Iowa Health Focus, August 2006

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Healt

What are Some Best HR Practices in Response to Natural Disasters in Terms of Training and Communication?

Today’s world is defined by, among other characteristics, borderless and unconventional threats, global challenges, and fast-paced change. HR has not been initially designed to organize or oversee crisis management. However HR’s role in training and development can contribute to an organization’s overall crisis management capacity, as well as to effective crisis communication in particular. Studies show that crisis-prepared companies have fewer crises to grapple with, stay in business longer and fare better in financial terms

Dietz, Elizabeth Liz Oshry

CSU Fresno State, School Nurse Credential, CSN 2019 University of San Francisco, Education - Curriculum & Instruction, Ed.D. 1985 Boston University, Nursing - Community Health, MSN 1974 Cornell University, School of Nursing, BSN 1969 Westbrook College, Liberal Arts, AA 1965https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/erfa_bios/1285/thumbnail.jp

Pandemic Flu Preparedness: Lessons From the Frontlines

Outlines early lessons from the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak and recommendations for strengthening the U.S. core public health capacity, including vaccine stockpile and development, planning and coordination, infrastructure, and surge capacity and care

Access Update, June 2011

Monthly newsletter for the Iowa Department of Public Healt

The Global Health Law Trilogy: Towards a Safer, Healthier, and Fairer World

Global health advocates often turn to medicine and science for solutions to enduring health risks, but law is also a powerful tool. No state acting alone can ward off health threats that span borders, requiring international solutions. A trilogy of global health law—the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, International Health Regulations (2005), and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework—strives for a safer, healthier, and fairer world. This article critically reviews this global health law trilogy. These international agreements are not well understood, and contain gaps in scope and enforceability. Moreover, major health concerns remain largely unregulated at the international level, such as non-communicable diseases, mental health, and injuries. The article promotes the lessons learned from 21st century international health law, which are that broad scope, robust compliance, inclusion of public and private actors, and sustainable financing are essential to success. It further explores the notion that in an age of nationalistic populism, collective action remains vital to ameliorate globalized health threats, helping realize the right to health. Reforms to the “trilogy” of global health laws are necessary to assure success and provide a critical roadmap for the World Health Organization’s next Director-General. The article concludes by calling on the new WHO D-G to take additional action toward a safer, healthier and fairer world by pushing for novel global health laws on major health hazards, including noncommunicable diseases, mental health and injuries, and new initiatives such as universal health care

Operation Wasatch: Scenario Based Planning to Assess the Cold Weather Preparedness of the National Disaster Medical System

Background: The National Disaster Medical System has little experience with sustained mission operations under anything other than temperate environmental conditions. Extreme weather events increase the complexity of disaster response by presenting significant logistic, operational, and safety challenges. Identifying gaps and vulnerabilities in response capabilities can promote improved Disaster Medical Assistance Team preparedness. Methods: This discussion based exercise utilized a scenario involving a 7.0 magnitude earthquake along the Wasatch Fault in winter. This exercise was conducted with members of the Wisconsin-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team. Team members provided oral and written feedback in response to exercise objectives and prompts. This feedback was supplemented with input from the Operations Section Chief and Logistics Section Chief at the organizational level. Results: Respondents identified a high level of confidence in their ability to respond to a disaster of this magnitude under winter conditions. Gaps and vulnerabilities in preparedness were identified in equipment, supply chain, responder readiness, and resources. Conclusions: The discussion based exercise provided a direct examination of current perceived response capabilities. The data gathered provides a compelling justification for the additional assessment of NDMS preparedness, both internally and independently. By identifying gaps and vulnerabilities in response capabilities, the exercise identifies areas for improvement in training, equipment, and supplies. Additionally, the project promotes more rigorous benchmarks that, at present, are ill-defined

Haiti Earthquake January 2010: What Actions and Policies Can the Government of Haiti Implement to Improve Emergency Management Response

In 2010, Haiti experienced a devastating earthquake that destroyed much of its capital city and the governmental offices that should have guided the response to the disaster. This research focuses on how Haiti can benefit from the Caribbean Disaster Management Agency’s standards for disaster resilience as it works to recover from the earthquake. Unfortunately, Haiti has long been dependent on assistance from non-governmental organizations due to its extreme poverty; its recovery is complicated by the need to integrate disaster assistance and on-going economic and social assistance into its development of a more resilient society

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public's Health From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism, 2011

Highlights examples of preparedness programs and capacities at risk of federal budget cuts or elimination, examines state and local public health budget cuts, reviews ten years of progress and shortfalls, and outlines policy issues and recommendations

The Business Case for Community Paramedicine: Lessons from Commonwealth Care Alliance's Pilot Program

Mobile integrated health care and community paramedicine (MIH-CP) programs expand the role of traditional emergency medical services personnel to address non-emergency needs and bring outpatient primary and urgent care into patients' homes. These programs offer potential for reducing health care costs, eliminating unecessary emergency department use, and shifting service back to community-based and home settings. Between 2014 and 2015, the Massachusetts-based Commonwealth Care Alliance (CCA) piloted a community paramedicine prgoram, Acute Community Care (ACC), to serve its members in the Greater Boston area.This brief summarizes ACC's business case assessment, which showed that increasing patient volume after the pilot period would reuslt in net savings given the progam's success in averting unnecessary emergency care. By illustrating cost considerations for an expansion of MIH-CP services, this brief may inform the design and sustainability planning of other MIH-CP programs. The business case assessment was conducted by Mathematica Policy Research through support from the Center for Health Care Strategies' Complex Care Innovation Lab, a Kaiser Permanente Community Benefit-funded initiative