SPH Preparedness Programs

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SPH Preparedness Programs

CENTERS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS NETWORK
PRE-EVENT MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT
PROJECT PUBLIC HEALTH READY

CENTERS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS NETWORK

The CDC-funded Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) is a national network of academic institutions working in collaboration with state and local public health departments and other community partners. Their mission is to meet national preparedness goals by providing life-long learning opportunities to the public health workforce, in order to handle the next public health crisis.

PRE-EVENT MESSAGE DEVELOPMENT

The following four Schools of Public Health (SPH) researched terrorist warning and response risk communication messages and researched their impact on various social groups, cultural, ethnic, and regional strata:

University of Alabama School of Public Health;
University of California at Los Angeles School of Public Health;
University of Oklahoma College of Public Health; and
Saint Louis University School of Public Health.

Based on this formative research, the four SPH developed and performed verification analyses on communication plans and materials for the general public relating to topics such as plague, botulism, radiological and chemical terrorism, and suicide bombings. These messages are important for saving lives, reducing unnecessary service utilization, facilitating relief efforts, and reducing anxiety among the general public.

(MATERIALS WILL BE POSTED WHEN AVAILABLE)

PROJECT PUBLIC HEALTH READY

Public Health Ready is a collaborative project between the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the Center for Health Policy at the Columbia University School of Nursing, the CDC, and the CPHP that focuses on partnership-building between local, state, and academic partners.

This program, established in 2003, aims to prepare the staff of local governmental public health agencies to respond and protect the public's health through a competency-based training and certification program. The program requires each site to achieve criteria in three key areas: emergency preparedness planning, workforce competency development, and demonstration of all-hazards readiness through exercise simulations.

Project Public Health Ready has completed two phases of pilot testing and has recognized 26 local health departments as "Public Health Ready." In October 2005, PPHR began the third phase of its pilot project with 20 sites, including 14 individual and six regional sites. During all three rounds, sites have collaborated with state health departments and Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) to achieve higher levels of emergency preparedness.

The following CPHP and sites partnered during Project Public Health Ready:

Partnering CPHP	Local Public Health Agency
Columbia University	Allentown City Health Bureau, Allentown, PA
Harvard University	Needham Health Department, Needham, MA Wellesley Health Department, Wellesley, MA Massachusetts Region 4B
University of Iowa	Cerro Gordo County Public Health Department Mason City, IA Lincoln Lancaster County Health Department Lincoln, NE
Johns Hopkins University	Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services Rockville, MD Prince George's County Health Department Largo, MD
Saint Louis University	City of Independence Health Department Independence, MO Kansas City Health Department Kansas City, MO Johnson County Health Department Olathe, KS
UC-Berkeley & UC- Los Angeles	Berkeley City Public Health Department Berkeley, CA
University of Illinois at Chicago	Allentown City Health Bureau Allentown, PA Winnebego County Health Department Rockford, IL Northern Illinois Public Health Consortium
University of Michigan	Berrien County Health Department, Benton Harbor, MI
University of Minnesota	Milwauke/Waukesha County Consortium for Emergency Public Health Preparedness WI
University of North Carolina	Metropolitan Public Health Department of Nashville and Davidson County Nashville, TN North Carolina Public Health Surveillance Team (Regional) Chapel Hill, NC
University of Oklahoma	Tarrant County Public Health Department Forth Worth, TX Tulsa City-County Health Department Tulsa, OK
University of Pittsburgh	Medical Center Allentown City Health Bureau Allentown, PA
University of South Carolina	South Carolina Department of Health & Environmental Control Region 7 Summerville, SC East Central Health District Augusta, GA
University of Washington	Thurston County Public Health and Social Services Department Olympia, WA Public Health-Seattle and King County Seattle, WA Idaho State Gallatin City-County Health Department Bozeman, MT Hill County Health Department Hill County, MT

For more information on the developments on this project, visit http://www.naccho.org/topics/emergency/pphr.cfm.

By reaching and teaching the public health workforce, the CPHP ensure a strong public health system when and where it is needed most.