About the Guardian
The Guardian of Public Health is a monthly newsletter from the Bureau of EMS, Trauma, and Preparedness (BETP) within the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). The Guardian aims to provide its readers with relevant content on topics that affect the public health of citizens and communities in Michigan. For questions or comments please contact Kerry Chamberlain at chamberlaink2@michigan.gov.
Region 5: Engaging Dialysis and Home Care
Dena Smith and Stephanie Herderich - Region 5 Healthcare Coalition
With federal emergency preparedness requirements for
healthcare entities changing regularly, the engagement and inclusion of the State’s
many healthcare organizations is a top priority for all Michigan preparedness regions.
The Region 5 Healthcare Coalition meets monthly, on the second Tuesday of every
month (except August), with attendees from various healthcare organizations.
Hospitals, EMS, emergency management, public health, and long term care are all
represented at meetings. In an effort to broaden preparedness for healthcare organizations
in southwest Michigan, Region 5 hosted workshops for dialysis providers and
home care agencies in June of 2015. Read More>>
The Role of the Bureau of Laboratories at the Michigan
Department of Health and Human Services
Theresa Miller – Chemical Response Training Coordinator –
Bureau of Laboratories
The role of the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) Bureau of Laboratories (BOL) is to coordinate and participate in laboratory networks in
order to provide rapid identification of infectious agents, toxins, and
chemical exposures allowing the medical community to provide appropriate
prophylaxis and treatment to minimize morbidity and mortality. The laboratory
provides surveillance assistance to detect and respond to public health
emergencies. The public health laboratory may also establish and provide
bio-monitoring subsequent to a chemical exposure event. Read More>>
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2011 Joplin, Missouri
Tornado Experience, Mental Health Reactions, and Service Utilization:
Cross-Sectional Assessments at Approximately 6 Months and 2.5 Years Post-Event
In PLoS Currents-Disasters, researchers examined the mental
health effects following the tornado that struck Joplin, Missouri on May 22,
2011. They performed two surveys, one
six months post disaster and a second 2.5 years post disaster. Both surveys evaluated the participant's experience with
the tornado, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and mental health
system utilization. The research showed
the instance of depression was higher at six months than at 2.5 years and
instances of post-traumatic stress disorder was higher at 2.5 years. Mental health utilization was low throughout
both time periods. The authors suggest
greater monitoring of mental health and referral of services following a major disaster. Read More>>
Who Is Worst
Off? Developing a Severity-scoring Model of Complex Emergency Affected
Countries in Order to Ensure Needs Based Funding
Researchers in PLoS Currents-Disasters develop a model that will score affected countries during a complex disaster to better commit funding to those most in need. They identified over 100 indicators which focused on two components of severity: vulnerability and exposure. From these indicators the researchers narrowed the indicators to a core set of six. These indicators are: 1) Gross National Income per capita, purchase power parity(PPP), 2) Under-five mortality rate, per 1 000
live births, 3) Adult literacy rate, % of people ages 15 and above, 4) Underweight, %
of population under 5 years, 5) number of persons and proportion of population
affected, and 6) number of uprooted persons
and proportion of population uprooted. This is a preliminary model which will need further application to test and validate it. Read More>>
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