Public Health Emergency Preparedness Training Collaborative: Managing the Nationwide Collaboration of Public Health Emergency Preparedness Training Professionals

Background/Purpose: During recent years, the role of public health (PH) in emergency preparedness and response has rapidly increased. Local, state, territorial, tribal, and federal PH agencies have quickly responded to this need by planning for and developing valuable training resources targeted at enhancing PH workforce competencies in emergency preparedness. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness Training Collaborative (PHEPTC) was formed to enhance communication, information sharing, and standards of practice among PH emergency preparedness trainers across the nation. Los Angeles County is spearheading the creation of this unique, nationwide collaborative dedicated to meeting the needs of PH emergency preparedness training professionals. Methods: Key methods include: 1) internal project planning, 2) creation of a charter, 3) assembling a steering committee, 4) setting up conference calls, 5) developing a shared website, and 6) surveying interested participants. Results/Outcomes: The first PHEPTC conference call was convened in January 2007. Since then, over 350 local, state, territorial, tribal, and national agencies have joined PHEPTC. The SharePoint site, a password- entry website, contains announcements, shared documents and pertinent links to other sites, and provides emergency preparedness resources for PHEPTC members. Guest speakers have covered topics such as the National Incident Management System (NIMS), Point of Dispensing (POD) exercises, and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS). Conclusions: The presentation will illustrate the prominence of PH emergency preparedness trainers across the nation, the methods used to create PHEPTC, its successes, and future plans and goals.