Scientific Core

Associate Director and Director, Scientific Core: Paul Biddinger, MD, FACEP

Regional Exercises & Drills:
When planned and executed properly, exercises that simulate public health response to major emergency situations can significantly help improve preparedness on two levels. At the individual level, exercises present an opportunity to educate staff members on disaster plans and procedures through hands-on practice. They also help staff improve their performance through constructive critiques of their actions. On a system-wide level, well-designed exercises can reveal gaps in resources, uncover planning weaknesses, and clarify specific roles and responsibilities. HSPH-CPHP develops and facilitates preparedness tabletop and functional exercises at the regional level in Massachusetts and Maine, drawing multidisciplinary audiences including public health, emergency management, police, fire, emergency medical services, local government, public works, and healthcare. Furthermore, HSPH-CPHP is in the process of expanding our scope to establish a comprehensive exercise program that includes ongoing evaluation of response capacity, encourages remediation of deficits, and results in measurable improvement in preparedness. Dr. Paul Biddinger, Director of the Scientific Core at HSPH-CPHP, is a national leader on preparedness exercises and drills, and currently serves as the chair of the CDC's Network Collaboration Group on Preparedness Exercises and Measuring Performance.

Exercise Toolkit:
HSPH-CPHP has created the Toolkit to Assist Public Health in Conducting Preparedness Exercises. The purpose of this document is to summarize the federal guidance on preparedness exercises and make this information readily accessible to local public health. The detailed background information and instructions are specifically intended to guide local public health agencies through the process of developing their own successful exercise program. Additionally, the Toolkit provides ready-made exercises that communities can conduct themselves, with local partners.

Preparedness Checklists:
HSPH-CPHP offers checklists to assist local and regional health officials in assessing their preparedness plans. The first is entitled, Emergency Preparedness Checklist for Public Health, and is designed for all local and state public health personnel. Additional checklists are in progress, and will be aligned with the regulatory and administrative requirements currently placed on public health agencies in our partner states of Massachusetts and Maine.

Graduate Academic Preparedness Training:
Drs. Jennifer Leaning, Paul Biddinger, and Jon Burstein offer a 2.5 credit graduate-level course at Harvard School of Public Health entitled, Public Health Response to Mass Emergencies. This course covers all-hazards preparedness and response, and the syllabus is structured based on the "10 Essential Public Health Services."

Clinical Aspects of Preparedness Training:
HSPH-CPHP offers trainings for hospital-based healthcare providers covering detailed clinical information to diagnose and treat illness and injury resulting from exposure to a range of biological, chemical, radiological, and blast exposures. The curriculum also includes differential diagnoses, treatment protocols and personal protection strategies.