Several of the nations top experts in pandemic, bioterrorism, and disaster readiness will be on hand next week at the premier annual gathering of preventive medicine and public health leaders to discuss public health preparedness and response efforts at the national, state, and local levels. Several educational sessions at Preventive Medicine 2007 will be devoted to this topic, which is timely in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, continuing threats to homeland security, and the release earlier this month of pandemic flu preparedness guidelines by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. These sessions will feature recognized national leaders in this area, as well as health professionals with first hand experience in responding to recent public health emergencies, who will present the latest guidelines and preparedness plans and share lessons that can be applied to future preparedness planning. Preventive Medicine 2007 serves as the annual meeting of the Washington, DC-based American College of Preventive Medicine (ACPM), the national professional society for physicians dedicated to disease prevention and health promotion.
An all-star panel of experts will anchor a town hall breakfast discussion on Saturday, February 24, at 7:00 am, titled Coordination of Pandemic Influenza Planning Efforts at the National, State, and Local Levels. The session will feature Robert Kadlec, MD, MPH, former staff director for the Senate subcommittee that prepared the recently enacted Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Act; Michael Crutcher, MD, MPH, health commissioner for the state of Oklahoma, which was the only state to receive a 10 out of 10 score in a recent analysis of states preparedness for bioterrorism, bird flu, and other health disasters conducted by the Trust for Americas Health; and Jean Malecki, MD, MPH, Palm Beach County, Florida health director whose rapid detection and response actions likely saved many lives during the Anthrax threats
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Contact: Haydee Barno
202-466-2044
American College of Preventive Medicine
14-Feb-2007