Trauma Lessons Learned From a School Shooting
Robert C. Hutchinson
December 26, 2018
At the end of the school day on 14 February 2018, a former student entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) in Parkland, Florida, and committed a mass murder on the campus that forever changed numerous lives and an entire community. During the attack, 17 students and staff were killed and another 17 were injured. Approximately 3,500 students and staff were not physically injured, but most definitely affected by the active shooter attack.
Building a Healthy & Resilient Community
Catherine L. Feinman
December 26, 2018
A healthy community is a resilient community. From pandemic threats to school shootings, crisis
events continue to affect the health and wellbeing of the surrounding human population long after the
crisis ends. These health effects can then weaken a community’s ability to cope with future disasters.
As such, physical, psychological, environmental, and technological factors all play key roles in
determining how well a community prepares for, mitigates, responds to, and recovers from a disaster.
Gene Drives – An Emerging Terrorist Threat
Richard Schoeberl
December 19, 2018
Conventional acts of terrorism will likely never fade away, and advancements in technology will continually raise concerns for governments and global security practitioners. The increasing threat and possibility of chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE) use is evolving. Terrorist groups are actively seeking materials and the expertise to manufacture and utilize those materials in future operations. One of the frontiers in terrorism today involves a developing technology known as “gene drives.”
Hurricanes & Islands – One Year Later
Andrew R. Roszak and Chance Lindner
December 19, 2018
During September 2017, two major Category 5 hurricanes impacted the U.S. Virgin Islands. More than one year later, the scope, scale, and magnitude of Hurricanes Irma and Maria are still being felt. The three islands that make up the U.S. Virgin Islands – St. Thomas, St. Croix, and St. John – suffered prolonged critical infrastructure shortages and failures in the aftermath of the storms. A lack of reliable access to electricity and water compounded challenges as the islands sought to recover from a hurricane season that caused an estimated $282.27 billion in damage and claimed over 3,300 lives.
Environmental Health – Profoundly Local & Profoundly Useful
David T. Dyjack
December 12, 2018
Nutrition, community resilience, and poverty are just a few factors that are of great importance to public health professionals, which include representatives for maternal and child health, preparedness, nutrition, epidemiology, and land use planning, among others. However, the second largest segment of the public health workforce – the environmental health (EH) profession – bridges the gaps within the public health discipline as well as between public health and other disciplinary sectors.
Combating Pandemic Threats – Global Health Security Agenda
Gary Flory
December 5, 2018
On 6-8 November 2018, global health leaders from around the globe met in Bali, Indonesia, for the 5th Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting. At the meeting, the GHSA launched a five-year plan to address health security issues called GHSA 2024 and U.S. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Eric Hargan reaffirmed U.S. support for the GHSA with a pledge of $150 million. This global efforts and this commitment of resources to strengthen the capacity to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases are clearly needed.