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

Case Study of Resilient Baton Rouge: Applying Depression Collaborative Care and Community Planning to Disaster Recovery.

BackgroundAddressing behavioral health impacts of major disasters is a priority of increasing national attention, but there are limited examples of implementation strategies to guide new disaster responses. We provide a case study of an effort being applied in response to the 2016 Great Flood in Baton Rouge.MethodsResilient Baton Rouge was designed to support recovery after major flooding by building local capacity to implement an expanded model of depression collaborative care for adults, coupled with identifying and responding to local priorities and assets for recovery. For a descriptive, initial evaluation, we coupled analysis of documents and process notes with descriptive surveys of participants in initial training and orientation, including preliminary comparisons among licensed and non-licensed participants to identify training priorities.ResultsWe expanded local behavioral health service delivery capacity through subgrants to four agencies, provision of training tailored to licensed and non-licensed providers and development of advisory councils and partnerships with grassroots and government agencies. We also undertook initial efforts to enhance national collaboration around post-disaster resilience.ConclusionOur partnered processes and lessons learned may be applicable to other communities that aim to promote resilience, as well as planning for and responding to post-disaster behavioral health needs

The Hospital’s role within a regional disaster response: A Comparison study of an urban hospital versus a rural hospital

The goal of this research is to evaluate the hospital\u27s role in a regional disaster response. It focuses on identifying the level of the hospital\u27s preparedness and its response to disasters and includes a comparison study between an urban and a rural hospital in New York state. The findings of this work show some differences between the urban and rural hospitals in terms of their capabilities and available resources and the effect of the community infrastructures on their preparedness. Both hospitals have similarities in the way participants view the hospital\u27s role during a regional disaster response. It is noted that the urban hospital has more resources, a better geographical location, staff, medical centers, equipment, and supply management

Human experience in the natural and built environment : implications for research policy and practice

22nd IAPS conference. Edited book of abstracts. 427 pp. University of Strathclyde, Sheffield and West of Scotland Publication. ISBN: 978-0-94-764988-3

Returns on Resilience: The Business Case

Real estate projects designed to withstand the effects of climate change can provide substantial returns on investment and an array of other benefits, according to this new report. Case studies from 10 leading resilience projects are highlighted, ranging from a Boston hospital built to withstand coastal storms to a residential community in San Antonio built to withstand the effects of intense heat and drought. Other communities with highlighted case studies include Queens, N.Y.; Miami, FL; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Nashville, TN; Tucson, AZ and Lancaster, CA.The study found an array of benefits from the climate-smart designs in addition to their strength against climate unpredictability. They include:Better energy efficiency. For example, multilayered impact-resistant windows save energy and reduce utility bills.Greater marketing, sales and leasing success driven by buyers' desires for well-built structures that will withstand harsh conditions and keep their value longer.Better financing options and lower insurance rates based on the reduced risk from resilient and hardened structures