DomPrep’s Editor-in-Chief Catherine Feinman interviewed the following subject matter experts from various disciplines to find out their suggestions for improving the “Whole Community” effort in jurisdictions across the country.
Public health encompasses pandemics and bioterrorism incidents as much as injury and illness threats following other types of disasters. This podcast interview brings together subject matter experts to discuss the challenges, roles, and responsibilities of state, local, and federal agencies when dealing with a public health disaster.
DomesticPreparedness met with Dennis R. Schrader, Deputy Administrator, National Preparedness, FEMA. Schrader, the FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) deputy administrator for national preparedness – accompanied by Glenn Cannon, FEMA assistant director for disaster operations – discusses the soon-to-be-released final version of the National Response Framework (NRF).
DomesticPreparedness met with Ellen P. Embrey, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Health Affairs. The Pentagon’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Force Health Protection and Readiness outlines the military’s role in national disaster support and medical readiness under Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF 8 –Medical and Health Services), and lists the medical support capabilities her department brings to bear.
DomesticPreparedness met with Glenn Cannon, Assistant Administrator for Disaster Operations, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). FEMA's assistant administrator for disaster operations discusses the “New” FEMA, reorganized in accordance with the 2006 Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act, and the reconfigured agency’s operational, pro-active, and situationally-aware orientation.
DomesticPreparedness met with Sir Ken Knight, Commissioner for the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority. London’s – and soon the United Kingdom’s – senior first responder discusses his approach to multi-agency incident-management and response operations in light of the 7/7 2005 terrorist attack, the United Kingdom’s approach to resilience, and the several ways in which the U.K. response operations differ from those mandated by the U.S. National Incident Management System (NIMS).
DomesticPreparedness met with Joseph Becker, Senior Vice President of Disaster Services, American Red Cross to discuss the American Red Cross (ARC) concept of operations for disaster preparedness and response under the new National Response Framework, Red Cross support activities in line with ESF 6 (mass care, emergency assistance, housing, and human services) and ESF 8 (public health and medical services), and take-aways from this year’s National Preparedness Month.
DomesticPreparedness met with Dr. Robert P. Kadlec, Director, Biodefense and Public Health Practice, PTRM Management Consultants. The key architect of the 2006 Pandemic and All-Hazard Preparedness Act, which established the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), provides his insights on homeland-security medical countermeasures implementation, procurement, and organization for advanced research and development.
DomesticPreparedness met with Lieutenant General H. Steven Blum, Chief, National Guard Bureau. The Chief of the National Guard Bureau provides an update on how Guard units are supporting states in their domestic missions, while also serving as forward-deployed assets for the Department of Defense (DOD) and the U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) in responding to a national incident or event. Also: An in-depth discussion on Vigilant Guard, last month’s series of exercises at the Indiana Guard’s interagency Muscatatuck Urban Training Center (MUTC), which simulated the multi-agency response to a 10-kiloton nuclear detonation.
