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American Public Health Association
133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition
December 10-14, 2005
Philadelphia, PA
 APHA 2005
 
Session: The 2004 Florida Hurricanes: Public Health and Community Responses
3282.0: Monday, December 12, 2005: 2:30 PM-4:00 PM
Oral
The 2004 Florida Hurricanes: Public Health and Community Responses
Florida experienced its most intense hurricane season ever during a seven week period in 2004 – causing $60 billion damage and 117 deaths. Florida thus had greater damage from natural disasters than any other state has had in a comparable period of time. The Florida Department of Health (DOH) was a critical agency in the preparations, responses, and recovery efforts at the state, local, and individual level. The Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness (FCPHP) contributed to the response through its training and distance learning programs. Many nursing home residents had to be relocated to other facilities or to the DOH special needs shelters. Thus, the hurricanes and their aftermaths provided unique opportunities to study the preparations and responses of the public and private sectors and to gather information about the experiences of selected responders. The four papers in this session present: (1) the DOH response and recovery activities relating to Hurricane Charley and lessons learned; (2) the Department’s behavioral health incident command response to the hurricanes and the role of the FCPHP in that response (it also reports on a survey of the Center’s disaster mental health trainees and their contributions to the response to the hurricanes); a summary of a series of case studies and journals produced by graduates of the Public Health Leadership Institute of Florida, detailing their experiences and contributions to the hurricane response efforts; and (4) the findings of a survey of nursing home administrators that collected their views on preparations for disasters and their experiences in the hurricanes.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion this session, participants will be able to: 1. Summarize the measures taken by the Florida Department of Health to respond to Hurricane Charley. 2. Identify the application of the incident command system to disaster response 3. Describe the behavioral health training provided by the Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness and its contribution to the hurricane response effort. 4. List three lessons learned in using case studies and journals to document disaster responses. 5. Summarize critical actions that nursing home administrators should take to prepared for disasters.
Moderator(s):Lisa M. Brown, PhD
2:30 PMIntroductory Remarks
2:31 PMManagement of a large scale disaster: Hurricane Charley  [ Recorded presentation ]
Thomas R. Belcuore, MS, Bill Little, MPH, MBA, W. Michael Reid, PhD, MBA
2:46 PMDisaster mental health preparation and response: Hurricanes and the roles of the Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness (FCPHP), Florida Department of Health, and trainees of the FCPHP  [ Recorded presentation ]
Nadine D. Mescia, MHS, Jennifer N. Baggerly, PhD, LMHCS, RPTS, Sandra Ruzycki, MS, Michael Haney, PhD, NCC, CCISM, W. Michael Reid, PhD, MBA, Kathryn Hyer, PhD, MPP, Lisa Brown, PhD
3:01 PMPost-hurricane survey of older Floridians: Preparation, response, and recovery
Lisa M. Brown, PhD, John A. Schinka, PhD, Amy Borenstein, PhD, James A. Mortimer, PhD
3:16 PMNursing home administrators’ experiences and responses to the hurricanes  [ Recorded presentation ]
Kathryn Hyer, PhD, MPP, Lisa M. Brown, PhD, Jennifer Bond, PsyD, LuMarie Polivka-West, MSRP, W. Michael Reid, PhD, MBA
3:31 PMPanel Discussion
3:41 PMConcluding Remarks
See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.
Organized by:Health Administration
CE Credits:CME, Health Education (CHES), Nursing

The 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition (December 10-14, 2005) of APHA