Upcoming Satellite Broadcast:

Alternative Standards of Care in Disasters
March 26, 2009

12:00 - 1:30 p.m. (Central Time)
 

Emergency events require a population to adapt quickly to changing circumstances including an often limited scope of public health services. In such instances, alternative standards of care allow medical personnel to streamline and simplify the support process to preserve lives. Planning for emergencies requires incorporating alternative standards into the public health system, which involves utilizing the best combination of current technology and available resources to create a robust and reliable outcome. Prevention based management and broad based community planning across the wide range of interests and potentially responding agencies, is a critical step in establishing the plans and preparation needed to effectively execute alternative standards of care. This program will examine these issues in the context of the principle priority for American consequence management in disaster, the preservation of human life.

Upcoming Workshop:

Burn Evaluation and Care for Emergency Responders Course

Lincoln, AL - Friday, March 13, 2009

Huntsville, AL - Monday, March 16, 2009

*For registration and a full list of dates and locations please click here

This 8 hour course is intended for first responders and receivers including firefighters, emergency medical personnel, and nurses who would be the first to treat burn victims.  The Burn Evaluation and Care for Emergency Responders Course, adapted from the American Burn Association materials and trainings, introduces information relevant to the care of casualties from burn injuries.

For more information please contact Michael Poole at the UAB School of Public Health (Phone: (205) 934-7735; Email: mepoole@uab.edu)

New Online Courses Available:

Productive Communication Skills

This course is designed to provide you with the communication skills you will need to help you take the next step in your organization. After taking this course, you will be able to reach a positive outcome with those you supervise by understanding personal communication style differences, using turn-taking effectively, noticing facial expressions which may signal emotions, and maintaining an appropriate body posture when communicating. You will learn the preferred pace of the different styles, and how styles shift under stress. You will learn how to increase your productivity by identifying high payoff activities, handling conflicting priorities, and using your most productive time of day to your advantage. You will learn how to deal with difficult people by improving your listening skills and becoming a more persuasive person.

Special Needs Populations in Disaster Response

This course will discuss the basic principles which should underlie disaster consequence management, planning and appropriate actions within the action phases of disaster response.  It will focus on the saving of life and mitigation of injury for victims with special needs and vulnerabilities.  The discussion will examine how culture and religion are population characteristics which may be usefully considered in the context of special needs when designing and executing consequence management activities during a crisis.

The discussion will assist in identifying vulnerable populations in a community at risk and assess significant requirements and challenges inherent in their time-phased emergency support.  It will examine the tools required for lifesaving as well as those needed for broader consequence management which can be confidently employed.  It will also discuss the most effective manners of use for these tools.

Two Years Later: Continued Psychological Difficulties of First Responders and the Affected General Population

This course examines the continued psychological and adjustment issues in the population affected by Hurricane Katrina.  The impact of the disaster on the first responders to Katrina is also discussed.  The discussion is based on the current research regarding the present psychological status and personal experience of those affected by the hurricane.  NOTE:  This course was originally delivered as a satellite broadcast.

Understanding and Responding to the Needs of Children After Large-Scale Disasters

 As communities across the country are planning and preparing their response to large-scale disasters (natural, chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, explosive), special attention needs to be paid to populations considered at high-risk for negative consequences.  One of the highest risk groups is children.  By understanding the emotional needs of children in the face of these traumatic events, preparations can be made that will improve outcomes and promote resilience.

Disasters can leave children feeling frightened, confused, and insecure.  Whether a child has personally experienced trauma, has merely seen the event on television, or has heard it discussed by adults, it is important that healthcare professionals be informed and ready to help if reactions to stress begin to occur.

Children may respond to disasters by demonstrating fears, sadness, or behavioral problems.  Younger children may return to earlier behavior patterns, such as bedwetting, sleep problems, and separation anxiety.  Older children may also display anger, aggression, school problems, or withdrawal.  Some children who have only indirect contact with the disaster but witness it on television may develop distress.

This course will describe how children may respond to traumatic events, with a focus on CBRNE incidents.  Ideas for interventions, including a new model of Psychological First Aid will be presented.  Finally, recommendations for preparation considerations will be explored.  NOTE:  This course was originally delivered as a satellite broadcast.

Workshop In-Depth:

According to United States Fire Administration 2007 data, fire killed more Americans than all natural disasters combined. Approximately 10,000 people in the United States die every year because of infections that complicate burns. In an effort to contribute to improved response and overall outcomes for victims of fires, the University of Alabama at Birmingham's South Central Center for Public health Preparedness is providing 6 Burn Evaluation and Care for Emergency Responders courses in the state of Alabama in 2009. Developed by Dr. Ziad Kazzi of Emory University's Department of Emergency Medicine and Dr. James Cross of the University of Alabama at Birmingham's Burn Center, this one-day course introduces information relevant to the care of casualties from burn injuries.

While burn injuries are common in the United States, specialized burn centers often lack the capability to care for large numbers of burn victims. For this reason, improved initial evaluation, triage and management of burn injuries can significantly impact victim outcomes. These tasks are most commonly performed by emergency responders and first receivers (paramedics, nurses and physicians). This course will raise the overall burn care expertise among participants and prepare these individuals to respond to public health threats and burn related emergencies.

Material covers burns sustained from exposure to electrical current, caustic chemicals, sulfur mustard and radiological sources. Also included is a table top exercise that involves a practical session in which participants evaluate and design a management plan for a mannequin accompanied by a clinical scenario. There are two courses scheduled for March 2009. Registration is accessible from the link under Upcoming Workshops.

Other Training Opportunities:

Preparedness Minute Video

Preparedness Minutes are video clips describing actions to take in emergency situations, whether they are at work or at home.  Some of the videos will be reminders, others will present new information.  Ultimately these videos will help you be prepared for an emergency or disaster.  Below is the link to our latest clip on administering psychological first aid.

Watch Video

Third Public Health Certificate Program Has Launched

The South Central Public Health Partnership (SCPHP) is pleased to announce the launch of its third online certificate program in public health. The SCPHP certificate program provides a certificate of completion upon completion of all courses in a particular subject or focus area. The third series in the SCPHP certificate program is Bioterrorism Preparedness. There are 5 courses required for this program. This certificate program includes courses that provide training in bioterrorism preparedness and understanding the public health threat. Emergency providers that will be responding to bioterrorism events are also one of the focuses of this program. Course titles will be shown once you enroll to the certificate program. The Partnership is excited about this newest addition to our online training programs. For more information on how to register for the new certificate program, go to the user manual

**Note: Certificates of completion will be mailed once a month to individuals based on the address listed in the SCPHP Learning Management System. Enrollees in the certificate program are advised to check their address under Profile.

Disaster Management Program

A new program in Disaster Management is being offered by Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Environmental Health Sciences.  This program is offered both on campus and by distance learning through the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health (CAEPH).  Students may obtain either a graduate certificate or the full MPH in disaster management.  The Tulane CAEPH distance learning programs are geared to mid career professionals.  CAEPH uses state-of-the-art synchronous distance learning technologies to enhance learning and networking.  For more information, contact Albert Terrillion at DLinfo@tulane.edu or at 1-800-862-2122.

Other Online Courses Available:

Continuity of Operations Planning

The purpose of this course is to understand the management issues in disaster and its outcomes through examining the crisis cycle involved in risk audit, mitigation, preparedness planning, impact of the crisis event, response and recovery.  Exercises and discussion will be incorporated as part of the discussion of each of the crisis phases.

Mass Casualty Medical Command

This course is intended for pre-hospital care providers who may be called on to respond to a mass casualty incident when large numbers of victims are injured or exposed to a natural or man made disaster, including the intentional attack on people using a CBRNE agent.  The Incident Command System (ICS) including the use of unified command function will be followed to better prepare trainees how to respond with maximum effectiveness and establish medical command at a mass casualty event involving a single command structure or multi-agency/multi-jurisdictional response.

Quick Links:

Register Now!
South Central Public Health Partnership
Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine
University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health

Participants have 7 weeks to complete each course. A certificate of completion is awarded to those who score 70% or better on the knowledge-based assessment.

All courses are FREE. Sponsored by a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This email was sent to you because you have participated in a training offered by the South Central Public Health Partnership. These projects are supported under a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) grant number U90/CCU624254-02, and the Department of Health and Human Services Health Resources Administration (HRSA) grant number D20HP00012-07. The contents of this program are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the CDC.