UW News

September 28, 2006

Partnering for emergency support

The UW School of Public Health and Community Medicine is partnering with Public Health-Seattle & King County to recruit and train medical and non-medical volunteers for the new Public Health Reserve Corps for emergency response.

The Public Health Reserve Corps of medical and non-medical volunteers is designed to complement existing emergency preparedness activities of regional health care agencies. Volunteers who join the program will be trained to support critical public health emergency response activities — dispensing medications and vaccinations, conducting health assessments, and disease surveillance.

Dr. Mark Oberle, associate dean for public health practice and professor of epidemiology, emphasized that in an emergency there is always need for many volunteers.

“Many UW health sciences students are already licensed health professionals, but many volunteers who are not credentialed will be needed in a public health emergency,” Oberle said. “An invitation for volunteers will be extended to all health sciences students this fall.”

Needed volunteers include pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy interns, advanced registered nurse practitioners, registered nurses, licensed practical nurses and physicians. Non-medical support volunteers should be 18 or older, work well in stressful situations, have good customer service skills and work well in a team.

Support activities include assisting with paperwork, greeting, directing and managing flow of people through a medication center, providing information about a disease or condition, and providing interpretation services.

“As one of the nation’s top institutions for training health science professionals, the UW is uniquely positioned to serve as a resource for the Public Health Reserves Corps,” Oberle said. “This new program expands the University’s relationship with state and local health institutions and broadens our ability to be health responders in the event of disasters—natural or otherwise.”

The UW has also developed interdisciplinary coursework and a Graduate Certificate in Emergency Preparedness and Response to train students in public health and bioterrorism emergency preparedness.

“The curriculum provides students with the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the needs of patients, and to work in a coordinated, multidisciplinary manner in responding to public health emergencies at the community, state, and national levels,” said Andy Stergachis, principal investigator and professor of epidemiology and adjunct professor of pharmacy.

The UW program has also established a secure database of potential public health emergency student and faculty volunteers needed by health departments in the event of an emergency that will now be coordinated with the new Public Health Reserve Corps.

Other organizations partnering to support the Public Health Reserve Corps include the Washington State Nurses Association, King County Medical Society, and the Washington State Pharmacy Association.

For more information about the UW Emergency Preparedness and Bioterrorism Awareness Curriculum Development Program, visit www.nwcphp.org/btcurriculum.

For more information about the Public Health Reserve Corps, including response activities, job descriptions and requirements, and how to apply, visit www.metrokc.gov/health/phreservecorps.