Monday, November 5, 2012

Hurricane Sandy: the 1st week - Paul Herscu ND, MPH


Well…it is hard to know how to start. For those of you who have lived through this experience, our hearts and thoughts are with you. Given that, I wanted to send a quick note that most likely reiterates what you have been hearing from public health and government and public works officials. The topic of disaster response is a well thought-out one, with a great deal of research behind it. When I studied disaster response as part of my MPH program, my teacher was Linda Landesman. She is a thought leader on the subject and wrote a very important book entitled Public Health Management of Disasters, a useful resource for people wanting to understand how to prepare for this sort of situation. The book is published by the APHA.
The way I think of the topic is very similar to how I think of disease in general. Is it acute or chronic or an acute flare-up of a chronic situation? Which means that when the event first occurs, the needs are different than they are a few weeks or 6 months later.  So for where we are now, here it goes.