Thirteen California County Public Health Agencies Launch
Regional Bioterrorism / Disaster Preparedness Web Site

NorCalBT.com, northern California's Bioterrorism / Disaster Preparedness web site, was developed in 2004 by Visual Imagry to provide the 13 rural health departments within the Office of Emergency Services (OES) Mutual Aid Region III (CA) the interactive tools to build an extensive network for bioterrorism / disaster planning, preparing, training, communicating and responding to any public health threat or emergency. The NorCalBT.com web site operates separately and independently of any other county web site.

Link to NorCalBT PSA Created by Lynee Bussey Productions To view the PSA, you will need Windows Media Player

The 13 counties that comprise California’s Region III include: Butte, Colusa, Glenn, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity and Yuba counties.

NorCalBT.com removes the barriers of time and distance between county public health professionals. It strengthens the communications and information technology systems critical to effectively respond to an emergency or disaster that could impact the 750,000 residents that live within the Region’s 34,361 square miles.

Project Background
In late March of 2004 Visual Imagry, Inc. was selected to create, design and develop the Bioterrorism Web Site for the 13 California counties in Region III.

Dee Beaugez, MA, President of Visual Imagry, Inc. / VI Planning, coordinated the online and web development phases of the project. Donald Beaugez, Chief Executive Officer and Product Architect for the company, designed and developed the software (VIPlanning Online: Collaboration) that is used to power the secure portal of NorCalBT.com.

Web Site Design and Implementation
The NorCalBT.com network ensures that critical functions, such as response coordination, information access, distance learning, training, and secure communications are in place and fully functional. The web site also provides the ability to disseminate information to residents through Press Releases and Public Health Updates.

The NorCalBT.com web site is divided into three distinct sections based on functionality, audience and access.

Common Section/Public Section
The Common Section /Public Section contains information viewable to anyone with Internet access. The areas include disaster preparedness information, Homeland Security alerts, reporting guidelines, links to county-specific areas within the site, and a comprehensive list of state and national links.

County-Specific Public Section
The County-Specific Public Section allows easy public access to county-specific Bioterrorism / Disaster Preparedness Information supported by Region III county public health bioterrorism programs.

Controlled Access Area Section
The Controlled Access Area Section, a secure section of the web site (ADMIN NorCalBT.com), is accessible only to Bioterrorism / Disaster Coordinators and other designated public health professionals. The Controlled Access Area requires a secure login and provides tools for creating secure contacts, calendar events, links, library items and Press Releases and/or Public Health Updates. Event calendars, links and library items can be generated and posted to the Public Section or the Secure Controlled Access Area Section. All Press Releases and/or Public Health Updates are posted directly to the Public Section.

The Controlled Access Area is developed using a database that contains the key contacts, links, library items and resource data. Within ADMIN NorCalBT.com, authorized users can store, maintain, locate and view: events, links to Internet sites, documents, secure contacts, Press Releases and Public Health Updates.

This secure application is key for the sharing of sensitive data and collaboration between local public health agencies. Information can be shared among authorized secure users and, when appropriate, with the public.

Each county has its own controlled-access Secure Forum and they can also participate in a Secure Regional Forum and create topics within the Regional Forum. These Forums allow authorized users to initiate and participate in discussions, start new topic areas and publish working documents and links for peer review and comment.

Visual Imagry Inc. has also developed an Epidemiology Section of the web site for epidemiologists within Region III. Within this Section they can store, maintain, locate and view: events, links to Internet sites, documents, secure contacts, public health updates and press releases. They can participate in County and Regional Forums, as well as post information that can be shared by the authorized users within the Bioterrorism Section.

Significant Project Outcome
Perhaps the most significant outcome of this experience was the participation, collaboration and creativity demonstrated by the exceptional Region III Bioterrorism / Disaster Coordinators, their supporting public health departments and agencies, and other community and professional agencies. Together, they contributed articles, links, data, and content suggestions included within the site.

Visit NorCalBT
You are invited to visit www.norcalbt.com to explore the user-friendly construction of this public health site. Experience NorCalBT's scope and diversity of local data and links to important county, regional, state and federal resources. Contact the NorCalBT.com Project Coordinators to learn more about this pioneering collaborative public health effort.

For more information about NorCalBT.com contact:
Dee Beaugez, MA, President / Chief Operating Officer, Visual Imagry, Inc.
(425) 881-1945 or email - dee.beaugez@viplanning.com

September 2004 Press Release | Back to Top