Emergency Preparedness and Response News

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In This Edition

• From the Director
• Meet the Team
• Public Health Institute
• Program Spotlight: CHEMPACK
• Important Dates

From the Director

Happy Spring to you all! As we transition into this vibrant season, I'm pleased to share an update from our Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) and Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) teams. Having heard from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), our PHEP team is quickly working on the grant submission. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will be submitting their application and carrying out emergency preparedness and response activities alongside local community health boards and tribal health departments for the new budget period of 2024-2028. Currently, we are working off last year’s funding allocation as current award amounts are unknown. We know that this year application and required activities are different than we have seen in the past and are much more prescriptive. Minnesota’s public health system and all its partners are a strong and creative group. We will do all we can to ensure that we remain ready to respond when the next public health threat emerges. The HPP team is working with the coalition leads and advisory members to plan for the next 5-year project period. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) has not yet been received. Additionally, MDH has activated level 1 incident command system (ICS) structure for welcoming new Minnesotans. For MDH, this means activation of resources outside a single division, program area, or usual working relationship. This level of activation is for internal coordination, maintaining situational awareness and information sharing, both internally and with partners. We're committed to ensuring our readiness to respond to future public health threats, and we're grateful for the Response Sustainability appropriation from the legislature that we received last year, which has enabled us to increase our capabilities. As we close out the current grant year, I invite you all to embrace spring and join me in looking ahead to our next year, planning for the upcoming budget period.

Meet the Team

Rachel Garaghty

Rachel Garaghty is the Health Equity Strategist for Emergency Preparedness and Response. Rachel served as the Disability Lead for COVID-19 Community Coordinators from 2022-2023, where she worked with disability organizations across Minnesota to respond to the pandemic. Rachel’s work focused on ensuring access to vaccination, testing, and health recovery for people with disabilities. Now, as a Health Equity Strategist, Rachel is eager to do work that will minimize harm and maximize survival in the next public health emergency. Before coming to MDH, Rachel worked in the nonprofit sector for 10 years in Minnesota, Massachusetts, and Washington, D.C.

Her background is in international development and human rights, with a Master’s of Public Policy from the Humphrey School of Public Affairs. Rachel has been a consultant for UNICEF, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Disability Rights Fund. Rachel is a person with a disability and uses a wheelchair for mobility. Rachel loves to spend her spare time reading, bird watching, and being outdoors. Rachel is a cat co-parent (with her sister) to Moomoo and Leo, and a plant mom to many house plants.

Public Health Institute

University of Minnesota School of Public Health - Public Health Institute

Join practicing public health professionals and graduate students at this year's University of Minnesota School of Public Health (UMN SPH) Public Health Institute (PHI). PHI is a program held during summer session at the UMN SPH that offers courses for practicing professionals and students in public health and related fields. Participants can build or expand their professional expertise, learn best practices, broaden career options, network with other professionals, or explore a new area of interest. Emergency preparedness focused course topics include crisis leadership, data, behavioral health, health equity, and more. In-person and virtual options are available.

Public health professionals in Minnesota may apply for a limited number of scholarships. UMN SPH will be offering scholarships for 14 emergency preparedness and response related courses at the 2024 Public Health Institute. Applications for the scholarships are due Friday, April 12. Registration is open now! Course offerings and more information is available on the 2024 Public Health Institute - School of Public Health - University of Minnesota website.

Program Spotlight: CHEMPACK

Map of Minnesota showing CHEMPACK locations

Since 2002, the CHEMPACK program has staged and sustained a nationwide network of caches that protect against nerve agents, such as sarin gas, and other organophosphate chemicals, such as pesticides. CHEMPACK caches consist of medications to treat and reverse nerve-agent poisoning in clinical and pre-hospital care environments. In Minnesota, CHEMPACK is managed by a partnership between the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), MDH, and hospitals and ambulance services.

Minnesota has 23 CHEMPACK host sites at hospitals and ambulance services in 13 counties (see map above). Each host site is responsible for storing, securing, and being ready to quickly deploy their cache during an emergency.
CHEMPACK is activated when local responders determine that nerve-agent exposure occurred and request CHEMPACK medications. When Minnesota Homeland Security, Emergency Management (HSEM) and MDH are notified, they will contact the nearest unaffected host sites. The host site then activates its CHEMPACK and begins transporting the requested medications. Additional CHEMPACK caches can be activated if the incident escalates. Once the incident ends, used medications are documented and unused medications are returned. SNS will directly replenish CHEMPACK inventories. For more information the CHEMPACK program, contact Andy Klitzke, andy.klitzke@state.mn.us.

Important Dates

Footprints of Disaster: Building Equity in Response

April 17

An engaging conference with speakers presenting topics on advancing equity in post-disaster recovery, the evolution of early intervention protocols and much more. 

Brooklyn Center, MN

Footprint of Disasters: Building Equity in Response Tickets, Wed, Apr 17, 2024 at 8:00 AM | Eventbrite

Under One Roof

May 21 – 22

At this conference, attendees will have the opportunity to strengthen partnerships, learn from past experiences, and explore new ideas related to emergency preparedness.

Duluth, MN

Registration | Under One Roof Twin Ports

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