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Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response – Resources

Selected recent or important resources focusing on Rural Emergency Preparedness and Response.

2020 National Emergency Medical Services Assessment
Describes emergency medical services (EMS), EMS emergency preparedness, and 9-1-1 systems at the state and national levels, using data from a survey completed by representatives of 54 states and U.S. territories. Features statistics in categories including EMS organizations, response and patient care, workforce health and safety, disaster preparedness, and funding, including funding provided by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.
Date: 05/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: National Association of State EMS Officials
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RCAP Planning for Pandemics Toolkit
Toolkit designed by the Ohio Rural Community Assistance Program (RCAP) to help small water systems prepare for an epidemic. Includes flyers on COVID-19 and sanitation, and a continuity of operations plan template that can be used to prepare for a pandemic.
Date: 04/2020
Type: Website
Sponsoring organization: Rural Community Assistance Partnership
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Information for First Responders on Maintaining Operational Capabilities During a Pandemic
Provides resources to help first responders plan for the impacts of a severe pandemic. Offers ways to adjust operations to maintain readiness, planning tools for local leaders, and reference sheets with discipline-specific action steps.
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: U.S. Fire Administration
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The Exchange Feature Issue: Preparing for and Responding to Wildfires and Planned Outages
Newsletter issue focusing on lessons learned by medical facilities and communities in Colorado and California during the wildfires of 2017 and 2019. Covers information useful for rural hospital emergency managers and administration, including mass sheltering, hospital evacuation, managing stress and compassion fatigue among workers, and community recovery.
Citation: Issue 10
Date: 03/2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
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Evidence-Based Practice for Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response
Reviews evidence on public health emergency preparedness and response (PHEPR) practices and improvements necessary to strengthen the PHEPR system. Focuses on training of community-based partners to improve the outcomes of at-risk populations, activation of an emergency operations center, communication of alerts and guidance to technical audiences during an emergency, and implementation of quarantines.
Date: 2020
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Health and Medicine Division (HMD), National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
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U.S. Virgin Islands Recovery: Additional Actions Could Strengthen FEMA's Key Disaster Recovery Efforts
Examines the status of federal public assistance programs and grant funding for the U.S. Virgin Islands in response to the hurricanes of September 2017. Includes evaluation and recommendations for further action.
Additional links: Full report
Date: 11/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Pre-Disaster Recovery Planning Guide for Tribal Governments
Provides a framework and guidance for tribal government leadership involved in pre-disaster recovery planning to ensure their communities can act rapidly and efficiently once a disaster occurs. Identifies a set of activities recognizing that tribes have varying levels of capacity and methods of planning. These include: basic activities to assist in identifying recovery partners, community assets, resources and resource gaps, and financial and management procedures; recommended activities discussing the development of a recovery ordinance and recovery priorities; and formal activities for tribes with significant resources to develop a comprehensive holistic pre-disaster plan.
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Federal Emergency Management Agency
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Inclusive Public Health Preparedness Program to Promote Resilience in Rural Appalachia (2016–2018)
Describes a collaborative planning process for responding to public health emergencies in a rural Appalachian setting where citizens are more vulnerable to emergencies and natural disasters. Emphasizes the importance of including rural populations with access and functional needs in the planning process to create all-inclusive, all-hazards emergency response services.
Author(s): Jennifer Schroeder, Erin Bouldin
Citation: American Journal of Public Health, 109(Suppl 4), S283-S285
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
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Disaster Response: HHS Should Address Deficiencies Highlighted by Recent Hurricanes in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico
Examines the federal public health and medical services response in the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico following the 2017 hurricanes, Irma and Maria. Identifies shortcomings of the response and provides recommendations to improve future response efforts.
Additional links: Full report
Date: 09/2019
Type: Document
Sponsoring organization: Government Accountability Office
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Hospital-Based Incident Command Systems: Small and Rural Hospitals
Provides slides and additional links from a webinar featuring case studies of how rural, Indian Health Service, and Critical Access Hospitals responded to emergencies and used Incident Command Systems in Tennessee, Nebraska, Texas, South Dakota, Georgia, and Utah. Features training examples and actual situations - shooting incidents, school bus accidents, water contamination, and more - addressing challenges faced and lessons learned.
Date: 03/2019
Type: Presentation Slides
Sponsoring organization: Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response
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Last Updated: 4/22/2024