PHEP | Blogs

Operation Shortbread Is Not Your ‘Cookie Cutter’ MCM Exercise

A line of vehicles at a point of dispensing drill

December 4 is National Cookie Day, which—from a public health perspective—is what makes the scratch-made story of Baltimore County Department of Health and Human Services’ Operation Shortbread a fitting one to tell this time of year. What do cookies have to do with public health, you ask? Before we answer that question, let’s begin with Read More >

December 3, 2018 by Kelcie A. Landon, MPH, Health Communication Specialist, Center for Preparedness and Response, Division of State and Local Readiness5 Comments

Disease Outbreak, Flu, General, preparedness, response

anthrax, Bake Cookies Day, Baltimore, cookies, MCM, medical countermeasures, Operation Shortbread, personal health, PHEP, pod, point of dispensing, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program

The Neighborly Thing To Do: States Helping States During Disasters

Two boats motor down a flooded residential street after Hurricane Harvey.

Since 9/11, the CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement program has been a critical source of funding, guidance, and technical assistance for state and local public health departments, helping to build and maintain a nationwide emergency management system that saves lives through its capability to rapidly respond to threats. But the PHEP program Read More >

November 19, 2018 by Kelcie A. Landon, MPH, Health Communication Specialist, Center for Preparedness and Response, Division of State and Local ReadinessLeave a comment

General, natural disasters, response

EMAC, Emergency Management Assistance Compact, Flooding, Florida, hospital, Houston, Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, PHEP, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness, shelter, Texas, Thanksgiving

Partnerships Help Save Lives When Disaster Strikes

Package of Oseltamivir (i.e., Tamiflu) capsules.

Public health emergencies occur every day across the United States. Tornadoes, hurricanes, wildfires, floods, infectious disease outbreaks, terrorist attacks, and other emergencies have all occurred within the past few years and likely will happen again. Communities must be ready in the event of a public health emergency – both those they expect and those that Read More >

November 5, 2018 by Germaine M. Vazquez, MS, Health Communication Specialist, Center for Preparedness and Response, Division of State and Local ReadinessLeave a comment

Flu, General, natural disasters, preparedness, response

California, emergency, flu, Illinois, influenza, Maine, PHEP, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, Sonoma County, Stories from the Field, Tamiflu, Vinylhaven, Waterborne, wildfire

Moving the Dial on Preparedness: CDC’s 2018 National Snapshot

Photo of a flooded apartment complex and office building during Hurricane Harvey.

Every year, CDC’s Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response publishes the Public Health Preparedness and Response National Snapshot, an annual report that highlights the work of CDC and our partners. No matter the type, size, or cause of a public health emergency, we must work together to respond to the best of our ability. Read More >

April 16, 2018 by Blog AdministratorLeave a comment

preparedness, response

Federal Select Agents Program, Hurricane, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma, Hurricane Maria, medical countermeasures, National Snapshot, opioid epidemic, opioid overdose, opioids, PHEP, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, recovery, select agents and toxins, State and Local Readiness

Preparedness and Response in Action: Stories from the States

CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) cooperative agreement is a critical source of funding, guidance, and technical assistance for state, local, tribal, and territorial public health departments to strengthen their public health preparedness capabilities. Since 9/11, the PHEP program has saved lives by building and maintaining a nationwide public health emergency management system that enables Read More >

September 18, 2017 by Kelcie Landon, MPH2 Comments

preparedness, Preparedness Month, response

Connecticut State Department of Health, emergency operations, Oklahoma State Department of Health, Oregon Health Authority, PHEP, public health, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program, State and Local Readiness, Washington

Preparing for the Worst-case Scenario

"ROTTERDAM, HOLLAND - SEPTEMBER 5, 2010: Demonstration of handling of car crash victim by medics at the annual World Harbor Days in Rotterdam, Holland on September 5"

Setting the Stage Imagine this: Explosions across New York City target elementary schools. Hundreds of severely injured and traumatized children, teachers, and parents flood hospital emergency departments in the five boroughs. Municipal emergency medical services (EMS) are rushing to respond. Fortunately this scenario wasn’t really happening – it was part of an exercise conducted on Read More >

September 12, 2017 by Celia Quinn, MD, MPH, CDC Career Epidemiology Field Officer assigned to NYC Department of Health and Mental HygieneLeave a comment