Throughout the past year, emergency management agencies have played a significant role in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marion County Emergency Management Director Jeff Anderson says that he and like agencies were the key to getting personal protective equipment to hospitals and those who needed it.

“Our role in that was largely coordination. We were the gatekeeper for when the local agencies needed resources. When we didn’t have them, we could request them through the state. We’re largely talking about the PPE. There was a significant amount of PPE that was requested by local agencies that we received through the state. We’re in the process of totaling those numbers right now. But we had a significant number of resource requests over the course of the pandemic that we were able to fulfill.”

Along with his duties in Marion County, Anderson serves as President of the Iowa Emergency Management Association.