OEP Newsletter April 20, 2005

In this issue:

Editor’s comment: We asked for your articles and you gave us plenty. Many thanks for your contributions.

This issue of OEP Newsletter spotlights upcoming education and training opportunities via conferences, courses, satellite conferences, a brochure and online training.

Upcoming Conferences

MDH public health lab delivers preparedness conference

The MDH Public Health Laboratory Emergency Preparedness and Response Unit are delivering one day emergency preparedness conferences to clinical laboratorians throughout the state. One conference will be held in each of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) regions, and three sessions will be held in the metro region. Each conference is being planned with the help of the Lab HRSA Advisory Group Member from each HRSA region.

The conference includes lectures and an interactive tabletop exercise. Materials will provide participants with information on potential agents that could be used in a biological or chemical incident, explore issues surrounding the functions and tasks of clinical laboratories during an emergency, and outline the role of clinical laboratories in the national Laboratory Response Network (LRN).

Ten conferences are planned for this endeavor. Attendance was high at the three previous conferences. For more information, contact Randy Graham at 612-676-5006.

Emergency Preparedness in Tribal Communities – Revised Agenda

The Northwest region is hosting a conference titled “Emergency Preparedness in Tribal Communities” on April 27, 2005 at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, MN. In response to the recent tragedy in Red Lake, the agenda for the conference has been revised. The day will begin by honoring the Red Lake Nation and all the responders who have shown such strength and courage throughout this tragedy. The morning session will also include a panel discussion titled “Lessons Learned and Things to Think About at the Local and Regional Levels.” Other presentations will focus on various aspects of emergency preparedness and response.

Psychological First Aid

The Central region is offering a Psychological First Aid train-the-trainer workshop to Local Public Health staff on April 28-29, 2005 in Little Falls, MN.

Metro Region HRSA BHPP Conference

The Metro Region HRSA BHPP is announcing a conference June 1, 2005, at the Northland Inn (Brooklyn Park) for the Emergency / Disaster Response: Behavioral Health Interventions 2005. This training will be sponsored by HRSA BHPP Grant funds.

Dr. Jeff Lating, from Maryland, will be speaking for our morning session. He will be speaking on issues relating to behavioral health response during a disaster.

The afternoon will be committed to the local perspective. Allowing time to hear incident debriefings and to discuss, dialogue, and strategize for further planning and training.

This full day of training will be available for a $45.00 conference fee. Continued education credits will be applied for. So please pass on the general information. We plan to get the brochure out as soon as possible. Please feel free to forward this information.

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Other trainings

The Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety offers the following courses. For more information on these trainings, please call 612-626-4515 or email cpheo@umn.edu. All courses are held at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, unless noted otherwise.

May 2-3, 2005 Homeland Security

This two-day course is designed for all emergency preparedness specialists, planners, coordinators, as well as industry representatives interested in developing a system to respond to natural or terroristic events. This course is of particular interest to occupational health and hospital-based professionals responsible for developing their organization's Emergency Response Plan (ERP)

May 20, 2005 Incident Management System Awareness

The Incident Management System is an organized method to manage operations at an emergency incident. The Minnesota Incident Management System (MIMS) has been adopted by various agencies as a model program because of its demonstrated effectiveness in managing incidents, based on an all-hazards approach. This four-hour program is designed as an overview of portions of MIMS.

May 23-June 10, 2005 2005 Public Health Institute

During three weeks, courses are offered for continuing education or academic credit. Visit the 2005 Public Health Institute website for more information. Courses are offered in the following concentration areas:

  • Occupational Health & Safety
  • Public Health Preparedness, Response & Recovery
  • Food Safety & Biosecurity
  • Public Health Leadership
  • Culturally Responsive Public Health Leadership
  • Infectious Disease Epidemiology
  • Maternal Child Health & Nutrition
  • Evaluation Methods
  • Applied Biostatistics

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May 6, 2005, 12-1:30 p.m.
Psychological Sequelae (conditions) of Weapons of Mass Destruction on First Responders

This program will address the effects of weapons of mass destruction on this group of civil servants and will also introduce common post disaster mental health problems and review data on principles and practices for intervention. We will look at the impact of the use of these types of weapons on the men and women in the front lines and on their families.

For more information go to: http://www.adph.org/alphtn/405emotionalflyer.pdf

May 25, 2005, 1-2:00 p.m.
National Incident Management System South Central Center for Public Health Preparedness

Live Response is the product of an interagency program effort from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), bringing together the Office for Domestic Preparedness (ODP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Emergency Education NETwork (EENET).

The National Response Plan (NRP) is an all-discipline, all-hazards plan that establishes a single, comprehensive framework for the management of domestic incidents. Live Response explains the structure and mechanisms for the coordination of Federal support to State, local, and tribal incident managers, and for exercising direct Federal authorities and responsibilities.

June 8, 2005, 1-2:00 p.m.
Recovery From Attack: Diversity in Approach and Technique

Weapons of Mass Destruction and Biological Terrorism demands a unique set of knowledge, skills, and equipment. This program will highlight the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) recovery activities in three very different venues, including the Columbia disaster.

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Emergency Preparedness Training Highlights

Here are additional trainings and educational materials for your information:

Road to Resilience

This brochure provides awareness level information for behavioral (mental) health preparedness.

Overview

How do people deal with difficult events that change their lives? The death of a loved one, loss of a job, serious illness, terrorist attacks and other traumatic events: these are all examples of very challenging life experiences. Many people react to such circumstances with a flood of strong emotions and a sense of uncertainty.

Yet people generally adapt well over time to life-changing situations and stressful conditions. What enables them to do so? It involves resilience, an ongoing process that requires time and effort and engages people in taking a number of steps.

This brochure is intended to help readers with taking their own road to resilience. The information within describes resilience and some factors that affect how people deal with hardship. Much of the brochure focuses on developing and using a personal strategy for enhancing resilience.

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Incident Management System

This online training takes a little over one hour.

Overview

This module was created in collaboration with the Office of Emergency Preparedness at the Minnesota Department of Health. It is intended to provide an opportunity for the application of previously learned Incident Management System concepts to public health-based scenarios.

At the end of this module, users should be able to:

  • List the elements of an effective Incident Management System
  • Describe the various roles of those involved in Incident Management
  • Describe the potential roles of the public health professional in Incident Management
  • Apply principles of Incident Management to a designated public health scenario
  • Describe how public health roles in Incident Management System might be utilized within their own agency.

There are four parts to this module:

  • Introduction (5 minutes)
  • How IMS Works (15 minutes)
  • Command Staff (15 minutes)
  • General Staff (30 minutes)

Self-assessment quizzes after each module take about 5 minutes each.

Terrorism Preparedness and Public Health, an Introduction

This six module on-line course will provide public health, hospital, EMS, fire and law enforcement personnel with an introduction to biological, chemical, and radiological public health preparedness. Certificate of Attendance, Continuing Medical Education – Category 1 and Continuing Education Units will be offered.

Overview

The University at Albany Center for Public Health Preparedness offers an introductory-level, on-line course focused on the public health preparedness education needed by health and emergency personnel in preparation for response to large-scale events of a biological, chemical or radiological nature. At the end of this course, public health workers will be competent to describe the public health role in emergency response in a range of potential or possible emergencies and to recognize unusual events that might indicate an emergency and describe appropriate action. A minor focus is the chain of command in emergency response. Several activities are designed to help the learner identify personal limits of knowledge and direct the learner to useful resources when these limits have been exceeded.

Course Outline

  • Introduction to Bioterrorism and Biological Security
  • Epidemiology, Surveillance, Detection and Identification
  • Biological Agents as Weapons
  • Chemical and Industrial Agents as Weapons
  • Radiological Weapons
  • Community Planning and Public Health Preparedness

Course Objectives

  • Describe the public health role in emergency response to a range of emergencies.
  • Recognize unusual events that might indicate an emergency.
  • Describe appropriate reactions to biological, chemical, and radiological events.
  • Describe how the science of epidemiology is used in outbreak investigations.
  • Defend the use of a predefined organizational structure (e.g., the Incident Command System) to assist in managing emergency events

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Psycho-Social Aspects of Catastrophic Disasters, Preparing Healthcare Professionals for New Challenges in the Medical Arena

On June 1 and 2, 2005, the Homeland Defense Training Conference® will sponsor the Psycho-Social Aspects of Catastrophic Disasters at the Washington Convention Center in Washington DC. This conference will bring together leading national experts in the fields of psychiatry, psychology, medical planning and disaster preparedness in order to help federal, state, local and private stakeholders become better informed and, ultimately, help shape their organization’s role in medical preparedness and consequence management.

Topics include:

  • How to plan for and manage the mental health aspects of catastrophic disasters
  • Concepts in mental health patient management
  • "Managing the Message:" Public Affairs consideration in managing large-scale, stressful events
  • Application of best practices
  • Strategies and tactics
  • Federal agency plans, programs, new initiatives, and new business models for implementation
  • New tools, techniques, and procedures
  • Successes and Lessons-learned, including experience gained during the ongoing Global War on Terrorism and the Tsunami Disaster
  • New opportunities and management strategies - what is on the drawing board?
  • New rules, new policies

Registration fee

  • Government: $495 per person
  • Small Business: $495 per person
  • Industry: $695 per person

2005 Funds for Community Treatment and Services Centers

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today announced the availability of FY 2005 funds for community treatment and services centers under the National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative. These grants will promote the local use of best practices for children and adolescents who have experienced trauma.

It is expected that approximately $7.6 million will be available to fund approximately 19 grants that will be used to improve treatment and services for all children and adolescents in the United States who have experienced traumatic events. The average annual award amount will range from $400,000 per year for up to four years. The actual award amount may vary, depending on the availability of funds. The grants will be administered by SAMHSA’s Center for Mental Health Services.

Who can apply: Eligible applicants include domestic public and private nonprofit entities such as community-based organizations, out-patient clinics, faith-based organizations, public or private universities, psychiatric or general hospitals, units of state or local governments, federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations and partnerships of multiple clinical centers, programs and/or community service providers.

How to apply: Applications for No. SM-05-006 is available by calling SAMHSA’s clearinghouse at 1-800-789-2647, or by downloading the application from Grants.gov or from this web site. The grant announcement is a modified version of an earlier funding announcement. Applicants are encouraged to apply on-line.

Application due date: May 17, 2005

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Updated Monday, 22-Nov-2010 09:12:11 CST