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Best Practices – From Cookies to Countermeasures
The anthrax attacks in October 2001 were a wakeup call nationwide of America’s weakness to respond to a widespread biological terrorist incident. Since that time, local, state, and federal agencies have worked together to improve public health readiness to mass dispense medical countermeasures (MCM) at points-of-dispensing (PODs). Providing bulk dispensing to non-public (or “closed”) PODs is one methodology employed to expedite the distribution of MCM to the private sector. However, exercising bulk dispensing in a realistic environment can present numerous challenges. Finding non-traditional partners, such as the Girl Scouts of Central Maryland, provides a cost-effective and simple solution to reducing the artificialities of a functional exercise.
Vertical Collaboration for Widespread Health Threats
From infectious diseases to terrorist attacks, state and federal agencies must collaborate to
provide the most effective responses for large-scale public health events. New types of threats
continually emerge, terrorist tactics evolve, and environmental conditions change. Each of these factors
contributes to the complexities that emergency preparedness professionals must consider when preparing
for, mitigating, or responding to any threat.
Strengthening & Streamlining Federal Response Efforts
In a world of increasingly complex and dangerous threats facing the United States – threats such as emerging infectious diseases, terrorist organizations, state actors, and extreme weather events – the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) stands tall as a robust and reliable federal resource ready to respond. On 1 October 2018, in an effort to better align the stockpile with other federal medical countermeasure response efforts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) shifted oversight and operational control of the SNS from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to the HHS Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR).
The Seven and a Half Traits of the Ultimate Emergency Manager
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 a half traits discussed here describe the ultimate
emergency manager.
Animal Disease Response Tools for Disaster Recovery Efforts
Florence, the first major hurricane of the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early on the morning of 14 September 2018 at Wrightsville Beach in the vicinity of Wilmington, North Carolina, with wind gusts of up to 105 mph. As the forecasted path of Florence indicated direct impacts to North Carolina – and a declaration of emergency was issued 7 days before landfall – the animal agriculture industry and the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (NCDA&CS) began implementing emergency plans before the rain began. The NCDA&CS hurricane response structure was based on lessons learned during response to foreign animal disease outbreaks in the United States over the past several years, and was fine-tuned from experiences with Hurricane Matthew just two years prior.
Trending
Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…
Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…
Cost Analysis: Protecting the Grid and Electronics… Because modern societies are increasingly reliant on electronics, they are more vulnerable to the effects of an electromagnetic pulse event.…
Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…Trending
Cost Analysis: Protecting the Grid and Electronics… Because modern societies are increasingly reliant on electronics, they are more vulnerable to the effects of an electromagnetic pulse event.…Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons from Hurricane Helene Hurricanes in 2024 caused widespread damage to infrastructure, leading to a critical but often overlooked issue: isolation. Physical and technological…Emergency Management has Evolved: Why the… While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline.…Elevating Healthcare Emergency Preparedness… Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these…Domestic Preparedness Journal
Featured in this issue: Editor’s Note: Emergency Communications—Tough Lessons From the Maui Wildfires, by Catherine L. Feinman; Emergency Alerts: The Missing Link, by Rodrigo (Roddy) Moscoso; Hidden Barriers to Public Safety Interoperability, by Gabe Elias; AI Software in 911 Dispatch Centers: An Innovative Solution, by Tanya M. Scherr; A Systems Thinking Approach to Improving Emergency Communications, by William Chapman; Connectivity: The Foundation of Disaster Response and Preparedness, by Cory Davis; Know the Audience: Five Keys to Effective Communication, by Marc Hill; Bridging Communication Gaps: Lessons From Hurricane Helene, by Greg Hauser; A Regional Approach to Public Safety Communications Planning, by Charles (Charley) Bryson
Articles Out Loud
Article Out Loud – Not Lost in Translation: A Multilingual Corps Approach
May 14, 2025
Disaster survivors and responders often face psychological hazards like acute stress disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress. These issues are worsened
Article Out Loud – Physical and Mental Injuries in First Responders: Why Wait?
May 14, 2025
First responders undergo intense physical training to ensure they are physically prepared for emergencies. Yet despite the high-stress nature of
Preparing for & Responding to Disaster – A 2018 Review