After a whirlwind few years, the newsletter is back from hiatus! We look forward to featuring the latest updates on emergency preparedness and response, including best practices, emerging trends, and solutions to complex challenges facing our communities. We will also highlight success stories, members within our team, and provide resources for our partners. |
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Greetings!
I am thrilled we are finally able to relaunch the Emergency Preparedness and Response Newsletter after a challenging hiatus due to the pandemic. The pandemic highlighted the critical importance of Emergency Preparedness and Response; our goal moving forward is to integrate Preparedness more thoroughly in our agency's work.
Recently, we had the opportunity to attend the Annual Preparedness Practicum presented by the Metro Health and Medical Preparedness Coalition. This event provided valuable insights into the challenges and opportunities for preparedness and response in our communities. We learned about the difficulties faced by healthcare systems in response to infectious disease incidents and active shooter events. We heard about the importance of effective communication and coordination between healthcare facilities, emergency responders, and public health agencies to ensure a timely and coordinated response. We were inspired by the resilience and resourcefulness of these healthcare professionals and are grateful for the opportunity to learn from their experiences.
We welcome you back and look forward to resuming our regular communications.
Cheryl
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With the accumulating snow Minnesota has received this year, there is an increased risk of flooding this Spring. Floods can create various health hazards, safety and environmental risks. Here are some tips for you, your family, and community to stay safe.
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Get flood insurance. Standard homeowner's insurance usually does not cover flood damage. Flood insurance takes 30 days to be effective. Update your plan if you have not done so.
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Use sandbags when flooding is expected. Check to see if your community offers free sandbags to residents.
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Never drive or walk through flooded streets. Remember, flood waters are contaminated!
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Store a supply of clean water. Drinking water can become polluted and can cause outbreaks of waterborne disease.
Make sure your community is prepared with the Flood Safety Checklist from the American Red Cross. Additional resources can be found through Homeland Security and Emergency Management.
Meet the Regional Behavioral Health Coordinators (RBHC) that make up the Disaster Behavioral Health Program. The RBHCs work in collaboration to provide behavioral health and disaster response services for local public health departments, emergency preparedness teams, health care entities and other state departments. They offer various resources from educational opportunities, which include monthly trainings and presentations. The RBHCs provide continued support for their regions to promote behavioral health, including a monthly virtual book club, and healing groups.
The Disaster Behavioral Program is the first of it's kind in the country. It was created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic to help support local public health departments with the impact and strain that was left on staff and communities.
The RBHCs place strong value in their work, and are committed to supporting the organizations and individuals they serve. Their passion is rooted from their strong sense of teamwork, as well as and the shared mission of helping those in need. They are available for a variety of trainings, including: Skills for Psychology Recovery, Psychological First Aid, Ambiguous Loss, Verbal De-escalation, Leadership Trainings, and Communication Trainings and much more. The RBHCs are also able to develop trainings based on the needs of the audience.
The team is headed by Nancy Carlson, and consists of four coordinators:
Nancy Carlson, MPhil, oversees the Disaster Behavioral Health Program and has been with MDH for 20 years. She finds value in being able to reach across the state to support disaster behavioral health for LPH/TH and other disaster preparedness, response and recovery stakeholders. Prior to this, she worked at the county level in children, adult, and family mental health case management for 9 years. In 1999, she developed a county-wide multi-discipline disaster behavioral health response team that led to her job at MDH. Outside of her position, she enjoys reading, spending time with her grand kids, and laughing with friends. Nancy is available for presentations and trainings, she can be contacted by email.
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Kevynn Schumacher, MS, serves the West Central and Central regions. Prior to this position, she worked in a Correctional Facility providing therapeutic interventions for those convicted of a sexual offenses. Kevynn lives in Pine City, Minnesota with her family where they enjoy traveling and the outdoors. She is available to provide presentations and trainings and can be contacted by email. |
Luke Campbell, MA, serves the Northwest and Northeast regions. Luke appreciates the creative flexibility to customize the resources and support he provides to local public health. Outside of work, he also works with individuals, couples, and families as a psychotherapist in his private mental health practice. Prior to his role at MDH, Luke served 10 years in the U.S. Army and deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan, and Africa. Luke currently lives in Saint Paul with his wife and two young boys. He is available for trainings and presentations. If interested, please contact him by email. |
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Hanna Marzinske, MBA, serves the South Central and Southwest regions. In her position, she enjoys the uniqueness of every day and supporting individuals during some of the most difficult times in their life. Hanna is available to provide presentations and trainings. You can reach her by email. |
Janet Yeats, MA LMFT, serves the Metro and Southeast regions. Professionally, Janet specializes in trauma and disaster response and immediately was drawn towards the role. Outside of work, Janet is currently writing her first book about ambiguous loss. Janet is available for presentations and trainings. Please contact Janet by email if interested. |
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The next upcoming training offered by RBHC staff will be on March 9th, entitled, Understanding What Drives Your Staff: The Science of Organizational Psychology, is available for registration on MN.TRAIN. Course ID: 1108548
After Action Reporting Practice Advice: Creating and Implementing Your Improvement Plan
An after action report is an important way to summarize an exercise or a real world event, identify improvements, and track progress in making those improvements. These webinars will help participants learn practical ways to advance their improvement planning efforts and manage a continuous improvement process. Your AAR/IP should be a commonly utilized document while implementing preparedness improvements and initiatives.
Two webinars are currently available in MN.TRAIN to help local public health, tribal health, and healthcare staff who are responsible for writing after action reports and improvement plans (AAR/IPs). One webinar is for the novice in the public health and healthcare field who is new to writing AAR/IPs, and the other is for the more experienced public health and healthcare writer of AAR/IPs.
You can access these webinars in MN.TRAIN (https://www.train.org/mn) using the following course IDs: After Action Reporting Practice Advice: Creating and Implementing Your Improvement Plan for the Beginner, Course ID 1109026, and After Action Reporting Practice Advice: Creating and Implementing Your Improvement Plan for the Experienced Practitioner, Course ID: 1109029
Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) and Emergency Preparedness (EP) Coordinator Workshop
April 18-19
DoubleTree By Hilton
7800 Normandale Blvd. Minneapolis, MN 55439
Please register in MN.TRAIN Course ID: 1108423
2023 Public Health Preparedness Summit
April 24-28
Atlanta, GA
Website and registration information
Under One Roof
May 16-17
Duluth Entertainment Convention Center
Website and registration information
Footprints in Disaster: Restoring Balance as we Forge Ahead
Save the Date! - More information to come.
June 6
Heritage Center
Brooklyn Center, MN
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