>>>>NJCPHP News PHlash <<<<

NOVEMBER 12 ­ NOVEMBER 23 2005

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S:
I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Local infection controls are key to pandemic flu strategy- Baltimore Sun (11/10/05)
[2] Police, health officials: Quarantines for bird flu would need public's help- Foster's Online (11/14/05)
[3] Thanksgiving Turkey Bird Flu Prevention Tips- Avant News (11/14/05)
[4] Storm put focus on other disasters in waiting- NY Times (11/15/05)
[5] Metro focuses on response and recover from chemical, biological attack- Homeland Response (11/18/05)

II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] PHLIER- Public Health Leadership Initiative for Emergency Response (1/23/06, opening retreat)
[2] Winter 2005 Infectious Disease Summit (12/05/05 and 12/06/05)
[3] I-700 Introduction to NIMS (12/13/05, 12/14/05, 12/19/05, 12/20/05, 12/21/05)
[4] Coping with Disaster (12/09/10-12/10/05)
[5] Mental Health, Trauma, and Bioterrorism (12/06/05) and Providing Culturally Competent Care to Victims of Bioterrorism (1/16/06)

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS
[1] Call for Papers- Canada's Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP)
[2] Avian Influenza Response from USAID
[3] The Nursing Center for Bioterrorism and Emerging Infectious Diseases Preparedness- Online Course Offerings


I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS

[1] Local infection controls are key to pandemic flu strategy- Baltimore Sun (11/10/05) It is an editorial by Dean Michael Klag of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dean Klag believes that the national pandemic flu strategy is a good one, however he says "one of the most critical components of a flu strategy- infection control activities at the local level- is not adequately supported."
http://www.asph.org/press/fridayletter/article_view.cfm?FLE_Index=2859&FL_Index=1386#

[2] Police, health officials: Quarantines for bird flu would need public's help- Foster's Online (11/14/05) Police and health officials in New Hampshire and Maine said this week that public participation would be critical if quarantines become necessary to slow the spread of bird flu in humans. Laws in both states authorize officials to order people to stay home. Police can arrest those who violate quarantine orders, but enforcing quarantine would be difficult, police said. Even so, public health officials and police chiefs said they are preparing communities for the possibility. If quarantine and isolation measures do become necessary, public education would play an important role, said John Stephen, Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services. "Without question, more needs to be done [to educate the public]," he said. Officials in Maine echoed that view. Maine recently updated its quarantine and isolation laws, giving them enforcement powers similar to those in New Hampshire, but officials believe they will have to launch a public education campaign. "We want to assure the public there is no reason or cause for panic," said Paul Kuehnert, deputy director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention in Augusta. On December 14, Maine will hold a statewide conference for law enforcement and health officials to discuss the state's avian flu plan. They hope the conference will launch a dialogue on the issue in each local community.
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/NEWS0202/111130060/-1/NEWS02

[3] Thanksgiving Turkey Bird Flu Prevention Tips- Avant News (11/14/05) There are ten comical tips on how to prevent you and your Thanksgiving guests from contracting bird flu from your turkey.
http://www.avantnews.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=178

[4] Storm put focus on other disasters in waiting- NY Times (11/15/05) The recent hurricanes that affected the Gulf Coast have brought attention to other potential disasters across the country and the need to reevaluate emergency preparedness and plans. "Katrina woke us up again," said Susie Stonner, a spokeswoman for the State Emergency Management Agency in Missouri where flooding along the Mississippi River in 1993 caused billions of dollars of damage. "Since 9/11 most of our efforts have been focused on terrorism, and it's time to start thinking we have natural disasters." In California, officials worry about collapsing levees that could contaminate drinking water and there is concern in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming that a volcano could erupt in Yellowstone National Park. Kevin Fitzgerald, a park administrator at Yellowstone, has been instructed to review the park's emergency plan with the lessons of the hurricanes in mind, including communication among first responders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/15/national/15disaster.html?emc=eta1&pagewanted=print

[5] Metro focuses on response and recover from chemical, biological attack - Homeland Response (11/18/05) The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority is partnering with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory to evaluate response and recovery efforts if such a chemical or biological attack occurs. The team of experts from the national laboratory began to work with Metro's police, safety and emergency operations officials this month to begin development of a plan that will identify and clarify roles and responsibilities for agencies at the federal and regional level as they respond to a possible chemical or biological release within the transit system.
http://homelandresponse.org/full_story.php?WID=14328

II. UPCOMING EVENTS

[1] PHLIER- Public Health Leadership Initiative for Emergency Response is a case based, public health leadership development program for emerging public health leaders. In 8 seminars, The PHLIER Fellows will explore contemporary public health challenges such as emergency preparedness, public health law, health department structure, and emerging infections. Registration will end on December 9, 2005 and Fellows will be selected by December 15, 2005. The opening retreat will be January 23-24, 2006. For more information and to apply: www.njcphp.org/phlier

[2] Winter 2005 Infectious Disease Summit will be held on December 5 at the Birchwood Manor in Whippany and on December 6 at the Mansion on Main Street in Voorhees. This program is geared towards health care professionals, nurses, public health, emergency health care, epidemiologists, health educators and infection control practitioners. It is a full-day program (9am-3:30pm) and breakfast & lunch are included. For more information and to register: http://njlmn.rutgers.edu

[3] I-700 Introduction to NIMS is a classroom-based version of FEMA's I-700 Introduction to NIMS course. This program is an important element in achieving NIMS compliance. It will be offered from 9:00am to 1:00pm on the following 5 dates in December:

1. Dec 13 - Morris County Fire/Police Academy, Parsippany
2. Dec 14 - Gloucester County Government Services Building, Clayton
3. Dec 19 - Middlesex County Fire Academy, Sayreville
4. Dec 20 - Rutgers EcoComplex, Bordentown
5. Dec 21 - Bergen County EMS Training Center, Paramus

The 4-hour course is FREE to attend but space is limited and pre-registration is required. Registration is ONLY available on-line at the NJ Learning Management Network: http://njlmn.rutgers.edu *Sorry, no food or refreshments will be served. Please plan to bring your own. Questions about this program? Contact Becky Sheil: sheil@cook.rutgers.edu

[4] "Coping with Disaster" NJ-PTC partner the UMDNJ School of Public Health is proud to present "Coping with Disaster" at the December 9 and December 10 conference of the NJ Community Health Workers at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Atlantic City, NJ. For more information contact: New Jersey Community Health Worker Institute NJ AHEC / UMDNJ-SOM 42 East Laurel Road, Suite 3200 Stratford, NJ 08084 856-566-6724 or njchwi@umdnj.edu

[5] The Office of Prevention Services and Research (OPSR) will conduct 2 training workshops "Mental Health, Trauma, and Bioterrorism" and "Providing Culturally Competent Care to Victims of Bioterrorism," aimed at Emergency Medical Service (EMS) and Public Health Professionals. These workshops will cover information and mental health strategies that frontline and secondary responders should know to better help their clients,your families and themselves cope in the event of a bioterrorist event of a chemical or biological nature. "Mental Health, Trauma & Bioterrorism" Dr. George Everly and Dr. Cherie Castellano December 6th, 2005, 9:00am - 4:00pm UBHC--Piscataway, 151 Centennial Avenue/Room B. "Providing Culturally Competent Care to Victims" Dr. Paulette Moore Hines, Dr. Monica McGoldrick, and Dr. Nydia Garcia Preto - January 16th, 2006, 9:00am - 4:00pm UBHC--Piscataway, 151 Centennial Avenue/Room B. We are able to pay attendees a stipend of $245 per workshop. Full time University employees will be paid at an out of title rate.
Directions and additional information will be forwarded to all those who confirm participation. If you are available and are interested in participating in this focus group, please contact Mrs. Ellen Cohen at (732) 235-9250 or cohenem@umdnj.edu. Also, you may contact Mr. Robert Bonner at 732-235-9285 or bonnerro@umdnj.edu. PLEASE CONTACT US NO LATER THAN Wednesday November 30th, 2005

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] CALL FOR PAPERS Environment Canada's 29th Arctic and Marine Oilspill Program (AMOP)- Technical seminar provides a forum for technology transfer among professionals working in the field of oil spills and hazardous materials spills. It will include a session for the 23rd Technical Seminar on Chemical Spills (TSOCS). This year's conference will include a special counter-terrorism session. The seminar will be held from June 6 to 8, 2006 at the Coast Plaza Hotel & Suites at Stanley Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. For more information about registration and hotel accommodations, see the seminar information page
http://www.etc-cte.ec.gc.ca/news/conferences/amop/amop_call_06.html

[2] 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

[3] 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.

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