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

NJCPHP News PHlash

NOVEMBER 24 – DECEMBER 9 2005

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

I. PREPAREDNESS NEWS
[1] Vietnam stages mock bird flu drill- AP (11/27/05)
[2] New Jersey becomes first state to require chemical plant security measures to protect against terrorist attack- Press Release (11/29/05)
[3] Hispanic disaster plan- KSBY (11/29/05)
[4] Health officials announce flu-planning summits- Knight Ridder (12/05/05)
[5] Site chosen for state preparedness training center- North Country Gazette (12/06/05)

II. UPCOMING EVENTS
[1] PHLIER- Public Health Leadership Initiative for Emergency Response (1/23/06, opening retreat)
[2] I-700 Introduction to NIMS (12/13/05, 12/14/05, 12/19/05, 12/20/05, 12/21/05)
[3] DIMACS Workshop on the Epidemiology and Evolution of Influenza (1/26-27/06)

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] Vietnam stages mock bird flu drill- AP (11/27/05) A large-scale bird flu drill was held in Hanoi, Vietnam to test the country's pandemic preparedness. Some 900 people, from the military and police to health and agricultural officials, ran through a scenario where throngs of people were falling ill and dying. "Our message is that Vietnam is committed to fight bird flu and a bird flu pandemic if it occurs," Health Minister Tran Thi Trung Chien said after the 2 1/2-hour practice drill ended. "We call on other countries, together with Vietnam, to do their utmost and find out the most effective measures to fight bird flu if a pandemic occurs."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20051127/ap_on_re_as/vietnam_bird_flu

[2] New Jersey Becomes First State to Require Chemical Plant Security Measures to Protect Against Terrorist Attack- Press Release (11/29/05) Acting Governor Richard J. Codey announced that New Jersey is the first state in the nation to require enforceable plant security practices for its 140 chemical facilities to provide the public and workers greater protection from potential terrorist acts. “Certain New Jersey industries are more vulnerable to domestic threats,” said Acting Governor Richard J. Codey. “We must explore any measure – including the possibility of using inherently safer technology – to better protect us from uncertainty. We will work with New Jersey businesses to ensure that this initiative improves security and emergency response plans at each chemical facility.” The new requirements continue facility-by-facility security assessments to evaluate potential security threats and vulnerabilities and likely consequences of a chemical release.
http://www.state.nj.us/cgi-bin/governor/njnewsline/view_article.pl?id=2815

[3] Hispanic disaster plan- KSBY (11/29/05) Frank Ortiz, Chief of the Santa Maria Fire Department in California recently released its disaster preparedness plan. The city is sixty percent Hispanic or Latino and critics of the plan are concerned by the lack of plans for Spanish-speaking residents. Ortiz says the city is working on a Spanish-speaking plan, but it's not something that's going to happen overnight, “We're looking at somewhere down the road to take our personal preparedness program and convert that to a Spanish speaking format and actually deliver that training to our constituents out there.” Ortiz says, "it is a little difficult to do at this point because right now we're just getting our act
together.” http://www.ksby.com/home/headlines/2027617.html

[4] Health officials announce flu-planning summits- Knight Ridder (12/05/05) Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt announced that pandemic influenza-planning meetings will be held in all fifty states over the next four months. The summits will focus on community-response to an influenza pandemic including issues of work stoppages and lack of resources. The first state meeting will be in Minneapolis on December 14 with the governor of Minnesota, education representatives, business representatives, and clergy in attendance.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/politics/13334661.htm

[5] Site Chosen For State Preparedness Training Center- North Country Gazette (12/06/05) New York State Governor George Pataki has designated the Oneida County Airport, in Oriskany, New York as the site of the New York State Preparedness Training Center. This will be the nation's first State Preparedness Training Center, and will serve as the hub for emergency response training for natural, technological and terrorism related disasters for first responders at all levels of government. The future plans for the former airport include the construction of a state-of-the-art emergency operations/command center for Oneida County and New York State agencies. The command center will provide a practical classroom setting for first responders across the state and can be used by local and state agencies in the event of a disaster.
http://www.northcountrygazette.org/articles/120605PreparednessTraining.html

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: www.njcphp.org/phlier

[2] 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: Dec 13 - Morris County Fire/Police Academy, Parsippany, Dec 14 - Gloucester County Government Services Building, Clayton, Dec 19 - Middlesex County Fire Academy, Sayreville, Dec 20 - Rutgers EcoComplex, Bordentown, 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

[3] DIMACS Workshop on the Epidemiology and Evolution of Influenza (1/26-27/06) This workshop will explore the epidemiology and evolution of influenza. The persistence of influenza depends on its ability to evolve so that new strains and subtypes of the virus appear and old ones reappear. This constant evolution means that vaccines need to be updated frequently and that resistance to drug therapies can easily arise. The workshop will bring together public health practitioners, immunologists, epidemiologists, evolutionary biologists, mathematicians, statisticians, and computer scientists to explore the evolution and dynamics of influenza. Among the issues to be explored are the causes and consequences of patterns of immunological cross-reactivity, and the interactions with drug treatment and vaccination strategies. In addition, the applicability of SIR and agent based models to predict the spread of influenza, and the means of dealing with and planning for an influenza pandemic, will be discussed. Pre-registration deadline: January 18, 2005 For more information: http://dimacs.rutgers.edu/Workshops/Influenza/

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.

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

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