260413 Refocusing Oregon's public health preparedness program

Tuesday, October 30, 2012 : 12:50 PM - 1:10 PM

Jean C. O'Connor, JD, DrPH , Oregon Health Authority, Public Health Division, State of Oregon, Portland, OR
Melvin A. Kohn, MD, MPH , Office of Disease Prevention and Epidemiology, Public Health Division, Oregon Department of Human Services, Portland, OR
Elizabeth Crane, EMPA , Health Security, Preparedness and Response, Oregon Public Health Division, Portland, OR
Jere High, ND , Health Security, Preparedness and Response, Oregon Public Health Division, Portland, OR
Michael Harryman, MA , Oregon Public Health Division, Health Security, Preparedness and Response Program, Portland, OR
     
More than a decade after 9/11 and almost three years after pandemic H1N1 influenza, state and local public health activities funded with preparedness dollars, such as laboratory science, epidemiology, and environmental health, are seeing significant declines in federal support and those declines in funding are likely to continue through at least federal Fiscal Year 2013. At the same time, CDC and HHS have released new guidance outlining the capabilities of a preparedness public health and healthcare system and announced that in the two entities will combine their awards in the summer of 2012 to states and locals under a single funding opportunity announcement. As a result, many states are prioritizing preparedness-funded activities as well as evaluating the structure and goals of their public health and healthcare preparedness programs. This presentation will discuss Oregon's approach to restructuring its preparedness work into a unified Health Security, Preparedness, and Response program. To date, this approach included a strategic planning effort focused around prioritizing the preparedness capabilities in Oregon; refining the mission and functions of the program; reorganizing positions to support the functions; and ongoing staff engagement to support the organizational change. Oregon has also implemented an approach to prioritizing requests for preparedness funds, both within the state health agency and with local partners. In early 2012, Oregon's program will undertake additional planning around the role and placement of its volunteer management and Medical Reserve Corps efforts, and to reassess the design of its engagement with local stakeholders around healthcare preparedness.

Learning Areas:
Administration, management, leadership
Program planning

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of the presentation, participants will be able to: 1) Discuss the structure and function of public health preparedness programs in the context of the Preparedness Capabilities and in the context of federal funding reductions; 2) Explain the benefits and limitations of close organizational ties between public health and healthcare preparedness activities at the State level; and 3) Analyze lessons learned for improving public health and healthcare preparedness over the next 5 years.

Keywords: Emergency, Leadership

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Deputy Director of Public Health Division for the State of Oregon and PI on PHEP and HPP grants to the State.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 4220.0: Lessons Learned in Administration and Leadership in Public Health