Cindy Gonzalez
OMAHA — The University of Nebraska Medical Center is one of 10 regional centers across the United States selected to start a program to help communities prepare for and respond to public health threats.
The recognition and five-year funding commitment from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention follow an earlier grant in which UNMC led development of a new national planning approach to large-scale health crises.
The first annual installment of the grant is about $640,000, said Rachel Lookadoo, principal investigator who also is an assistant professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health.
She said that UNMC did not know early on it would be tapped for the follow-up implementation efforts, and it is thrilled to see its application among those selected as a Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response.
UNMC announced Thursday it will administer the center for Region Seven of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
Regional centers
- UNMC
- Harvard University
- Columbia University
- Johns Hopkins University
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- University of Minnesota
- Tulane University
- University of Utah
- University of California San Francisco
- University of Washington
UNMC announced Thursday it will administer the center for Region Seven of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, serving Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.
“The goal of this center will be to help create a more interconnected regional approach to responding to some of the public health emergency threats that are particularly concerning to our region,” said Lookadoo.
She sees the center being more involved with communities ahead of an actual emergency, enhancing their ability to respond.
For example, Lookadoo said, the center’s staff, working with an advisory committee, will prepare towns and populations for how to respond to extreme weather events. It will identify new and innovative ways to grow and mobilize a public health workforce.
It will also work on ways to improve community trust in public health.
Lauren Sauer, another principal investigator, said preparedness efforts already are strong in the region but can be strengthened. Sauer is an associate professor of environmental, agricultural and occupational health and associate director of research at the Global Center for Health Security.
“We’ll work to ensure that our preparedness activities are not siloed,” she said.
One of the key goals of this contract, she said, is to improve regional coordination and improve a nationwide dialogue on evidence-based practices.