Health and emergency preparedness professionals now have access to the nation’s first and most comprehensive system of resources designed specifically to help communities better prepare for and manage the health impacts of disasters.

Sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), the Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (TRACIE) features resource materials, a help line, just-in-time suggestions and tools to share information gleaned from real-life experiences in preparing for, responding to and recovering from disasters.

Dr. Nicole Lurie, HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response said in a statement: “Experience has shown that every disaster, large or small, has the potential to impact health,” said . “TRACIE can help health and emergency management officials across the country learn about, share, and apply best practices and experiences before, during and after disasters to protect health and potentially save lives.”

ASPR developed TRACIE with a network of experts nationwide to address needs identified by stakeholders charged with preparing for public health and health care system emergencies. To support them, TRACIE provides technical resources and a technical assistance center, a comprehensive national knowledge center, and multiple ways to share information between federal, state and local officials.

TRACIE’s technical resources include a living library of audience-tailored and subject matter expert-reviewed topic collections and materials highlighting real-life tools and experiences. TRACIE’s resources include user rating and comments, which can be used to help choose the best resource for a particular need.

Through TRACIE’s assistance center, state, tribal, local and territorial officials can reach subject matter experts for technical assistance and consultations on a range of topics. Technical assistance could vary widely, including pediatric preparedness resources, crisis standards of care, tools to assess the readiness of hospitals and health care coalition for emergencies, lessons learned about delivering dialysis care during disasters, and more. Officials also can find training related to preparedness, response and recovery. The assistance center is available through a toll-free number, email, and online.

TRACIE also includes an information exchange. Through this forum, health care emergency preparedness stakeholders can discuss, collaborate and share information about pending and actual health threats and promising practices. Users also can exchange templates, plans and other materials through this feature.

Users can get advice, including just-in-time advice, from hundreds of health care, disaster medicine, public health and public safety professionals, through ASPR TRACIE. TRACIE’s free registration allows users to rate the usefulness of the resources and to access the information exchange.

ASPR TRACIE resulted from the collaborative efforts of local, state and federal government agencies, regional health-care coalitions, academia, and partners from the private sector and nongovernmental organizations.

ASPR leads HHS in preparing the nation to respond to and recover from adverse health effects of emergencies, supporting communities’ ability to withstand adversity, strengthening health and response systems, and enhancing national health security. HHS enhances and protects the health and well-being of all Americans by providing for effective health and human services and fostering advances in medicine, public health, and social services.

PKMK - Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar has urged the Riau administration to pay close attention to health problems caused by haze currently blanketing parts of the province.

Fire-extinguishing efforts in Riau this year, Siti said, had been much better than in previous years.

“It’s much more manageable. One thing that needs a special effort is the health impacts of the haze,” said the minister during a two-day visit to Riau, which ended on Sunday.

“I’ve received reports that local administrations have established health posts. Therefore, I’ve brought Health Ministry secretary-general [Untung Soeseno Sutarjo] on my visit to Riau, as it is his ministry that properly understands the technical procedures to tackle the crisis Riau residents are currently facing,” said Siti.

Speaking on the visit, Untung confirmed that the Health Ministry would establish two additional health posts to tackle the health impacts of haze in Pekanbaru. Untung said that 14 specialist doctors and paramedics specially deployed from Jakarta would provide healthcare services at the posts.

He added that the two health posts had been established near Arifin Achmad Regional General Hospital (RSUD) in Pekanbaru so that it would be easier for medical workers to refer patients with serious medical problems who needed further treatment. “We are ready to dispatch more health workers if needed,” said the official.

According to the Health Ministry, half a ton of medicines for illnesses caused by haze, such as acute respiratory infections, asthma and inflamed throats, has been sent to Riau and is scheduled to arrive in Pekanbaru on Sunday evening.

The additional medical supplies, Untung said, had been provided to ensure that no more expired medicine was distributed to patients.

“There was a case of expired medicine, which was reportedly caused by a shortage of medical supplies at health posts,” he said.

On Friday, an official at a health post near Sukaramai market in Pekanbaru gave Inflation, an anti-inflammation medicine, to a smoke-affected patient, who later revealed to the press that the medicine had expired in March 2015. (ebf)

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NEW DELHI: Cities being developed in coastal states as 'Smart Cities' under the Prime Minister's flagship programme must be disaster resilient, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has told the government after a 10-month-long study on the Cyclone HudHud which had created wide-scale destruction in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.

In a report titled 'Strategies and Lessons for preparing better and strengthening risk resilience in coastal regions of India', DMA explains how the 'eye' of the 2014 HudHud cyclone lay exactly over the Vishakapatnam city and caused widespread damage to property and natural resources though lot of lives were saved given advance preparations made.

"The smart cities being built and many more cities/towns which are coming up or located in the vulnerable coastal areas, need to be designed and built based on multi hazard resilient features. The smart cities and other cities being developed in coastal areas through Central Assistance must have a component of disaster management plan integrated with district disaster management plan," the NDMA has now recommended to the Urban Development Ministry. The NDMA has further proposed the concept of' Early Warning to the Last Mile' to save lives.

"On receipt of information from Indian Meteorological Department of the approaching cyclone, the State Emergency Operation Centre would immediately through a web based early warning dissemination system send warning from Chief Secretary/Chief Minister right up to the last mile i.e. people living in far flung coastal areas and to fishermen through their mobiles or other systems so installed. This will help the people to become vigilant 48-72 hours before the landfall of cyclone and either shift to safer places such as Multipurpose Cyclone Shelters or to move to areas within the state which are not likely to be affected by cyclone," the report says. It has also proposed that a database be prepared of pregnant women in their 4th trimester be to shift them to emergency care in hospitals before the cyclone strikes.

source: indiatimes.com