Preparedness across borders: A multi-agency and jurisdictional training collaborative

Preparedness for large-scale emergencies traditionally involved law, fire, and emergency management with public health agencies either not involved or brought in later. The Riverside, CA Regional Training Program (RTP) was developed to enhance training for first responders, including public health, in order to better prepare them to prevent, protect, respond and recover from a disaster or terrorist event. RTP is a county wide collaboration between Riverside County Fire, Riverside County Department of Public Health (DOPH), Riverside County sheriff, and Riverside County Office of Education. This is a unique opportunity for DOPH to partner with the first responder community and to actively participate in the development and delivery of training to external disciplines. The RTP develops and provides education and training for the public and private sectors in a multidisciplinary, all-hazards approach. Specialized classes are developed and conducted to meet the needs of traditional first responders, public health, and community members. In 2007, twenty-two training sessions were conducted resulting in nearly 600 people representing 90 different agencies, trained. Participants included representatives from law enforcement, tribal governments, fire entities, school districts/universities, public health/healthcare, California Air National Guard, Coast Guard, city/county employees, Public Works, and airports and port district personnel. RTP also designed a course curriculum for an associate degree in Homeland Security for local community colleges. Future goals of the program are to continue to analyze data from a recent needs assessment to recognize and fill training gaps and to continue the cross-border involvement of DOPH with partnering agencies.