Harford County health officials recap emergency exercises, expand vaccine and housing supports

Harford County health officials told the county council they are bolstering emergency readiness and expanding services for residents during a spring 2026 update. Health department director Lauren Levy described two FEMA‑graded Peach Bottom exercises that tested the county’s emergency operations center and a community reception center at Fallston High School and commended staff and partner agencies for their performance.

The department ran a community reception center with 12 radiological monitoring and decontamination stations and 31 health‑department staff, Levy said, adding that FEMA evaluators praised the team’s technical knowledge and coordination. "The evaluators had high praise for our team and their technical knowledge and coordination," Levy said, noting the exercise validated the county’s capacity to stand up public‑health operations in the event of a radiological incident.

Levy also described recent prevention and outreach work: a school‑based vaccine clinic at Magnolia Middle School that provided Tdap, meningitis and HPV vaccinations to 29 rising seventh‑graders, and the county’s new participation in Maryland’s Assistance and Community Integration Services Medicaid program. The Medicaid program, Levy said, will fund tenancy‑based case management to help people remain housed and housing case management to help people experiencing homelessness move into permanent housing; she cited a five‑year pilot evaluation finding a 37% reduction in emergency‑department visits among participants and a 77% housing stability rate at case closure.

The department plans to pilot an oral rabies vaccine program pending funding and is expanding tick‑borne disease surveillance and outreach, Levy added. She closed with routine summer‑safety guidance—sun protection, water supervision and pool fencing—and reminded residents that mental‑health resources are available, including the Klein Family Center and the 988 lifeline.

Council members asked follow‑ups on minority‑health programming, expansion of school‑based health centers to northern parts of the county, and whether gun‑lock distribution events would return; Levy said staff would provide updates on timing and funding. The council thanked department staff for the briefing and their work on preparedness, clinical services and community partnerships.

Next steps: health‑department staff committed to follow up with council members on specific program expansions and funding requests, including oral‑rabies‑vaccine planning and potential expansion of school‑based clinical services.