By Madison Ferraro, Senior Program Assistant at NACCHO
Roadmap to Ready, the former New Preparedness Coordinators Training and Mentoring Program, is currently accepting applications for new participants and new mentors!
Roadmap to Ready is designed to help new emergency preparedness coordinators navigate the complex landscape of public health preparedness. The program provides new preparedness coordinators with the knowledge, skills, connections, and resources they need to successfully prepare their local jurisdictions for new and emerging threats. NACCHO designed the program for preparedness coordinators at local health departments who have been in their roles for less than two years.
As part of the program, a workshop for accepted participants will be held on Monday, April 18, 2016 at the 2016 Preparedness Summit to provide a high-level overview of the most important policies, topics, and resources that impact public health preparedness. The workshop will include a variety of focused, collaborative breakout sessions on priority areas that make up the foundation of public health preparedness work. New preparedness coordinators will be connected to a peer mentoring team and will leave the session with an individual development plan and an assortment of resources to continue learning after the workshop has concluded. Additional program details including eligibility information and participant and mentor duties can be found on the Roadmap to Ready Website.
Benefits of Participation
Participating in Roadmap to Ready is a great opportunity for new emergency preparedness coordinators and preparedness mentors. New coordinators will gain access to resources and information that may aid them in their work in emergency preparedness while mentors will assist NACCHO and the local public health preparedness community in educating professionals new to the field. The process allows participants and mentors to interact and network both during the Summit and after the workshop has ended.
The majority of participants that attended last year’s workshop reported having an increased ability to do the following:
- Identify how major trends affect local public health emergency preparedness;
- Summarize how major federal policies and guidance inform and govern work at a local health department;
- Identify legal risks and responsibilities during emergencies;
- Devise a strategy for engaging community partners in preparedness response efforts that accounts for barriers and challenges; and
New Preparedness Coordinator, Stacey Rosenberger, from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department in California, stated that “meeting different new coordinators throughout the country and learning how each county and state operates their emergency preparedness programs has been very beneficial.” Additionally, other participants reported stated that “receiving the extra resources that NACCHO supplies and knowing I have a mentor who can help me adjust to my role and work with me has been an added bonus of the program.”
Not only have new preparedness coordinators found the training useful, but mentors have found the program to be equally beneficial. “Participating as a mentor in the New Preparedness Coordinators Training and Mentoring program has been a rewarding experience for me. While the primary focus of the program is for me to provide information and advice, I have learned just as much from the incredible new coordinators I have been fortunate enough to mentor,” said Ivy Melton-Sales, Community Health Services Division Director of the Davis County Health Department in Utah.
Apply to Participate as a Participant or a Mentor!
The application for participants and mentors is now open until December 15, 2015. To complete the application, please click here.
Preparedness mentors will also be eligible to apply for a scholarship to supplement Preparedness Summit expenses. Scholarships will not be provided to participant applicants as part of this program. Applicants will be notified of selection and scholarship status in January 2016.
For more information on applying as a participant or mentor, visit the Roadmap to Ready Website or email [email protected]. We encourage you to distribute this information to other individuals who might be interested in participating as either new preparedness coordinators or experienced preparedness mentors. We look forward to seeing you at the Summit!
