The New Jersey Department of Health has established 22 Local Information Network Communication System (LINCS) agency sites throughout New Jersey to serve as hubs to distribute information through their Community Health Alert and Information Network (CHAIN), which connects public health departments to organizations within the community for electronic sharing and response to public health incidents. As one of these sites, the Mercer County Local Information Network Communication System Agency works with state and local health departments and other agencies within Mercer County to enhance emergency preparedness efforts; to respond to bioterrorism events; and to provide public health preparedness education, outreach, and training to staff, volunteers, workplaces, and community agencies. In case of a public health emergency, the Agency will activate its 24-hour, seven-day-a-week surveillance and begin to coordinate public health activities to minimize the impact upon the public.

Mercer County’s Local Information Network Communications System belongs to the New Jersey Local Information Network Communications System, a system of public health professionals and electronic public information. The New Jersey Local Information Network Communications System is a part of the federal Health Alert Network (HAN) that connects the New Jersey Department of Health to the local health departments electronically to ensure the rapid dissemination of critical information in the event of a bioterrorism incident or public health threat and to promote mutual cooperation and the general welfare of the public health system.

Click here to register for the Community Health Alert and Information Network.

For more information concerning bioterrorism, visit the Centers for Disease Control’s bioterrorism web page.