Those working in emergency response roles can face periods of prolonged stress, which takes a toll on their health and well-being. It is important to know how to support them before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. By taking a hazards approach, leaders and their teams will be better equipped to navigate immense pressure without succumbing to burnout.
A true story of missing bubonic plague vials, an airport bomb threat, and other suspicious activities again demonstrate continued national and homeland security vulnerabilities and threats. Perspectives may differ, but the concerns are real and provide an opportunity to learn and prepare.
Community health centers are medical lifelines for millions of Americans. However, financial constraints and healthcare workforce challenges strain these critical resources. New initiatives and additional investments can help communities be more resilient and continue to meet community needs during a crisis.
Emergency managers, public health officials, and first responders often stress the importance of physical fitness, but what about mental fitness? Without focused mental agility in even one of the emergency management phases, mistakes or subpar performance are likely. Learn about this author’s new acronym that can help prioritize mental health in the planning process.
Resilience has multiple meanings for public health, emergency, and homeland security management professionals. However, the objective of building resilience should go beyond hazard mitigation. With 2024 being FEMA’s “Year of Resilience,” it is a good time for professionals to start rethinking this concept.
New technologies offer new ways to train personnel and exercise public health responses like COVID-19 and prepare response agencies for many other threats and hazards. Gamification integrates realistic scenarios in a controlled environment that can enhance community capabilities and build interagency collaboration and coordination. Learn more about this training and exercise tool.
During a mass casualty incident, response agencies must be able to communicate in real-time. This means that interoperability plans need to include everyone involved in the response. One lesson learned from past incidents is that hospitals are an often overlooked “responder.” Learn what one agency is doing to close this gap in the Washington, DC, region.
The Key Bridge collapse was not the first of its kind, and it will not be the last. However, there are measures community leaders can take to strengthen infrastructure and instill resilience. Understanding the short-term and long-term goals after such an incident would help Baltimore and other communities restore the transportation lifelines that have been severely impacted.
In honor of Women’s History Month, the March edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal features articles by inspirational women who, through their service and writing, are instrumental in building more prepared and resilient communities. The editor also shares her personal journey into emergency preparedness.
Emergency managers work behind the scenes to ensure the safety, security, and resilience of communities before, during, and after a disaster. As the requests for assistance increase, funding is not meeting these demands. Leaders from three nationwide organizations went to Washington, D.C., to advocate for emergency management professionals and urge Congress to increase funding for critical programs that will prepare communities for future natural and human-caused threats.
Those working in emergency response roles can face periods of prolonged stress, which takes a toll on their health and well-being. It is important to know how to support them before, during, and after emergencies and disasters. By taking a hazards approach, leaders and their teams will be better equipped to navigate immense pressure without succumbing to burnout. 
A true story of missing bubonic plague vials, an airport bomb threat, and other suspicious activities again demonstrate continued national and homeland security vulnerabilities and threats. Perspectives may differ, but the concerns are real and provide an opportunity to learn and prepare. 
Community health centers are medical lifelines for millions of Americans. However, financial constraints and healthcare workforce challenges strain these critical resources. New initiatives and additional investments can help communities be more resilient and continue to meet community needs during a crisis. 
Emergency managers, public health officials, and first responders often stress the importance of physical fitness, but what about mental fitness? Without focused mental agility in even one of the emergency management phases, mistakes or subpar performance are likely. Learn about this author’s new acronym that can help prioritize mental health in the planning process. 
Resilience has multiple meanings for public health, emergency, and homeland security management professionals. However, the objective of building resilience should go beyond hazard mitigation. With 2024 being FEMA’s “Year of Resilience,” it is a good time for professionals to start rethinking this concept. 
New technologies offer new ways to train personnel and exercise public health responses like COVID-19 and prepare response agencies for many other threats and hazards. Gamification integrates realistic scenarios in a controlled environment that can enhance community capabilities and build interagency collaboration and coordination. Learn more about this training and exercise tool. 
During a mass casualty incident, response agencies must be able to communicate in real-time. This means that interoperability plans need to include everyone involved in the response. One lesson learned from past incidents is that hospitals are an often overlooked “responder.” Learn what one agency is doing to close this gap in the Washington, DC, region. 
The Key Bridge collapse was not the first of its kind, and it will not be the last. However, there are measures community leaders can take to strengthen infrastructure and instill resilience. Understanding the short-term and long-term goals after such an incident would help Baltimore and other communities restore the transportation lifelines that have been severely impacted. 
In honor of Women’s History Month, the March edition of the Domestic Preparedness Journal features articles by inspirational women who, through their service and writing, are instrumental in building more prepared and resilient communities. The editor also shares her personal journey into emergency preparedness. 
Emergency managers work behind the scenes to ensure the safety, security, and resilience of communities before, during, and after a disaster. As the requests for assistance increase, funding is not meeting these demands. Leaders from three nationwide organizations went to Washington, D.C., to advocate for emergency management professionals and urge Congress to increase funding for critical programs that will prepare communities for future natural and human-caused threats. 