The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has released “Regional Disaster Response Coordination to Support Health Outcomes: Summary of a Workshop Series.” This report series features summaries from three regional Forum on Medical and Public Health Preparedness for Catastrophic Events workshops hosted by IOM in 2014.
The workshops explored opportunities to strengthen the regional coordination required to ensure effective medical and public health response to a large scale multijurisdictional disaster. The purpose of each regional workshop was to discuss potential mechanisms to strengthen coordination among multiple jurisdictions in various regions to ensure fair and equitable treatment of communities from all impacted areas. Each workshop included community planning and engagement, information sharing and management, and issues of surge capacity and health care delivery within the context of a large regional disaster.
View the workshop summaries for more information and to review opportunities for improved operational change and alignment. As many communities within a region will have similar vulnerabilities when considering disasters, a logical step in planning is to establish responsibilities and capacities, and be able to work toward common goals to address all-hazards when the entire region is affected. Of particular interest, NACCHO members are invited to view the “Highlighted Opportunities for Operational Changes” section at the end of chapters 2-4.
