Blog

Working Collaboratively for Emergency Preparedness

The NH Emergency Preparedness conference, was held in Manchester on June 4th, 2019.  This conference, which is in its 15th year, brings together over 800 emergency responders from across our state, including police, fire, EMS, local government, health care, public health and social service professionals, with the goal of increasing NH’s preparedness and response capacity.

My colleague, Sammi Martin and I participated in a planning session “Leveraging Your Community’s Hidden Capacity to Serve Vulnerable Populations in Emergencies.” It was critically important session that was specifically designed to build and strengthen partnerships between emergency responders and the agencies in our state that serve vulnerable populations.

We presented on:

• The importance of emergency responders establishing a connection with the respective area agency serving their community. There should be ways area agencies across the state can serve as a resource in preparation and planning for the unique needs of vulnerable populations including individuals with developmental disabilities and acquired brain disorders.
• The important behavioral and health characteristics to consider before, during and after an emergent event.

More information about the conference can be found at http://www.nhemergencyprepconference.com/home.html