Dr. Craig Vanderwagen, former Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, wrote a five-part white paper series entitled “Implementing the National Health Security Strategy.” In this series, he explores issues that affect the success of public health practitioners in meeting the public’s health needs and, by doing so, increases the resilience of communities and the United States as a whole. The guiding framework for this series is the National Health Security Strategy (NHSS), which was developed and released in December 2009 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

This series broadly examines the importance of managing the movement of supplies, personnel, and patients in execution of various public health interventions. While utilizing lessons learned primarily in disaster events, this series also suggests the need for effective logistical skill in completing the more routine tasks associated with public health. The importance of planning, acquisition of the right tools and people, and necessary attention to the intervention details and its requirements are all addressed. Without these principles fully engaged, the success of the desired intervention is likely to falter.

This white paper can easily be downloaded at http://www.upp.com/whitepaper-registration.cfm.