Public Health Preparedness
9/11, anthrax, Hurricane Katrina, the Indian Ocean tsunami, bird flu, tainted spinach... This has been a time of great anxiety about real or potential disasters. The challenges to our public health preparedness systems are immense, and much responsibility falls on schools of public health to educate practioners, as well as students and the public, about how to prepare and cope.
The feature story in the Fall 2006 issue of Advances, the quarterly magazine of the School of Public Health at the University of Minnesota, describes the work that the SPH is doing in public health preparedness. Among the efforts mentioned:
- The University of Minnesota Center for Public Health Preparedness has CDC funding to "keep state and local public health professionals up to speed on preparing for terrorist attacks, infectious disease outbreaks, and other threats."
- The SPH has trained more than 12,000 frontline workers over 23 years: firefighters, police, food workers, and other first-responders.
- The SPH and the School of Nursing have a joint project to train 10,000 health care workers for "emergencies like a disease outbreak, natural disaster, hazardous materials spill, or bioterrorist attack."
- The UM Medical Reserve Corps was deployed to help with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and is training volunteers for a potential influenza pandemic.
- The SPH and the College of Veterinary Medicine are studying "the human-animal interface of avian influenza viruses."
- And much more...
Many of these efforts are overseen by Debra Olson, Associate Dean for Public Health Practice Education. According to the article,
Olson believes that there are two essential components to the success of the programs: collaboration and coordination. The school's strong collaborative ties to leaders in the workforce mean curriculum and research are relevant and up-to-date. And coordination within the school means preparedness trainings and practices aren't duplicated.
Collaboration with community partners and coordination within the university's programs: key aspects of any successful public engagement effort.