Establishing Closed PODs:  An Overview of Recruitment, Training, and Operational Matters

Orientation:  Louisiana Primary Care Association

Evaluating Effectiveness in Public Health at the Individual and Organizational Level

This presentation will highlight the importance of a systematic approach in evaluating the effectiveness of public health programs, practices, and policies.  The presentation will provide applied examples of key concepts and principles and emphasize practical approaches for developing and implementing these evaluation efforts.  In this way participants will be able to more effectively plan public health evaluation strategies, better ensure continuous quality improvement of public health programs, practices, and policies, and demonstrate accountability and return on investment at both the individual and organizational levels.

Collaboration is essential to public health professionals in order carry out their daily job duties successfully and enhance the health outcomes of the population which they serve.  This course covers why collaboration is important, how to build a collaborative culture, and barriers to effective collaboration.  This course provides two interactive case studies which offer the audience an opportunity to increase their awareness of collaboration and gain some hands-on experience in dealing with real world collaboration challenges.

It's been one year since the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon and the consequent Gulf Oil Spill.  The oil spill itself was an acute event but the long term follow up will be with public health professionals for many years to come.  This course will discuss the post-oil spill issues related to public health.  The discussion will include issues associated with recovery, various exposure pathways, response efforts in retrospect, and the public health response in the coming years.

The explosion of the Deepwater Horizon on April 2010 and the consequent Gulf Oil Spill has raised many public health questions.  Will the oil make me sick?  What could be in the air?  Is the seafood that gets to market safe?  Is it safe to go to the beach?  In order to assess the public health effects, it's important to understand the components and characteristics of oil.  This course will provide information about crude oil, weathered oil, and dispersants.  Public health aspects related to exposure to air contaminants, seafood, beach advisories, and worker safety will also be discussed.

This course provides an overview of the importance of integrating strategic and budget planning, the types and concepts of budgeting, the application of budgeting as a managerial tool, and budget planning and management.  This course includes a case study examining Jefferson County (Alabama) Department of Health (JCDH) Budget Systems.  Specific references to the JCDH Budget Systems will be made throughout the presentation.

According to recent threat analyses, the potential use of a Radiation Dispersal Device (RDD) remains the most likely exposure to weapons of mass destruction which American citizens are likely to experience.  Following along on the radiation risk management axiom that "Every high dose event is someone else's low dose event," recent energy initiatives fostering expansion of nuclear power production in the US as well as recent evolutions in international weapons development and their emerging strategic implications contribute to the conclusion that the ability of communities, regions, and states to react effectively to the challenges of low dose radiation exposure have become a necessary and inescapable element in the mandatory portfolio of capabilities of which today and tomorrow's communities must dispose.  This course will address models of response, requirements for effective intervention, planning and preparation, personnel roles, training and command & control.  Ideally this course provides the didactic introduction to a broader awareness of community needs and leads to workshops, drills and exercises in achieving community capability while reinforcing state and regional preparation for planning and support.

The requirements for a vastly expanded supply of energy worldwide combined with nuclear proliferation and a more aggressive international posture for the development, deployment and potential use of nuclear weapons either for strategic or tactical purposes has created an environment for public health professionals in the 21st century thoroughly different than that which has ever existed in the course of human scientific and political evolution.  In due course, recent energy initiatives fostering expansion of nuclear power production in the US as well as recent evolutions in international weapons development and their emerging strategic implications contribute to the conclusion that the ability of communities, regions and states to react effectively to the challenges of high dose radiation exposure have become a necessary and inescapable element in the mandatory portfolio of capabilities of which today and tomorrow's communities must dispose.  This course will address models of response, requirements for effective intervention, planning and preparation, personnel roles, training and command & control.  Ideally this course provides the didactic introduction to a broader awareness of community needs and leads to workshops, drills and exercises in achieving community capability while reinforcing state and regional preparation for planning and support.

The course discusses the nature of qualitative decision making and explains how the complexity of decisions often overwhelms our cognitive capabilities.  To deal with dynamic complexity, decision makers need to adopt a structured decision making process that aids in identifying alternative course of action and the major factors which are influencing the decision.  The course provides and discusses a method for structuring each step in the decision making process and provides examples of using the process.

Other Training Opportunities:

We Want to Hear From You

Looking for more training on a specific topic in public health?  Need additional training on a current public health hot topic?  We want to help you address these needs.  Please email us and let us know about your current training needs/interests/issues.  We will evaluate our current trainings to see if we have something that can address your area of interest.  If we don't have the resources already available, we will look into the possibility of developing those resources for you.  Please send us an email at trainingnow@tulane.edu and let us see if we can be of help.  Thank you.

Master of Public Health (MPH) in Disaster Management

Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Environmental Health Sciences

A new program in Disaster Management is being offered by Tulane School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Environmental Health Sciences.  This program is offered both on campus and by distance learning through the Center for Applied Environmental Public Health (CAEPH).  Students may obtain either a graduate certificate or the full MPH in disaster management.  The Tulane CAEPH distance learning programs are geared to mid career professionals.  CAEPH uses state-of-the-art synchronous distance learning technologies to enhance learning and networking. 

For more information on the MPH program, please visit:

http://dl.caeph.tulane.edu or send an email to DLinfo@tulane.edu or call 1-800-862-2122.

Master of Public Health (MPH) in Public Health Preparedness Management and Policy

University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Department of Health Care Organization & Policy

This specialized degree covers all hazards preparedness topics including, event typologies, response organization, leadership and management, hazard and risk assessment policy development and evaluation and risk communication.

Public Health Preparedness Management and Policy Learning Objectives

• Describe the economic, legal, organization, and political underpinnings of the US health system with regard to preparedness

• Apply principles of management, finance, accounting and strategic planning in health care organizations with regard to preparedness; and

• Apply basic planning and management skills as well as risk assessment policy development and evaluation and risk communication necessary with regard to preparedness

For more information on the MPH degree, please visit:

https://www.soph.uab.edu/node/1213

Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) in Public Health Management

University of Alabama at Birmingham, School of Public Health, Department of Health Care Organization & Policy

The Doctor of Public Health (DrPH) program in Public Health Management prepares current and future public health leaders and research faculty to apply critical thinking and rigorous research methods to complex problems facing public health practitioners and policy makers.  The program focuses on public health management, organization, and leadership issues and allows students to specialize in preparedness management and policy or any of the other public health disciplines: biostatistics, environmental health sciences, epidemiology, or health behavior.

For more information on the DrPH degree, please visit:

https://www.soph.uab.edu/node/1214

Preparedness Minute Videos

Preparedness Minutes are video clips describing actions to take in emergency situations, whether they are at work or at home.  Some of the videos will be reminders, others will present new information.  Ultimately these videos will help you be prepared for an emergency or disaster.  Please visit the link below to watch any of our preparedness minute videos.

Watch Videos

The Management of Epidemic Disease

Population growth, societal aging, urbanization, rapid transportation, economic interdependence, and emerging infectious disease have expanded community vulnerability far beyond what could have been imagined a few generations ago. But, an expansion of medical technology has provided an array of tools and techniques for therapeutics and public health disease management never before imagined. The instructor will examine disease as a social event in an evolving global community and discuss why applying new systems and science is critical for tomorrow’s public health professional.

Infectious Disease

This course is a three module sequence covering a sampling of those areas of infectious disease relevant to public health professionals in the United States. The modules begin by discussing areas considered by the CDC to be the most important public health successes of the 20^th century. Control of certain major infectious diseases is a significant aspect of these successes. The modules then discuss the major gram positive and gram negative bacterial illnesses, selected viral, protozoal, prior, rickettsial and vaccine preventable disease. A major portion of the course is devoted to various clinical aspects of sexually transmitted disease and pandemic influenza. While these modules only represent a small sample of infectious disease, it is hoped that the student will gain an appreciation of the vast scope of this subject and its importance to modern public health.

Succession Planning for Public Health Agencies

In this course, the instructors will discuss the public health workforce shortage as well as succession planning, a key element in addressing that shortage.

Facilitator Training

In this course, the instructor will introduce methods and strategies used in facilitating meetings, workshops, tabletop exercises, and other events.