Washington, DC, March 12, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contacts:
Jason Thompson, Fahrenheit Creative Group, LLC, 601-940-7059, jthompson@fcgworks.com
Maurice Starks, National Network of Public Health Institutes, 202-836-7611, mstarks@nnphi.org
Washington, DC – The National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI), a national organization that supports public health system initiatives and works to strengthen public health institutes to promote multi-sector activities, recently announced the availability of training, technical assistance, and support through the Hurricane Response Hub (HRH) initiative.
Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the HRH initiative is designed to enhance disaster surveillance in addition to environmental and occupational health recovery efforts in areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria by building disaster-related public health workforce capacity. The National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) at NNPHI will coordinate efforts across the following five jurisdictions led by:
- Florida (Florida Institute for Health Innovation)
- Georgia (Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University)
- Louisiana (Louisiana Public Health Institute)
- Puerto Rico (Puerto Rico Public Health Trust)
- Texas (Texas Health Institute)
These technical assistance centers will serve as the coordinating body within each jurisdiction, working with a range of state and regional partners to lead public health workforce capacity building activities in disaster-related surveillance, environmental, and occupational health needs.
“On behalf of NNPHI, I congratulate the five Hurricane Response Hub Technical Assistance Centers for their winning applications to join NNPHI and CDC on this capacity building journey,” said Vincent Lafronza, president and CEO of NNPHI. “Our collective success will be achieved when we co-create a stronger and integrated muscle that builds the practical skills of the workforce capable of creating more resilient communities.”
The 2017 hurricane season was considered "extremely active" with seventeen named storms, ten hurricanes, and six major hurricanes, causing more than $200 billion in damage. The Hurricane Response Hub effort is important because many of the 2017 hurricane-affected jurisdictions still need assistance to ensure disaster-related environmental and occupational health practices are applied to recovery efforts. The training and resources developed through this initiative will also help public health institutes, emergency management, government entities, and other organizations build workforce capacity and institutional knowledge that improves disaster-related recovery in the future. “Together we can reduce morbidity and mortality by eliminating environmental and occupational exposures during and after hurricane events,” Lafronza stated.
Individuals and organization interested in learning more about the Hurricane Response Hub or submitting a technical assistance request can visit www.nnphi.org/hurricane-response-hub or send an email to HRH@nnphi.org
###
About the National Network of Public Health Institutes
Mobilizing more than 40 public health institutes throughout 32 states along with ten university-based regional training centers and 40 training affiliates, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) supports national public health system initiatives and strengthens public health institutes to promote multi-sector activities resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes.