In this update:

• Mid-Year Progress Report
• Health Equity in Preparedness Planning
• New EPC Training Plan on MI-TRAIN
• Preparedness Lunch and Learn
• Noontime Nugget
• Save the Date- Pediatric Conference
• Hometown Health Hero Award
• ASPR All-Hazards Plan
• FEMA releases the “Planning Considerations: Putting People First” Guide
• emPOWER Trainings

Upcoming events:

January

20 | Martin Luther King, Jr., holiday, State of Michigan offices closed
22-23 | ICS-400 Course at BEPESoC in Lansing
23 | New EPC Orientation at DEPR in Lansing
31 | Mid-Year Progress Report Due

February

13 | Monthly PHEP Partners Meeting
17 | Presidents Day Holiday – State of Michigan offices closed

Mid-Year Progress Report

The LHD mid-year progress report survey is open in Qualtrics. The deadline for completing this report is January 31, 2025.

Health Equity in Preparedness Planning

The second step of Incorporating Health Equity Principles in Preparedness Planning, from the 2024-2029 workplan, is conducting an Impacted and At-Risk Populations Identification Self-Assessment. The assessment instructions and form are now available. The completed assessment from form LHDs is due June 30, 2025.

If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to your POC, or contact Rose Ann M. Davis. 

New EPC Training Plan on MI-TRAIN

A new training plan in MI-TRAIN is now available for any EPC or other LHD staff to help find the emergency preparedness and management training they will need for their roles. This training plan is not required, but a guide. Anyone can sign up and use this to help track their training. If there is training that has already been completed, the training plan will list their current status.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Kerry Chamberlain.

Preparedness Lunch and Learn

Through natural disasters, active assailant events and even pandemics, Healthcare emergency managers are consistently challenged to help their organizations plan, train, and respond to incidents. This series of virtual trainings will continue to build knowledge for healthcare emergency managers. Please share this with your partners.
EMS, Physician, Nursing, Social Worker and Nursing Home Administrator credits are available for all sessions.

January 21, 2025 – Hospital Emergency Response Team - HERT

• Ken Shawl from Bronson Hospital will describe the OSHA requirements for hospital responders to contaminated patients, discuss the training requirements to participate in the Hospital Emergency Response Team, and the importance of safety of EMS personnel during prehospital response and patient handoff to hospital first receivers.

Noontime Nugget

Join us every 4th Tuesday of the month at noon to learn more about DEPR's different programs and software.

• The next session will take place on January 28, 2025 – Getting FEMA Courses to Your Local Area.
• Jack Calhoun from Michigan State Police will review the process of how to request a FEMA course for your local area.
  Who should attend: Staff from DEPR, Healthcare Coalitions, Local Health Departments, and Tribes.
  Teams Link: Click here to join the meeting

Save the Date- Pediatric Conference

There will be a statewide Pediatric Conference on March 12, 2025. Please save the date. More details to come soon.

For questions, please contact Dr. Sam Mishra.

Hometown Health Hero Award

The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership (Partnership)* invites you to nominate someone for the Hometown Health Hero award. The Hometown Health Hero award is presented every year to individuals and/or organizations that have made significant and measurable contributions to preserve and/or improve the health of their community. These awards will be presented on April 9, 2025, as part of Public Health Week in Michigan and National Public Health Week.

Awardees are selected solely from nominations received. The only way for someone to receive this award is to be nominated. What health improvements are happening in your community that we can potentially recognize with this award? To help you answer that question, look at those who have received this award in the past. Submit a completed nomination form to the Partnership by email or fax (517-335-8392) no later than 5:00 pm, January 31, 2025.

*The Michigan Public Health Week Partnership consists of the following organizations: Eastern Michigan University Master of Public Health in Health Education, Grand Valley State University Master of Public Health Program, Michigan Association of Counties, Michigan Association for Local Public Health, Michigan Association of Medical Examiners, Michigan Health & Hospital Association, Michigan Public Health Association, Michigan Public Health Institute, Michigan State University Charles Stewart Mott Department of Public Health, the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Wayne State University College of Human Medicine Family Medicine program, and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Administration. 

ASPR All-Hazards Plan

The Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) has announced that the 2024 HHS All Hazards Plan (AHP) is now publicly available online for viewing and reference through the ASPR website. The 2024 AHP reflects lessons learned by the HHS throughout responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and outlines clear roles and responsibilities for HHS operational divisions and staff divisions in future efforts to support effective national response and recovery.

The AHP also fully outlines the operational coordination construct and mechanisms for executing HHS's responsibilities when HHS is designated as the lead federal agency. Several annexes in support of evaluating and executing response to threats and hazards are also available online to complement the available AHP.

FEMA releases the “Planning Considerations: Putting People First” Guide

FEMA releases the “Planning Considerations: Putting People First” guide to assist emergency managers and planning partners at all jurisdiction levels in identifying and understanding the interests and needs of populations throughout their community, particularly those that are disproportionately impacted by disasters, and may have been historically underserved populations. When these populations are engaged, they can strengthen plans and help contribute to the response and recovery of the whole community.

The guide outlines a people first approach and helps emergency managers apply that approach to the Six Step Planning Process established in “Comprehensive Preparedness Guide 101” (CPG 101). The “Putting People First” guide also discusses the importance of community engagement in maintaining strong community partnerships. Additionally, the guide includes data analysis and visualization resources and population spotlight sheets to begin the process of engaging and assessing the needs of underserved populations.

NIMS provides stakeholders across the whole community with the shared vocabulary, systems and processes to successfully deliver the capabilities described in the National Preparedness System. It defines operational systems that guide how personnel work together during incidents.

emPOWER Trainings

emPOWER has free, publicly available web-based training that is available on the HHS emPOWER Program Platform website.

• HHS emPOWER Program Web-based Training
• Factsheet on HHS emPOWER Program Web-based Training

The point of contact for emPOWER is Kristen Finne. The REC mailbox should be copied on requests for training.

Regional Points of Contact

Region 1: Denise Fleming
Region 2N & 2S: Jeannie Byrne
Region 3: Jim Koval
Region 5: April Walton
Region 6: Jessica Gould
Region 7: Jeannie Byrne
Region 8: Kerry Chamberlain
Tribes: Terra Riddle & Rose Ann Davis

This message is being sent to the Division of Emergency Preparedness & Response, Tribal Health Care Coordinator, Local Health Department Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, and Local Health Department Health Officer mailing lists.