Twin Cities Metro Advanced Practice Center Overview Advanced Practice Center Roadshow August 11-12, 2009 Albuquerque, New Mexico Brian R. Golob, M.S., C.H.M.M., R.E.H.S

Agenda Perspective on EH Emergency Preparedness Overview of Products

Twin Cities Metro APC Collaborative approach exclusively for EH emergency preparedness Currently in 5 th year of funding Focus on: –Practical and Useful Products –Building EH Capacity

Disaster Denial Paradigm It isnt going to happen. If it happens, it will not be as bad as they said it would be. If it happens, and it is as bad as they said, it will not happen to me. If it happens and it is as bad as they said, and it happens to me, then someone has planned for it and is coming to help.

In the Beginning… Tracked Down Many Interesting Web Sites Never Found an EH Emergency Response Plan Realized that Roles & Responsibilities for EHP were not Defined Training Materials were Lacking

Why Are We Concerned Natural & man-made emergencies/ disasters can occur anywhere and frequently do Incidents can affect human health, lives and the infrastructure that supports society

List of Hazards-Natural Hurricane Earthquake Tsunami Avalanche Volcanic Eruption Landslide Fires Tornado Flood Severe Wind Storm Severe Winter Storm Hail Storm Drought Extreme heat

List of Hazards- Man-made or Technological Dam or Bridge Failure Power Outage/Failure Infectious Disease Transportation Accidents Terrorist Conventional Bomb Chemical Terrorism Contaminated Water Supply Contaminated Food Supply Hazardous Material Incident Radiological Incident Biological Terrorism Nuclear Detonation Cyber Terrorism

Defining Key Terms Hazard is any phenomenon that has the potential to cause damage to humans and their environment Emergency is not a disaster in itself, but an event requiring immediate response Disaster overwhelms the affected community and requires outside assistance

Emergency or Disaster

Principles of Environmental Health Promote health and quality of life Protect the public from environmental hazards Protect the environment from contamination

Environmental Health Skills Assessment Management Communication

General Environmental Health Emergency Response Actions Primary responsibility for the health of a community Includes basic services such as food safety, water supply, shelter, sanitation & waste management

Immediate Environmental Health Emergency Response Actions A rapid initial qualitative assessment to collect information needed to begin an appropriate and timely response

Specific EH Functional or Topic Areas Food/waterborne outbreak investigation Water safety & supply Food safety Sanitation Mass care Vector control Solid waste Worker Safety/PPE Hazardous waste Household hazardous waste Medical/infectious waste Chemical incident Radiological incident Flood Tornado/wind damage

Twin Cities Metro Advance Practice Center Products Training for EHP Food Readiness EH Planning & Practice

Target Audience Environmental Health Directors, Managers, Supervisors Public health staff responsible for environmental health programs Front line staff with years of experience and those who are new in the field

Unintended Audiences Other professionals: fire, police, nurses, doctors, emergency management and haz mat responders Many people do not know or realize what EH brings to the table They gained an understanding of the role that EHP would have in a disaster/emergency

Overview of Products: EH Training Emergency Preparedness and Response Fundamentals & Putting Principles into Practice (2005) (Available as a CD and on-line) Disaster Strikes-Environmental Health Responds: Stories from the Field (2007) (Available as a CD and on-line)

Emergency Preparedness and Response Fundamentals & Putting Principles into Practice Lesson 1: Overview of EH Principles Lesson 2: Communicating as a Key Role for EH Professionals Lesson 3: Responding to Emergencies/Disasters Lesson 4: Minimizing Health Implications

Emergency Preparedness and Response Fundamentals & Putting Principles into Practice (Cont.) Three Real World Disasters Scenario # 1 – Elemental Hg Scenario # 2 – Train Derailment Anhydrous Ammonia Release Scenario # 3 – F5 Tornado

Disaster Strikes – Environmental Health Responds: Stories from the Field Interviewed 22 EHP across the country Learned how they dealt with 9 disasters & 1 emergency They shared valuable tips, techniques and lessons learned Experience is a powerful teacher Focused on 8 EH Core Competencies

Disaster Strikes – Environmental Health Responds (Cont.) Organizational Knowledge & Behavior Collaboration Information Gathering Data Analysis Problem Solving Reporting, Documentation, and Record Keeping Communication Education

Overview of Products: Food Readiness Emergency Handbook for Food Managers includes a readiness guide and photo lessons (2005) (Available as a hardcopy, CD and PDF in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hmong & Somali)

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) Information sheet titled Who to Contact in an Emergency (Released 2005 & Revised 2006). (Available as a hardcopy and PDF in English) Police Dept. Local Health Dept. Insurance Carrier Local Utility Governmental Agency for Chemical Spill/Release Well Water Disinfection Potable Water Supply Waste Mgt Assistance

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) Emergency Readiness for Food Workers Trainer Guide (2006) ( Available as a hardcopy and PDF in English)

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) Information sheet titled In an Emergency: Discard or Salvage ( 2005) * Information sheet titled In an Emergency: Equipment & Supplies List for Food Service (2005) * * PDFs in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hmong, Laotian, Oromo, Russian, Somali & Vietnamese

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) Food Safety and Security Self Audit Checklist (2007)* * PDFs in English, Spanish, Arabic, Chinese, Hmong, Laotian, Oromo, Russian, Somali & Vietnamese

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) 2005 Baseline Survey on Emergency Preparedness at Twin Cities Metro Food Service Establishments (Available in hardcopy and archived at NACCHO) 2007 Benchmark Survey on Emergency Preparedness at Twin Cities Metro Food Service Establishments (Work in Progress)

Overview of Products: Food Readiness (Cont.) Clarifies Best Practices Includes Food Security and Emergency Preparedness

Overview of Products: EH Planning & Practice Solid Waste Management and Highly Pathogenic H5N1 Avian Influenza Virus Decision Tree Guidance Document (Released 2007) (Available in hardcopy and on CD)

Overview of Products: EH Planning & Practice (Cont.) Environmental Health Emergency Response Guide

Overview of Products: EH Emergency Response Guide (Cont.) Describe general and specific response actions that EH personnel would be responsible for in a disaster/emergency Each topical area includes: Introduction Emergency Response Objectives Priority Activities Practical Guidance Information

Overview of Products: EH Emergency Response Guide (Cont.) Food/waterborne outbreak investigation Water safety & supply Food safety Sanitation Mass care Vector control Solid waste Worker Safety/PPE Hazardous waste Household hazardous waste Medical/infectious waste Chemical incident Radiological incident Flood Tornado/wind damage

Overview of Products: EH Planning & Practice (Cont.) Environmental Health Resource Compendium for Emergency Response

Overview of Products: EH Planning & Practice (Cont.) Hennepin County EH Emergency Response Plan St. Paul-Ramsey County EH Standard Operating Procedures Annex

Sneak Preview Special Event Planning Toolkit Community Engagement Food Protection/EP Tool Kit EH Emergency Preparedness Planning Toolkit Disaster Simulation Training Module or Game

Special Event Planning Toolkit Planning process guidance Training materials Training program guidance Inspection process and form Communication protocol/reporting template Mutual-aid agreement and staff identification Tool for estimating agency resource

Community Engagement Food Protection/EP Tool Kit For local EH agencies to use Engage food service establishments Increase the capacity of food managers and front-line food workers to protect the food supply

EH Emergency Preparedness Toolkit Package a tool for EH Managers Ensure that EH Plan is in place EH Staff are oriented to the plan & available resources

Disaster Simulation Training Module or Game Describe the role of EHP in a disaster Make informed and sound decisions related to preparation, response and recovery efforts Addresses a flood and a train derailment

Brian R. Golob, M.S.,C.H.M.M., R.E.H.S