Pacific EMPRINTS

Funding Agency
	United States Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) The Department of Health and Human Services is the United States government's principal agency for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services, especially for those who are least able to help themselves. The Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (formerly the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness) serves as the Secretary's principal advisory staff on matters related to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. ASPR also coordinates interagency activities between HHS, other Federal departments, agencies, offices and State and local officials responsible for emergency preparedness and the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. The purpose of the Bioterrorism and Curriculum Development Program (BTCDP) is to improve the capability of the Nation's healthcare workforce to respond to bioterrorism and other public health emergencies. The goal of this program is the development of a healthcare workforce capable of demonstrating the ability to: (1) recognize indications of a terrorist event and other public health emergencies; (2) treat patients and communities in a safe and appropriate manner; (3) participate in a coordinated response and, (4) rapidly and effectively alert the public health system of such an event at the community, State, and national level. Bioterrorism includes occurrences, both deliberate and not, that causes human suffering and injury due to exposure to not only biological but also chemical, nuclear, incendiary or explosive agents and other public health emergencies.

Grant Recipient
	UH College of Social Sciences Medical Anthropology Specialization, Department of Anthropology The College has more 2,000 undergraduate and graduate students, and 155 faculty members and staff. The Information Technology Center in the College provides computing and communications infrastructure, services, support, and innovation for the instructional, research, public service, and administrative programs. The College is comprised of 14 departments and programs, and offers a doctoral degree in eight of these programs. PEACESAT which links Hawai‘i with the USAPI via satellite operations is also part of the College. The College offers a certificate of completion in disaster management and humanitarian assistance through the Department of Urban and Regional Planning and a masters degree in public administration with a concentration on disaster management. The SSRI is involved extensively in disaster mitigation projects and the College currently offers a professional certificate of completion for “GIS, GPS and Spatial Analysis Applications for Public Health Professionals.” The Department of Anthropology at the University of Hawai'i offers the MA and PhD in Anthropology with a concentration in Medical Anthropology. Resources for training in Medical Anthropology include specific curricular and research foci within the Department of Anthropology, as well as related areas of instruction in the Schools of Public Health and Medicine and other academic units concerned with health, medicine, and human biology. The multiethnic communities of Hawai'i, and a variety of clinical settings, provide unusual opportunities for the study of sociocultural and epidemiologic problems related to health and illness, traditional/folk and biomedical approaches to illness prevention and therapeutics, and delivery of health care services among populations in transition. Special University resources in Asian and Pacific Studies encourage medical anthropological research in those areas.

Partners
	Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) Environmental Systems Research Institute, Inc. (ESRI) was founded in 1969. It has grown into the world’s largest research and development organization dedicated to geographic information systems (GIS). Today, many sophisticated GIS operations as well as live mapping and spatial analyses can be performed in the field on PDAs and laptops, on the desktop, and even over the Web. This opens up GIS technology to anyone with a computer and making GIS a particularly relevant decision support tool for healthcare and emergency medicine professionals preparing for and responding to natural disasters and acts of terrorism. As a project partner, ESRI provides valuable technical and logistical assistance in development and delivery of the web-based GIS courses and seminars, customized to the needs of healthcare and emergency medicine professionals.

	Pacific Public Health Training Center The Pacific Public Health Training Center (PPHTC) is a combined effort of the four accredited Schools of Public Health in California and the University of Hawaii's School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene. The Center's primary goal is to develop and support public health training opportunities that are consistent with the Health 2010 objectives. PPHTC is a distance learning network of people and resources that takes training and information to the learner. This network uses a variety of instructional media ranging from print-based videotape and multi-media to meet the training and information needs of the nation’s health workforce needs.

	Yale University School of Medicine, Center for Continuing Medical Education The mission of the Yale University School of Medicine's Center for Continuing Medical Education (CME) is to advocate and support the continuing professional development of health care professionals. Through its Center, the Medical School offers a full range of educational experiences that enhance the practitioner's knowledge base, provide updates and review, and expand professional skills. In the tradition of the Yale University School of Medicine as a world-class institution, the target audience of Yale CME includes the broad range of the medical profession, from full-time practitioners to academic physicians with special interests in research and teaching as well as other allied health care professionals locally, nationally and internationally. The activities sponsored by Yale CME include primary care, specialty, and subspecialty topics in the field of medicine. The scope of these activities involves the body of knowledge and skills generally recognized and accepted by the profession as within the basic medical sciences, the discipline of clinical medicine, and the provision of health care to the public. Yale CME provides content and material tailored to complement the participant's needs and schedule through the following educational activities: conferences and workshops; home study courses; enduring materials; and online learning. The offerings are intended to enhance physician and other health professionalsí training and influence their behavior for the purpose of improving health outcomes and patient care.

	State Civil Defense of Hawaii The State of Hawaii civil defense system is comprised of State Civil Defense and four county civil defense agencies. It embodies emergency management and homeland security. Civil defense structures and missions are consistent with the comprehensive, integrated, all-hazards emergency management system that is supported by the Department of Homeland Security (Federal Emergency Management Agency). The system involves planning, programming, and coordination of disaster preparedness, mitigation programs, and response and recovery operations.

	East West Center and Pacific Disaster Center The East-West Center is an internationally recognized education and research organization established by the U.S. Congress in 1960 to strengthen understanding and relations between the United States and the countries of the Asia Pacific region. The Center helps promote the establishment of a stable, peaceful and prosperous Asia Pacific community in which the United States is a natural, valued and leading partner. The Center carries out its mission through programs of cooperative study, training and research. Professionals and students from the United States, Asia and the Pacific study and work together at the East-West Center to better understand issues of common and critical concern and explore mutually beneficial ways of addressing them. The East - West Center is also the managing organization of the Pacific Disaster Center on the island of Maui. The PDC in cooperation with regional (e.g., State Civil Defense, Pacific Tsunami Early Warning System) and national (e.g., FEMA) disaster management agencies provides applied information research and analysis support for the development of more effective policies, institutions, programs and information products (including geospatial data and mapping services) for the disaster management and humanitarian assistance communities of the Asia Pacific region and beyond. PDC is primarily focused on natural hazards and fostering disaster-resistant communities, and thus, would complement without duplicating the efforts of this proposal.

	National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) researches, monitors and provides education about the effects of such natural hazards as tsunamis, hurricanes and volcanoes, making them a valuable resource for disseminating and pilot testing technologies geared toward detecting and responding to natural disasters. Pacific EMPRINTS' partnership with NOAA will build a base of GIS/GPS knowledge that is useful to and can be disseminated nationwide to protect our communities from natural disasters.

	UH Kapiolani Community College, Departments of Emergency Medical Services The Department of Emergency Medical Services is a statewide department with facilities located on Hawaii, Maui, Oahu and Kauai. The Program is designed to be competency-based and offers a career ladder model. The department has five main emphases: 1) Public Safety Education (First Responder and First Responder Refresher); 2) Emergency Medical Technician, EMT (Basic and Intermediate); 3) Mobile Intensive Care Technician (Paramedic); 4) Continuing Medical Education of Pre-hospital Personnel; and 5) Non-Credit Community Education. Credit and non-credit programs meet national guidelines for certification.

	UH School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene The School of Nursing and Dental Hygiene consists of two autonomous departments, the Department of Nursing and the Department of Dental Hygiene each with its own chair. The Department of Nursing offers one of the finest programs to prepare students for careers in nursing, primarily for the State of Hawai'i and the Pacific Basin. Its programs range from the Bachelor of Science in Nursing to Master of Science in Nursing, Post-Master’s Certificate (PMC) and Doctor of Philosophy in Nursing. It is also the only program in the state accredited by National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission and Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education and approved by the Hawai'i State Board of Nursing. The Department of Dental Hygiene is one of the few dental hygiene programs in the U.S. that prepares baccalaureate level students in the field of dental hygiene.

	UH John A. Burns School of Medicine - Asia-Pacific Center for Biosecurity, Disaster and Conflict Research - Hawaii and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) The Asia-Pacific Center for Biosecurity, Disaster and Conflict Research is one of five centers under the Asia-Pacific Institute of Tropical Medicine and Infectious Diseases (APITMID). In order to increase understanding and preparedness in the areas of biosecurity, disasters and conflict, the Center conducts education and training, performs services for the community, participates in regional, national, and international forums; and convenes, seminars, and conferences. Hawaii and Pacific Basin Area Health Education Center (AHEC) is a program within JABSOM that is funded through grants from the Health Resources and Services Administration, other federal agencies, the Hawaii State Department of Health, and local foundations. The federal goals of the program are to improve access to quality health care through appropriate preparation, composition and distribution of the health professions workplace and to improve access to a diverse and culturally competent and sensitive health professions workforce.

	Healthcare Association of Hawaii Founded in 1939, the Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH) is a non-profit organization representing Hawaii's healthcare providers. HAH is affiliated with the American Hospital Association (AHA), the American Health Care Association (AHCA), the National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) and the National Association for Home Care and Hospice (NAHC). Since 1988, the Emergency Management Program of HAH has served Hawaii hospitals, long-term care facilities, home care & hospice agencies, and other members of the health care coalition providing administrative & technical assistance, emergency response coordination and response teams. These services are provided in close collaboration with the Hawaii State Department of Health (SDOH) and other federal, state and county agencies. Funding is provided by member organizations with support of federal DHHS cooperative agreement grants.

	UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources –ADAP (Agricultural Development in the American Pacific Land Grant Programs) Project and Para-Vet Training Programs The University of Hawaii’s College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) is home to an inter-Pacific nation program called the Agricultural Development in the American Pacific (ADAP) program. They have a extensive network of public health food specialists, veterinarians and paravets, or paraprofessional veterinarians in the Pacific Basin area. The program represents the following institutions: America Samoa Community College, College of Micronesia, College of the Marshall Islands, Palau Community College, Northern Marianas College, University of Guam and University of Hawai‘i.

Funding Agency

Grant Recipient

Partners