would need to provide in an emergency. This also gives us the opportunity to help residents and families think about how they can become better prepared before an emergency or disaster strikes,” said Dr. Umair A. Shah, Executive Director of HCPH.
A command center for this event will be located at the Kleb Intermediate School located at 7425 Louetta, Klein, 77379. Survey teams will leave the command center and begin entering the neighborhoods at 9:00 am.
HCPH is grateful for the help of many partners in planning, notifying the community and providing volunteers for this survey: Klein ISD, Amateur Radio Emergency Service, Medical Reserve Corp, Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), Harris County Commissioner Jack Cagle Precinct 4, Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, Harris County Sheriff’s Office, Harris County Constables’ Office, non-profit agencies, and community groups.
Media is invited to visit the Command Center before the teams leave. Call Martha Marquez (281) 409-6359 if you would like an interview in advance or to accompany a survey team in the field. Survey participants have the right to be anonymous and we ask that their homes not be identifiable or the addresses shown.