The Rural Public Health Preparedness Collaborative (the “Collaborative”) held its first meeting on January 8, 2018. The Collaborative was established to provide a forum for local health departments from rural and frontier communities to collaborate, network, and inform national preparedness policy and practice. The Collaborative members include 20 individuals representing local and tribal public health departments from rural and frontier jurisdictions in NY, WI, PA, WY, ID, MA, CT, WA, OR, KS, CO, NC, UT, and TX.
At the first meeting, members discussed their most significant preparedness, response, and recovery challenges. Priorities for the group include identifying rural-specific resources and sharing information about preparedness practices for addressing transportation issues, healthcare preparedness, and increasing collaboration and mutual understanding with urban health departments. Policy topics of interest included funding, health disparties, and workforce. The Collaborative agreed to meet monthly going forward and will operate as a learning group, with a focus on sharing practices and resources among members.
If you are interested in participating in the Rural Public Health Preparedness Collaborative, please contact [email protected].