Collaborative Effort with Local Communities to Establish Point of Dispensing Operations

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 6/7

Interactive

Session Number: 113

Hamilton County Public Health (HCPH) (OH) began a process to develop 35 community points of dispensing (PODs) to serve its population of 460,000 during the initial Cities Readiness Initiative planning efforts. HCPH approached its 44 jurisdictions and initiated a collaborative effort with those communities. Over the last four years, HCPH has outlined an approach that will be discussed during the session. The discussion will cover how HCPH partnered with the communities, critical capacities that were developed with local partners and agencies, the training necessary to prepare each community POD operation's staff, and the future approach to continue engaging the community. Materials developed in this process will be provided to attendees.

Public Health Emergencies and Federal Health Law

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 8/9

Interactive

Session Number: 145

Federal and state laws have a significant impact on emergency preparedness and response. This session will offer an overview of legal authorities the Department of Health and Human Services uses for emergency preparedness and response and an opportunity to discuss the impact of those authorities at the federal, state, and local levels.

Federal Education and Training Interagency Group for Public Health and Medical Disaster Preparedness Response

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 3

Interactive

Session Number: 219

Participants of this session will be introduced FETIG and the NCDMPH.  In addition, participants will learn of the ongoing efforts of coordination between federal entities and the development of efforts to collaborate with non-federal entities.

Engaging Hospital Partners in Pandemic Planning

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: A602

Interactive

Session Number: 230

This session will explore the rewards, challenges, and lessons learned in the organization, implementation, and follow-up to community-based workshops that engage hospital partners in pandemic planning.

Ethical Considerations for Emergency Preparedness and Response

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 2

Interactive

Session Number: 240

Recent public health emergencies have highlighted the need to consider the ethical aspects of public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR). This session will provide an overview of ethical considerations for PHEPR, including ethical considerations for conducting research during a public health emergency response; the role of community consultation; professional, civic, and personal obligations; and issues relating to justice, resource allocation, and stockpiling. This session will assist emergency planners in recognizing basic ethical tenets and in integrating these concepts into their planning.

Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists Disaster Epidemiology Subcommittee: Engaging Partners and Using Surveillance Data for a Successful Public Health Response

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: A706/707

Interactive

Session Number: 255

Disaster epidemiology comprises the disciplines of epidemiology (including acute and communicable disease, environmental health, occupational health, chronic disease, injury, and behavioral health) to improve the timeliness and effectiveness of surveillance following natural disasters and other emergencies. The surveillance activities bring together these disciplines to develop a unified collaborative response across jurisdictions and governmental levels. Participants will learn how coordinated tracking efforts are critical to rapid public health needs assessments; understanding the distribution of injuries and illnesses; detecting outbreaks or clusters; implementing timely interventions and applications of resources; evaluating the impact of public health activities; and improving response planning.

Disaster Stress Management Training for Supervisors

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 10

Interactive

Session Number: 256

Disasters cause stress, and stress negatively affects staff health and functioning. Effective response to disasters and other public health emergencies require that local health department staff functioning is maintained despite the stressful nature of the situation. The New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene developed and provided a training to help its supervisory staff identify and manage disaster-related workplace stress. The goal of the training is to improve the ability of supervisors to create and sustain a supportive working environment. Participants will discuss how supervisors can mitigate the negative effect of stress by improving their own ability to respond to the psychological needs of their employees as well as their own psychological needs.

Collaboration in Preparedness Planning for the At-Risk Population

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International B

Interactive

Session Number: 287

Due to the number and diversity of agencies involved in preparedness planning, especially required pandemic flu preparedness planning for at risk populations, can be complicated. The Utah Department of Health will share its successes in (1) collaborating with state and local agencies and community- and faith-based organizations to prepare planning guidance; (2) addressing the needs of the at risk population during a pandemic by creating a workable and marketable special needs registry; and (3) distributing information and life-sustaining supplies to the neediest members of the refugee population.

Preparing Communities for Food Defense in Schools

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: A703/704

Interactive

Session Number: 348

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates food-borne pathogens cause 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year. The Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service is launching a program to heighten awareness on food defense and response among school food authorities, public health professionals, first responders, and state agencies. This session will provide participants with information on food defense in schools and explain the importance of a coordinated response in the event of a food-borne contamination situation. The contents of a self-contained tabletop exercise package will be reviewed along with recommendations on how to implement the exercise at the state and local level to engage the public health community and emergency planning partners.

Welcome to the Dark Site!

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International 4/5

Interactive

Session Number: 351

In April 2009, experts from the Santa Clara County Public Health Department (CA) and Stanford University initiated a project to build a local government dark site. A dark site is a Web site that sits ready, but not seen, until activated in an emergency. During the H1N1 outbreak response that same month, the team built and activated its first public health emergency dark site.This Web site re-directed the public to timely, incident-specific information. The National Association of County and City Health Officials’ Advanced Practice Center toolkit “Welcome to the Dark Site” was prepared to help others build a dark site using Google Web sites. In this interactive conference session, participants will review the toolkit and log in to the Santa Clara County H1N1 site to explore its full functionality. A scenario will be presented and participants will build a sample dark site.

Strategies for Engaging Rural Communities in Pandemic Influenza Planning

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: M302/303

Interactive

Session Number: 403

The USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness has been facilitating rural preparedness roundtables that have demonstrated effectiveness in engaging and organizing diverse groups of stakeholders in rural communities to address specific rural preparedness issues. The purpose of this session is to collectively share helpful insights and information that will assist others in areas where limited resources challenge planning efforts to respond to pandemic influenza. The discussion is intended to present participants with approaches and strategies that will enable them to provide the most effective response to a pandemic.

Medical Reserve Corps Federal Deployment

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: M301

Interactive

Session Number: 434

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers are being trained and registered to augment the United States Public Health Service (USPHS) Rapid Deployment Force Teams (RDF). MRC members from this specially trained group may be called upon to work alongside USPHS RDF members to assist in a federal response to a disaster.

Public Health and Retail Pharmacy Collaborating for Seasonal and Novel H1N1 Flu

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: International C

Interactive

Session Number: 457

Some public-private collaborations can create an opportunity to expand and extend the reach of a local health department into the general public at venues customers find convenient and can utilize health professionals, specifically pharmacists, as resources for health information. The Palm Beach County Health Department (FL) has created multiple, innovative partnerships with supermarket pharmacies and retail drug stores to prepare the public for the upcoming flu season, deliver health information, and provide vaccinations for seasonal and Novel H1N1influenza. This session will provide a discussion on the advantages and challenges of these collaborations from different perspectives and highlight ways to create sustainable and ongoing partnerships for improved public health.

Strengthening Responder Capabilities

Wednesday February 17th, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM

Room: A601

Interactive

Session Number: 483

Panelists will discuss the assessment of key training outcomes and variables influencing learning and workplace performance; the use of a cooperative inquiry research model and its applications in public health practice; and the Ready, Willing, and Able logic model and its applicability to planning and response efforts.