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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Eileen Scanlon, BSN¹, Kristine Qureshi, RN, DNSc², Shelly Schechter, MPH¹, and Robyn, M. Gershon, DrPH³. (1) Nassau County Department of Health, 240 Old country Road room 607, Mineola, NY 11501, 516 571- 2670, eileen.scanlon@hhsnassaucountyny.us, (2) Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 722 West 168t Street, New York, NY 11530, (3) Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, 600 West 168th Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY 10032

Program Development: The Nassau County Department of Health (NC-DOH) developed a public health Medical Reserve Corps Unit (MRC) to assure adequate surge capacity during public health crises, such as epidemics. With over 300 members from diverse backgrounds, including physicians, nurses, pharmacists, veterinarians, dentists, and social workers, the challenge was to develop a program to rapidly train the MRC to operate cohesively during public heath emergencies. The decision was made to utilize a “just in time training” (JIT) methodology.

Implementation: We developed and implemented a program for JIT for Point of Distribution (POD) Clinics. To prepare for JIT, all members received basic training on the incident command system and its utilization by public health. The training emphasized the importance of following the chain of command and using emergency response functional roles. Participants were provided examples of job action sheets and shown how to use them.

Evaluation: The effectiveness of the training was tested when the NC-DOH initiated a massive POD clinic for senior citizens. Over two days, 7,628 seniors reported to one POD location for influenza vaccination. MRC members were utilized to augment POD staffing. At the POD site, each member received a job action sheet and a brief tutorial on his/her emergency response functional role. The operation was evaluated on multiple levels, including the ability of MRC volunteers to function in the POD. We found that all MRC members were fully able to perform their functional POD roles. All MRC members (and the senior citizens) rated the experience as positive.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the presentation the learner will be able to

• Explain the concept of just in time training for public health volunteers
• Discuss the advantages and limitations of just in time training
• Explain how to utilize job action sheets to augment just in time training
• Discuss the importance of simple systems for rapid volunteer training to assure adequate public health emergency response capacity

Keywords: Emerging Health Issues, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation