Mosquito Abatement in Louisiana Post Katrina and Rita

On August 31, 2005, the landfall of Hurricane Katrina and its associated storm surge resulted in destruction of large areas of Louisiana, which included Plaquemines and St. Bernard Parishes and the cities of Slidell and New Orleans.  Three weeks later, Hurricane Rita pushed a second record storm surge over the western coast of Louisiana, destroying huge areas of Cameron and Vermillion Parishes.  Vector control became an issue of utmost importance.  Many of the professionals who normally handled these duties had evacuated and were as far away as California.

This course will address the mosquito/vector control response capacity pre-Katrina and Rita and compare it to mosquito/vector control post-hurricane.  Other topics to be covered include vector-related public health concerns such as arboviruses, as well as vectors of concern such as various mosquitoes, filth flies, bottle and blow flies, and rats.  The course will also address the vector-related problems that continue to confront professionals, as storm-related changes in the ecology of vast areas of the state present ongoing challenges to mosquito abatement.  NOTE: This course was originally delivered as a satellite broadcast.

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The Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) and Its Application for Public Health Emergency Response and Recovery Operations

Adopted by each of the fifty states, Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, Guam, the District of Columbia, and ratified by Congress (Public Law 104-321), the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) is an interstate mutual-aid agreement that provides a system and process for sharing of personnel, equipment, and other resources among states during emergencies and disasters.  EMAC has traditionally been used by states for National Guard, firefighting, and other types of emergency management assistance.  Recently, however, it was used with much success during the 2005 hurricane season to provide public health and environmental health assistance.

This course will provide an introduction to EMAC - its organization, processes, and procedures.  The presenters will also discuss how EMAC was used to provide public health and environmental health emergency response assistance during the 2005 hurricane season and how it can be used to mitigate resource shortfalls in future disasters.  Finally, other key mutual-aid agreements will be briefly highlighted.  NTOE: This course was originally delivered as a satellite broadcast.

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SCPHP Launches It's Second Public Health Certificate Program

The South Central Public Health Partnership (SCPHP) is pleased to announce the launch of it's second online certificate program in public health.  The SCPHP certificate program provides a certificate of completion upon successfully passing all required courses in a particular subject or focus area.  The second series in the SCPHP certificate program is the Environmental Health in Disasters Certificate.  There are 5 courses required for this series. This certificate program includes courses that provide an introduction and the fundamentals to risk assessment and environmental health in disasters.  In addition, special topics such as environmental health in emergency shelters, environmental sampling and environmental monitoring are also the focus of this program. Course titles will be shown once you enroll to the certificate program.  The Partnership is excited about this newest addition to our online training programs.  For more information on how to access the new certificate program, go to the user manual.  Log in to the LMS to enroll now.

**Note:  Certificates of completion will be mailed once a month to individuals based on the address listed in the SCPHP Learning Management System.  Enrollees in the certificate program are advised to check their address under Profile.