The United States arguably faces the most serious disaster it has faced since World War II: the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic itself has created further cascading economic, financial, and social crises. To date, approximately 114,000 Americans have died and approximately 2,000,000 (as of this writing) have become infected. American emergency planning and response, including for pandemics, begins at the local (city, town, and county) level, close to the individuals and communities most impacted. During crises like COVID-19, natural and other disasters, best practices include “whole of government” and “whole community” approaches, involving all parts of the government, community organizations, institutions, and businesses, with representation from diverse individual community stakeholders. Local emergency management and public health agencies are at the heart of emergency planning and response and thus warrant further examination. While collaboration between the two is recognized as a best practice, in reality there appear to be silos and gaps. This Commentary describes the American emergency planning system and the roles of local emergency management and public health departments. Closer examination illuminates similarities and differences in practitioner demographics, professional competencies, organizational goals, and culture. The Commentary reviews the limited research and observations of collaboration efforts and suggests areas for integrating the two practice areas in future research, education, professional training, and practice. Breaking down the silos will strengthen local emergency and public health preparedness planning and response, ultimately leading to stronger community health, well-being, resilience, and more efficient local administration.

中文翻译：

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整合政府孤岛：地方应急管理和公共卫生部门协作进行应急计划和响应

可以说，美国面临着自二战以来最严重的灾难：COVID-19 大流行。大流行本身造成了进一步的连锁经济、金融和社会危机。迄今为止，大约有 114,000 名美国人死亡，大约 2,000,000 人（截至撰写本文时）被感染。美国的应急计划和响应，包括针对流行病的应急计划和响应，始于当地（市、镇和县）级别，靠近受影响最严重的个人和社区。在 COVID-19、自然灾害和其他灾害等危机期间，最佳实践包括“整个政府”和“整个社区”方法，涉及政府、社区组织、机构和企业的所有部门，并由不同的社区利益相关者代表。地方应急管理和公共卫生机构是应急计划和响应的核心，因此需要进一步检查。虽然两者之间的合作被认为是最佳实践，但实际上似乎存在孤岛和差距。本评论描述了美国应急计划系统以及当地应急管理和公共卫生部门的作用。仔细检查可以阐明从业者人口统计、专业能力、组织目标和文化的异同。该评论回顾了合作努力的有限研究和观察，并提出了在未来研究、教育、专业培训和实践中整合两个实践领域的领域。