Louisiana Public Health Institute Selected to Lead Regional Efforts to Enhance Ongoing Disaster-Related Health Recovery through Training and Technical Assistance
[New Orleans, LA] – March 19, 2019 The Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI) has been chosen to serve as one of five regional technical assistance centers for the Hurricane Response Hub (HRH) initiative led by the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI). Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), this national program is designed to enhance disaster-related surveillance and environmental and occupational health recovery efforts in areas impacted by Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria by building disaster-related public health workforce capacity.
Working with a range of state and regional partners, LPHI will serve as the coordinating body within Louisiana, to lead public health workforce capacity building activities in disaster-related surveillance, environmental, and occupational health needs.
“This is a great opportunity for Louisiana to build on its already strong emergency preparedness and response activities across our in-state partners,” said Clayton Williams, LPHI Director of Clinical Transformation. “LPHI looks forward to participating in a community of practice to share our jurisdiction’s experience, learn from others, and build on our multi-state network to ensure optimal preparedness and response when the next disaster occurs.”
The 2017 hurricane season was considered “extremely active” with 17 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and six major hurricanes, causing more than $200 billion in damage nationwide. Recovery efforts from Hurricane Harvey are ongoing, and many organizations still need assistance to ensure disaster-related environmental and occupational health best practices are applied to their work.
“Our collective success will be achieved when we co-create a stronger and integrated muscle that builds the practical skills of the workforce capable of creating more resilient communities,” said Vincent Lafronza, president and CEO of NNPHI. “I congratulate LPHI for its winning application to join NNPHI and CDC on this capacity building journey.”
The training and resources developed through this initiative will help health departments, public health institutes, emergency management, law enforcement, health care providers, government entities, and other organizations build workforce capacity and institutional knowledge that improves disaster-related recovery in the future.
“Available resources and partnerships are crucial to disaster recovery efforts. Working together, learning and adjusting our processes with each situation is how we continue to ensure strong emergency readiness,” said Dr. Jimmy Guidry, state health officer, Louisiana Department of Health.
“The HRH-TAC is a great opportunity to assemble hurricane workforce training and resources under a common umbrella in Louisiana, gain synergy from previous lessons learned and turn hard-earned knowledge into action to prepare the hurricane response and recovery,” LuAnn White, PhD, Director of Tulane Center for Applied Environmental Public Health.
For more information about the Hurricane Response Hub or to submit a technical assistance request, visit www.nnphi.org/hurricane-response-hub or send an email to HRH@nnphi.org
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About the Louisiana Public Health Institute (LPHI)
LPHI, founded in 1997, is a statewide 501(c)(3) nonprofit and public health institute that translates evidence into strategy to optimize health ecosystems. Our work focuses on uncovering complementary connections across sectors to combine the social, economic, and human capital needed to align action for health. We champion health for people, within systems, and throughout communities because we envision a world where everyone has the opportunity to be healthy. For more information, visit www.lphi.org.
About the National Network of Public Health Institutes
Mobilizing more than 40 public health institutes throughout 32 states along with ten university-based regional training centers and 40 training affiliates, the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) supports national public health system initiatives and strengthens public health institutes to promote multi-sector activities resulting in measurable improvements of public health structures, systems, and outcomes.