Disaster Recovery
Regional disaster planning poses a unique challenge in Connecticut. There is no form of county government and there is a strong tradition of "home rule" on the municipal level. In Connecticut, six different planning regions managed by four different state agencies impact emergency management planning and the flow of emergency management funding to the local level. In 2006, a regional emergency planning structure was formalized and Connecticut municipalities were charged with developing comprehensive regional emergency management plans. In support of this initiative, the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH) and its local partners identified disaster recovery as a priority area for regional public health disaster planning.
Disaster Field Manual Training for Local Environmental Health Professionals
Connecticut is one of five states in the nation to develop a Disaster Field Manual for local environmental health response. The Disaster Field Manual is the product of a collaborative initiative among CT state agencies, local health departments, and Yale CPHP.
Two trainings have now been held on the manual. To access the training materials, please visit the Field Manual training website.
Conference on Pre-Event Planning and Post-Event Disaster Recovery
In 2005/2006, DPH collaborated with other state agencies to provide a statewide conference targeting local elected leaders and the business community with the goal of engaging them directly in the new regional disaster planning process. Yale CPHP assisted DPH with the planning and evaluation of the conference. A group exercise to identify the status of recovery planning in the regions was developed. In addition, Yale CPHP developed a CD ROM toolkit of disaster recovery planning resources, which was distributed at the Conference and is available upon request.
Regional Training Model
The objective of this activity is to develop, deliver and evaluate regional-level training for local public health agencies and their community partners in disaster recovery. The content will cover local disaster recovery, including recovery of essential public health services, environmental recovery, mental health, vulnerable populations, reconstruction, resource allocation and priority setting.
The program will be delivered conference style with 1) an opening session for all participants where a “core curricula” is delivered; 2) break-out sessions with curricula tailored for specific disciplines or sectors and 3) a culminating tabletop or group exercise. Conferences will be delivered by emergency response region to support regional planning and development of relationships between response partners.
YCPHP is taking the lead on curricula development and evaluation of the training program. Data from the evaluation of the Conference on Pre-Event Planning and Post Event Disaster Recovery in September 2006 will be used for identify gaps and to develop or modify curricula. Delivery of regional training is scheduled for 2007.
