THE NEW JERSEY CENTER FOR PUBLIC HEALTH PREPAREDNESS AT UMDNJ
UMDNJ - SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

NJCPHP News PHlash

APRIL 24 2006 - MAY 5 2006

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] State, nursing homes seek compromise on evacuations- AP (4/26/06)
[2] Congress, White House divided over rebuilding FEMA- Washington Post (4/28/06)
[3] New Orleans disaster plan: Get out of town- CNN (5/2/06)
[4] Chaos feared in pandemic flu plan -AP (5/3/06)
[5] New Jersey close, but not quite set on severe flu outbreak- AP (5/3/06)

II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] Multi-Casualty Terror Events- Israeli Lessons Learned (5/8/06)
[2] Ethical Hazards in Pandemic Flu Planning and Response (5/11/06)
[3] New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference (5/11/06 and 5/12/06)
[4] US DOT 2006 Multimodal Hazardous Materials Training Seminar (5/16/06 and 5/17/06)
[5] Third International Meeting on Information Systems for Crisis Management and Response (5/14-17/06)
[6] Hostility and Rage Management (HARM) In Public Health Emergencies (5/25/06 and 5/30/06)
[7] Save the date: The Real Story: Communicating through a Crisis (6/8/06)

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America
[2] Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza
[3] Governor Corzine names Director of Homeland Security and Preparedness
[4] Avian Influenza Response from USAID
[5] The Nursing Center for Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases Preparedness- Online Course Offerings

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS:
[1] State, nursing homes seek compromise on evacuations- AP (4/26/06) Louisiana's nursing homes and state health officials are debating who should be responsible for moving elderly patients out of harm's way when a storm approaches. The nursing homes are calling for the state to take total responsibility from the time an evacuation is ordered, but Gov. Kathleen Blanco's health department wants nursing homes to be primarily in charge.
Plans that nursing homes had on file when Hurricane Katrina hit didn't work. Transportation companies didn't show, and nursing home employees left their jobs, abandoning patients. About 70 people died during or directly after the evacuation, according to the State Department of Health and Hospitals. Others died as they "sheltered in place" to weather the storm. http://www.katc.com/Global/story.asp?S=4821855

[2] Congress, White House divided over rebuilding FEMA- Washington Post (4/28/06)
Senator Susan Collins and Senator Joseph Lieberman released 86 recommendations from the panel's forthcoming report, "Hurricane Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared." The eight-month, bipartisan investigation's central finding is that FEMA should be replaced by a new National Preparedness and Response Authority. Its head would report to the secretary of Homeland Security but serve as the president's top adviser for national emergency matters, akin to the military role played by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The new agency would recombine disaster preparedness and response activities, reclaim power over billions of dollars of state and local grants, gain responsibility for securing critical infrastructure, and restore an emphasis on natural, as well as terrorist, threats. Those functions and approaches were dispersed or downgraded by the Bush administration as FEMA was merged into DHS.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/27/AR2006042701 229.html

[3] New Orleans disaster plan: Get out of town- CNN (5/2/06) New Orleans officials detailed a new disaster-preparedness plan on that depends more on evacuation by bus and train and won't use the Superdome and Convention Center as shelters. Mayor Ray Nagin and New Orleans Homeland Security Director Col. Terry Ebbert said the plan will prevent a repeat of the major disaster that happened when Katrina slammed the city last year. "We think
that we have come a long way," Ebbert said. An evacuation would be ordered at least 30 hours before landfall of any hurricane of Category 2 strength or higher, with a curfew imposed after the evacuation," Nagin said. http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/05/02/hurricane.plan/index.html
To read the plan: http://www.cityofno.com/Portals/Portal46/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=38

[4] Chaos feared in pandemic flu plan-AP (5/3/06) The White House released their plan for dealing with flu pandemic. It warns that the federal government won't be able to bail out communities reeling from illness and economic upheaval, and calls on businesses and individuals to take steps now to keep vital services running. The updated plan stresses basic human needs such as medical care and food, but doesn't address some major hurdles how to meet those needs if massive absenteeism stops transportation by closing oil refineries, or crashes the Internet so workers can't telecommute. At the plan's core: stockpiling enough bird-flu vaccine for 20 million people, plus anti-flu medications and other key medical supplies, to provide some protection while manufacturers race to brew a pandemic-specific inoculation.
The report's big message: "Local communities will have to address the medical and
non-medical impacts of the pandemic with available resources."
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory?id=1920549&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

[5] New Jersey close, but not quite set on severe flu outbreak- AP (5/3/06) New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine said, "We're not as far along as we want," in terms of the state's preparedness for a severe flu outbreak. The governor and state police, homeland security, health and agriculture officials played out how the state would react to a pandemic flu that spreads across the world and into New Jersey. Corzine said the test run showed state officials needed to improve plans not only to communicate with the public, but among themselves during an outbreak. He also said the exercise highlighted how the state needs its own bird flu testing facilities.
http://www.nj.com/newsflash/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-20/1146666851211040. xml&storylist=jersey

II. UPCOMING EVENTS:
[1] Multi-Casualty Terror Events-Israeli Lessons Learned (5/8/06)
The International Center for Terror Medicine Lecture Series presents: "Multi-Casualty Terror Events- Israeli Lessons Learned² featuring Professor Charles Weissman, MD, Director of the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Hadassah Medical Center, Israel. The lecture will be at Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, New Brunswick, in the Clinical Academic Building (CAB) Room 1302 from 5:00 to 6:00 pm.

[2] Ethical Hazards in Pandemic Flu Planning and Response (5/11/06) The Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Alnay's School of Public Health will broadcast "Ethical Hazards in Pandemic Flu Planning and Response" with Harvey Kayman, MD, MPH University of South Carolina Center for Public Health Preparedness and Public Health representative to the South Carolina Medical Association Ethics Committee. The broadcast can be viewed via satellite or webcast on May 11 at 10:00-11:00 am EST. For more information and to register visit:
http://www.ualbanycphp.org/GRS/eventCurrent.cfm?id=65

[3] New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Conference (5/11/06 and 5/12/06) The New Jersey Emergency Preparedness Association's Annual Conference provides training and coordination and promotes the development of public & private partnerships in planning, response, recovery and mitigation in all types of emergencies. It will be held at the Tropicana Casino and Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. For more information: http://www.njepa.org/

[4] US DOT 2006 Multimodal Hazardous Materials Training Seminar (5/16/06 and 5/17/06) in Newark, NJ at the Doubletree Hotel. This FREE US DOT-sponsored Seminar will provide participants the opportunity to discuss Hazardous Materials Transportation regulatory, enforcement and emergency response issues necessary for the safe and secure transportation of hazardous materials. Representatives from FAA, FRA, FMCSA, PHMSA, USCG and NJ State Police will give 90 minute hazmat workshops. Learn how to ship infectious substances and regulated medical waste in accordance with US DOT Title 49 CFR regulations. Seminar Registration telephone number (202) 366-4900 and
website: http://hazmat.dot.gov//training/training.htm

[5] Third International Meeting on Information Systems for Crisis Management and Response (5/14-17/06) The Third International Meeting on Information Systems for Crisis Management and Response will be on May 14-17 2006 at NJIT in Newark, NJ. We have accepted 60 very excellent papers (peer reviewed) for ISCRAM and they cover a wide variety of multidisciplinary topics. We also have three top notch keynoters and a panel on the Katrina Experience.
For the program list of papers: http://www.iscram.org/doc/ISCRAM2006Program.pdf

[6] Hostility and Rage Management (HARM) In Public Health Emergencies
(5/25/06 and 5/30/06) The NJ-PTC is sponsoring the training "Hostility and Rage Management (HARM) In Public Health Emergencies: Anticipating and Responding to a Community Response During a Disaster or Terrorist Event." The presenter is Steven M. Crimando, MA, BCETS from the NJ DHS-Division of Mental Health Services Disaster & Terrorism Branch. The training will be held on 5/25/06 8:30-1:00 at the Morris County Police Academy Training Center in Parsippany, NJ and on 5/30/06 8:30-1:00 at Stockton College in Pomona, NJ. It has been approved for 3.75 CE for NJ Licensed Health Officers # CE-10243 and Category I CE 4.00 Credits for Certified Health Education Specialist Approval # 14017. For online registration and more information: http://ophp.umdnj.edu/njptc.

[7] Save the date: The Real Story: Communicating through a Crisis (6/8/06)
9 am to 4 pm at Mercer County Community College, West Windsor, NJ. Please save the date on your calendar to attend this informative conference on crisis communications. This day-long conference will include a media panel on what reporters want during emergencies, an interactive discussion on communications challenges during an influenza pandemic, risk communication principles, and how to deal with stress during emergencies. The conference is intended for professionals in media relations, public information and communication professionals. The conference is free. Registration information will be available after April 20, 2006. For more information, contact Tom Slater at the New Jersey Dept. of Health & Senior Services-Office of Communications (609) 292-8379.

For a complete listing of preparedness training events and educational course offerings, please visit the ASPH Centers for Public Health Preparedness Online Education Calendar at:
http://www.asph.org/acphp/educationCalendar.cfm

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

[1] Fatal Contact: Bird Flu in America follows an outbreak of an Avian Flu from its origins in a Hong Kong market through its mutation into a virus transmittable from human to human around the world. The film will air on ABC, May 9, 2006 at 8:00 pm EST.

[2] The White House has released their pandemic influenza plan, "Implementation Plan for the National Strategy for Pandemic Influenza." For a copy of the plan, go to:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/homeland/nspi_implementation.pdf

[3] Governor Corzine names Director of Homeland Security and Preparedness
Governor Jon S. Corzine signed an Executive Order creating the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness (HSP) and named Richard L. Cañas to the cabinet-level post. Cañas, who will report directly to the Governor, has a 34-year career in law enforcement and intelligence. As director, Cañas will coordinate across all levels of government and the private sector, serving as principle advisor to the Governor on homeland security issues. This strategy will allow the office to adopt an "all-hazards" approach by combining various security aspects under one structure while drawing on the existing expertise of all agencies. The office will specifically focus on emergency preparedness, training, funding and counter-terrorism.

[4] Avian Influenza Response from USAID
The US Agency of International Development has a section on their website devoted to avian influenza. USAID is working to ensure an effective and coordinated approach to this economic and public health threat. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/home/News/news_items/avian_influenza.html

[5] The Nursing Center for Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases Preparedness in collaboration with the Rutgers College of Nursing Center for Professional Development present online course offerings for nurses and other public health professionals. Eight different courses are being offered on topics including biological weapons, infection control, and psychosocial care. For more information, including how to register, go to http://nursing.rutgers.edu/cpd/ or call The Center for Professional Development at
(973)353-5895.

For more information, or to view the NJCPHP News PHlash Archive, please visit us at: www.njcphp.org

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The New Jersey Center for Public Health Preparedness at UMDNJ, UMDNJ-School of Public Health does not claim responsibility for accuracy of facts and information presented. All opinions expressed are those of the original authors and do not represent the views of NJCPHP staff or affiliates.
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