Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107164

Leslie M. Beitsch, MD, Center for Medicine and Public Health, Florida State University College of Medicine, 1249 W Call Street, Room 324, Tallahassee, FL 32306-4300, 850-645-1830, les.beitsch@med.fsu.edu and Samata Kodolikar, MPH, Preparedness, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO), 1275 K street NW, Suite 800, Washington, DC 20005.

The structure and organization of state health agencies are important determinants of effective public health systems. The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) surveyed state health agencies nationwide to gather data regarding public health system structure, preparedness funding, state preparedness director roles, workforce issues, performance metrics, and coordination of regional preparedness activities.

Preliminary results from 30 states indicate that most states organize preparedness activities by regions that were defined after 9/11/01; state preparedness directors function as senior decision makers; cooperative agreements have enabled expansion of the public health workforce; and some aspects of HRSA and CDC cooperative agreement programs are jointly overseen. State health agency structure has been refined to coordinate response efforts across multiple bureaus, and centralizing operations has enabled optimal communication, utilization of federal resources, and formation of coalitions.

Experiences from specific states can be used to highlight issues in organizing for public health preparedness at the state level. Federal resources have allowed states to develop innovations in public health preparedness approaches, such as providing assistance to local health departments to improve their preparedness capacity; partnering with other agencies to conduct bioterrorism education, training, and exercises; and developing regional collaboratives to assure external coordination and facilitate intrastate planning. States are also taking workplan approaches to new cooperative agreements using structured interdisciplinary planning and organizational development.

Presenters will discuss an overview of the data collected on state preparedness organizational structure and initiatives that highlight the issues and exemplary practices in increasing state and local preparedness capacity.

Learning Objectives:

Objective
• Session participants will understand implications of preliminary findings from a national survey of organization of state preparedness activities. Objective
• Session participants will become familiar with specific organization and regionalization activities in selected states.

Related Web page: www.astho.org

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.