CDC Public Health Law News

From the CDC:

Tuesday, February 7, 2012 From the Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Public Health Law News Readers and Colleagues, The annual Public Health Preparedness Summit is February 21-24, 2012 in Anaheim, CA. Highlighted below are sessions focused on public health law and preparedness that may be of interest to you.  Please visit the Public Health Preparedness Summit website for registration and additional information.  We look forward to seeing you in Anaheim! Public Health Law and Preparedness Examined – Tuesday, February 21, 8:30am – 12:30pm Preconference Workshop The National Association of County and City Health Officials and the Network for Public Health Law, with guidance and funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Law Program (PHLP) within the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), have developed a training to enhance local public health officials’, preparedness directors’, and legal counsels’ knowledge of the legal authorities and issues that shape their ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. The workshop will introduce attendees to the training curriculum and exercise and inform participants of the various legal authorities (e.g., federal, state, and local) and issues that shape their agencies’ and jurisdictions’ ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from public health emergencies. Additionally, presenters will highlight the use of relevant laws and policies that affect decision making during an emergency and prepare decision makers to improve public health outcomes in an emergency.  Presenters: Joseph Durham, JD Attorney, Eastman Smith, Franklin County Health District; Columbus, OH Pricilla Keith, JD General Counsel, Health and Hospital Corporation of Marion County Indianapolis; Marion County, IN ========= Navigating Legal Barriers to Effective Public Health Emergency Response (#A-07) – Wednesday, February 22, 2012, 10:30am – 12:00pm Interactive Session The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials and Logan Circle Policy Group,  with guidance and funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Law Program (PHLP) within the Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support (OSTLTS), have designed a resource to address legal barriers that may have impeded or impaired our public health system’s ability to more effectively respond to the H1N1 pandemic in 2009-2010, and may continue to arise in future public health emergencies. Tools such as fact sheets, issue briefs, summaries of applicable federal, links to additional resources, and “implementation tips,” will aid both program staff and legal counsel in understanding, mitigating, and overcoming the following specific, priority legal barriers: Statutory Authorities and Liability Issues; Scope and Application of Emergency Use Authorizations; Managing Public Health Emergencies in a School/Education Environment; and Options and Alternatives for Expanded Scope of Practice. This interactive session will introduce attendees to the toolkit, demonstrate the use of toolkit resources by various audiences, and seek feedback on future topics and materials for the toolkit. Facilitator: Jim Blumenstock Chief Program Officer, Public Health Practice, Association of State and Territorial Health Officials; Arlington, VA Presenters: Patricia Elliott, JD, MPH Logan Circle Policy Group; Washington, DC Darrell Klein, JD Assistant Agency Counsel, Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services; Lincoln, NE Stacie Kershner, JD ORISE Fellow, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA ========= State Variation of Liability Coverage for Volunteers under the EMAC (#B-05) - Wednesday, February 22, 1:30 – 3:00pm Interactive Session Participants will engage in discussion of tort liability and workers compensation mechanisms in the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), identify limitations for volunteers deployed under EMAC, describe the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act, and review preliminary findings from research into the various state-based solutions. Presenters: Matthew Penn, JD, MLIS Director, Public Health Law Program, Office for State, Tribal, Local and Territorial Support, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA Wilfredo Lopez, JD General Counsel Emeritus to the New York City Department of Health and Public Health Law Consultant to CDC through an independent contractor; Atlanta, GA ========= Crisis Standards of Care: Clinical and Legal Aspects in Disaster Response (#A-15) – Wednesday, February 22, 1:30 – 3:00pm Interactive Session This session will discuss the Institute of Medicine framework guidance for the development of policies for standards of care in disaster where resources are scarce and responding provider liability coverage. Presenters: Bobby Courtney Director of Policy & Planning, MESH; Indianapolis, IN Chad Priest, RN, MSN, JD Chief Executive Officer, MESH; Indianapolis, IN ========= Improving Communications and Enhancing Trainings for Planning Preparedness (#H-01) – Friday, February 24, 9:30 – 10:15am Sharing Session These 45-minute informal roundtable sharing sessions allow for interactive discussions on a specific topic or issue. Participants will meet with research investigators from the Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Centers and representatives from the Preparedness and Response Learning Centers, and will have an opportunity to provide feedback on a programmatic idea or the process involved in developing new preparedness-related policies, etc. The sessions feature roundtable discussions on the following topics: Preparedness Planning for Vulnerable Populations; Preparedness Planning for Tribal Communities; Legal Issues in Preparedness and Response; Workforce Planning; and Workforce Response. Facilitators: Shoukat Qari, DVM, PhD Senior Scientific Program Official, Extramural Research Program, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA Gabrielle O'Meara Public Health Advisor, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Learning Office, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; Atlanta, GA Presenters: Hilary Eiring, MPH Project Manager, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health; Atlanta, GA Shandiin Wood, MPH Research Specialist/Evaluator, Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center; Tucson, AZ Ralph Renger, PhD Co-Planner and Director of Evaluation, Mountain West Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center; Tucson, AZ Lisle Hites, MS, MEd, PhD Assistant Professor, UAB SOPH; Birmingham, AL Lisa McCormick, DrPH Assistant Professor, UAB SOPH; Birmingham, AL Jessica Wakelee, MPH Manager of Data Collection and Analysis, UAB SOPH; Birmingham, AL Jesse Bliss, MPH Assistant Dean for Public Health Practice, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice and Workforce Development Center for Public Health Preparedness; Loma Linda, CA Biblia Kim, MPH Research Coordinator, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center; Loma Linda, CA Manjit Randhawa, MD Associate Director for Research and Development, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice and Workforce Development, Center for Public Health Preparedness; Loma Linda, CA Rachel Long, MPH Senior Research Assistant, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Office of Public Health Practice and Workforce Development; Loma Linda, CA Monica Minor-Exum, MA, EdD Curriculum Instruction Specialist, Association of Schools of Public Health; Washington, DC Lori Graham, PhD Educational Development and Evaluation Coordinator, Texas AM Health Science Center; Round Rock, TX Donata Nilsen, MPH, DrPH(c) Research Associate, UC Berkeley Center for Infectious Diseases and Emergency Readiness/Cal PREPARE; Berkeley, CA Lainie Rutkow, JD, PhD, MPH Assistant Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Baltimore, MD Erin Fuse Brown, JD, MPH Visiting Assistant Professor of Law, Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law, Arizona State University; Tempe, AZ Sarah Blake, MA, PhD(c) Senior Associate Faculty, Emory University Preparedness and Response Research Center, Emory University Rollins School of Public Health; Atlanta, GA ========= Sharing and Assessing WMD Threat Information: A Local PH-Law Enforcement Model (#24) – presenters will be available for discussion Wednesday, February 22, 7:00 – 8:00am and 3:00 – 3:30pm Poster This poster will provide a discussion of the model utilized by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health for sharing and jointly assessing possible weapons of mass destruction threat information with the Los Angeles Federal Bureau of Investigation Field Office and other law enforcement agencies. Dickson Diamond, MD Director, Threat Assessment, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health; Los Angeles, CA