Preparedness and Response Core Competencies

Wednesday February 17th, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Room: A704

Town Hall

Session Number: 128

At the request of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Association of Schools of Public Health is engaging the appropriate experts to develop a proposed model of core competencies for the public health preparedness and response workforce. The competency model will build upon existing work in the emergency preparedness and response field and will provide a proposed national standard of skills that is necessary for the public health workforce in all-hazards preparedness and response situations. The project meets one of the mandates of the 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act. The model of core competencies will ultimately be used to adapt current curricula and develop new curricula, as appropriate, to train the public health workforce.

Building the Linkages between Local Preparedness and Medical Countermeasures Development and Distribution

Wednesday February 17th, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Room: Atrium Ballroom B/C

Town Hall

Session Number: 478

The perspectives and expertise of state, local, tribal, and territorial preparedness officials are critical to ensuring the appropriate development and rapid distribution of medical countermeasures (MCMs) following exposure to chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear or emerging infectious disease threats. The Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) at the Department of Health and Human Services facilitates the advanced development and acquisition of MCMs for these threats. This session will seek participants' input on optimal MCM product parameters and their impact on distribution and dispensing activities.

Risk-Based Border Strategies

Wednesday February 17th, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Room: Atrium Ballroom A

Town Hall

Session Number: 479

Prior to the 2009 H1N1 outbreak, public health, border, transportation, and industry partners planned and rehearsed for the implementation of a range of border interventions in response to a severe influenza pandemic originating outside of North America. Instead, faced with a less severe pandemic originating within North America, public health and border authorities were required to adapt the public health response to the newly emerging H1N1 pandemic, balancing the benefits of particular interventions with the potential for disrupting commerce and travel at U.S. borders. H1N1 has tested operational capabilities and planning efforts and highlighted the importance of pre-event planning and near real-time decision-making in an environment of uncertainty. Since the summer of 2009, U.S. and partner planning at designated air ports of entry have continued exploring the cost and benefits of a range of pandemic severity scenarios and potential actions for traveler screening. These scenarios will be explored and different options will be exercised during the coming year. This session will provide an overview of approaches to U.S. aviation entry screening policies and procedures as they relate to the broader picture of mitigating illness in the U.S., describe the actions taken and not taken at ports of entry during the H1N1 pandemic, and discuss future directions for state, local, and city public health partners for addressing ill travelers at ports of entry in their communities.

The Wild World of Public Health Laboratories: We Do More than Testing for Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Wednesday February 17th, 1:30 PM - 3:00 PM

Room: A706

Town Hall

Session Number: 480

This session will introduce attendees to the exciting and broad range of activities and partners that public health laboratories perform and work with during an emergency response. This session will be driven by audience participation and will begin with an introduction to the public health laboratories and bridge into an overview of the Association of Public Health Laboratories. This session will include examples of laboratories in action that will be presented from the local to the national scale, including, the lessons learned by the Milwaukee Health Department during the first wave of the H1N1; newborn screening continuity of operation planning during Hurricane Katrina; the recent E.coli outbreak in Toll House refrigerated cookie dough, and the letters filled with white powder that were sent to multiple U.S. governors and embassies.