Purpose:                                                                                                                                                                                                                           During recent years, the role of public health (PH) in emergency preparedness and response has rapidly increased. There has been a growing need to prepare the PH workforce for this newly emerging role and assure that the necessary competencies are achieved by PH, both at a local and national level. Local, state, territorial, tribal, and federal PH agencies have quickly responded to this need by planning for and developing valuable training resources targeted at enhancing PH workforce competencies in emergency preparedness. At the same time, there have been limited opportunities to effectively communicate, share information, and enhance synergy with training colleagues across the nation.

The purpose of the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Training Collaborative (PHEPTC) is to enhance communication, information sharing, and standards of practice among PH emergency preparedness trainers across the nation.

Goals and Timeframe:                                                                                                                                                                                                         Conduct quarterly conference calls for information sharing, highlighting best practices and evidence-based practices around PH workforce development in emergency preparedness.

In order to foster ongoing communication and information sharing among PH emergency preparedness trainers across the nation, participants will be encouraged to post information on a common website/toolbox.

By winter 2011, guidelines will be developed to assist local and state PH emergency preparedness trainers in assuring effective training programs.