OMAHA — The University of Nebraska Medical Center is one of 10 regional centers across the country selected to launch a program to help communities prepare for and respond to public health threats.
Rachel Lucadoo, co-principal investigator at the UNMC-based Regional Public Health Preparedness and Response Center; (Courtesy of UNMC)
The recognition and five-year funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention follows a previous grant in which UNMC led the development of a new national planning approach to large-scale health crises.
The first annual installment of the grant is about $640,000, said Rachel Lucadou, principal investigator and assistant professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health.
He said UNMC did not initially know that the facility would be used for follow-up implementation activities and was excited to see its use among the population selected as a public health preparedness and response center. He said he is doing so.
UNMC announced Thursday that it will manage the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region 7 center, which serves Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
UNMC announced Thursday that it will manage the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Region 7 center, which serves Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
“The goal of this center is to help create a more interconnected regional approach to addressing some of the most pressing public health threats of particular concern to our region,” said Lucadou. said.
She believes the center can engage more deeply with the community in advance of an actual emergency and strengthen the community’s response capacity.
For example, Lucadoo said the center’s staff will work with an advisory committee to prepare towns and residents on how to respond to extreme weather events. Identify new and innovative ways to develop and mobilize the public health workforce.
Lauren Sauer, Deputy Director of Research, UNMC Global Center for Health Security. (Courtesy of University of Nebraska Medical Center)
It will also address ways to increase community trust in public health.
Lauren Sauer, another lead researcher, said preparedness efforts are already strong in the region, but could be further strengthened. Sauer is an associate professor of environmental, agricultural, and occupational health and associate director of research at the Global Center for Health Security.
“We will work to ensure that our preparedness efforts are not siloed,” she said.
He said one of the key goals of the agreement is to improve regional coordination and improve the national dialogue on evidence-based practices.
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