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EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES ARCHIVES

Governmental Laboratories: Protecting the Public’s Health

The Annual Meeting of the Association of Public Health Laboratories hosted more than 500 participants who share the common goal of improving public health efforts and laboratory preparedness. Through workshops and online resources, people from multiple disciplines can learn more about the role of public health laboratories in detecting and

Promoting Food Security in Disaster Relief Situations

In 2011, 14.9 percent of U.S. households (17.9 million households) were “food insecure,” according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s study, Household Food Security in the United States in 2011. Those numbers equate to slightly more than 50 million Americans living in food-insecure households: 33.5 million adults and almost 17

Early Detection of Zoonotic Emerging Infectious Diseases

In 2009, the H1N1 pandemic strain of influenza served as a dramatic wake-up call for biosurveillance experts around the world. Despite major advances in domestic and global surveillance capabilities, H1N1 was spreading rapidly across the United States long before a vaccine could be developed, tested, and mass-produced in time to

Counter-Agroterrorism 101

Some biological agents – anthrax and ricin, for example – can be used as weapons against human targets; others specifically attack animals and food crops. Both types of attack, though, can have devastating effects on the economy and on the morale and overall wellbeing of a nation. To mitigate these

FINAL REPORT: BIODEFENSE – The Threat, the Cost & the Priority

The biothreat topic is important not only for the actual risk of attack, but also the perceived risk. To be sufficiently prepared, a balance must be reached – for security, technology, and situational awareness. This report addresses various key components of biodefense – the threats, the costs, and the priorities.

Food Safety: An Emergency Manager’s Perspective

Emergency management is an evolving discipline that requires a progressive emergency manager to fulfill new and expanding requirements for success. Successful leaders in this field follow a systematic problem-solving process and excel at coordinating multiple agencies and information sources rather than simply being experts in one subject. The seven and

Protecting the Milk Supply During a Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak

With thousands of farms and millions of cattle scattered across the United States, regulators, dairy producers, and veterinarians strive to protect the nation’s food supply, including the milk supply chain from cow to breakfast table. Emergency preparedness planners, therefore, must work with agricultural suppliers to protect milk and other food

The Boston Bombings – Redefining Shelter in Place

When a bomb explodes, a biological or chemical agent is released, or an active shooter is at large, time is of the essence. In some situations, having residents shelter in place, although costly and inconvenient, may be the fastest and only way to stop the perpetrator and reduce the number

Protecting Water, Diluting Threats, Saving Lives

Water, water everywhere, and all of it fit to drink. Reservoirs supply drinking water to communities throughout the United States. Protecting such a large area, including the surrounding land, poses many challenges and raises red flags when unauthorized visitors come too close.

Lessons Learned From Katrina Pay Off in Response to Sandy

From military “takeover” to a “win-win” situation for states affected by natural disasters: The U.S. Department of Defense used the lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina to develop new tactics – and used them creatively when assisting the response and recovery efforts in New Jersey and New York in the wake

Incident Command for Natural Disasters: A Natural Fit

In February 2003, President George W. Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5 (HSPD-5), which directed the establishment of a National Incident Management System (NIMS). That directive mandated, among other things, the adaptation and adoption of an Incident Command System (ICS) as a core component of the NIMS. As

Fortifying the Financial Infrastructure

There is no way to prevent weather disasters from happening, but advance planning, frequent training drills and exercises, and rapid communications can save lives and reduce damage to infrastructure. Under the “Homeowner” bill, that same combination of managerial tools can also be used to reduce the response and recovery costs

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