News

NCDP study linking climate change to public health decline featured in Science Times

August 19, 2015

Researchers at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the University of Washington have published a new study that shows the public health implications of climate change. Their research explores climate change impacts on human health in coastal regions, especially in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The findings of their study are a warning signal for the implications of climate change on coastal regions particularly vulnerable. The study was published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.

Tags: climate change, public health

Dr. Irwin Redlener interviewed by ‘The Nation’ magazine on drought

July 21, 2015

NCDP Director Dr. Irwin Redlener talks about the physical and mental health impact of drought, in the short and long term. “Drought affects the economy, water supply, lifestyle, and agricultural productivity. The downstream consequences on humans that are facing these threats, including loss of jobs and daily lifestyle challenges, become overwhelming…[and] how are children impacted by sustained drought?”

Tags: climate change, children's health & disasters, drought

Dr. Irwin Redlener awarded 2014 Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism

November 10, 2014

NCDP Director Irwin Redlener, MD, was honored with the prestigious Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism on November 7, at the Schweitzer Leadership Conference in Boston. The award is given annually to an individual who has helped bring health care to all people, regardless of their economic and social status, and “whose commitment to service influences and inspires others.” The Albert Schweitzer Fellowship called Dr. Redlener a “compassionate and passionate leader in the field of pediatric and public health.” It noted both his expertise in disaster preparedness, and his work as co-founder of Children’s Health Fund.

Tags: news, conference, children's health & disasters, children

Ebola highlights public health crisis

October 14, 2014

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Death of Ebola patient in Dallas highlights problems in health system, Irwin Redlener says Federal funding for the Hospital Preparedness Program has been slashed, he says U.S. has seen loss of 50,000 public health workers in less than decade, Redlener says Read the full Op-Ed here.

Tags: disaster policy, disaster funding, response, ebola

Video

Study Conducted on NJ Residents Post-Sandy

August 13, 2014

The story of the Sandy Child & Family Health Study (S-CAFH): People who want to learn more about Superstorm Sandy that hit New Jersey in 2012 are knocking on doors, wanting to hear more about the storm’s impact on the state. NBC10 Jersey Shore reporter Ted Greenberg uncovers what the study is revealing. Watch video.

Tags: news, hurricane sandy, Evacuation, diaster research, recovery & resiliency, children's health & disasters, community resiliency

NCDP Director Dr. Irwin Redlener Appointed Special Advisor to Mayor Bill de Blasio

July 2, 2014

Mayor de Blasio announced that Dr. Irwin Redlener, founder and director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, will serve as an unpaid special advisor, with a focus on emergency management and planning. Dr. Redlener is recognized as one of the nation’s leading experts on preparing for, responding to and recovering from large-scale disasters. As special advisor, Redlener will support and advise the administration’s citywide disaster preparedness and response efforts.

Tags: news, disaster policy, systems, emergency management

Children’s Health Fund Pledges $2.5 Million for NCDP

June 13, 2014

The Children’s Health Fund, a national organization that supports pediatric care for underserved children, recently announced its renewed support for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness with a $2.5 million pledge. Over the past decade, the center has engaged in a number of projects funded by the fund, with a focus on several areas of mutual interest including preparing children, families, communities and health care systems for disastrous events; examining the impacts of disasters on vulnerable populations, particularly children; exploring the relationship between policy and practice as it relates to reconstituting families and communities in a disaster’s aftermath; and generally, providing a mechanism for consultation, training, or direct…
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Tags: disaster policy, disaster funding, vulnerable populations, diaster research, recovery & resiliency, children's health & disasters, community resiliency, children, familes

Dr. Irwin Redlener quoted in NBC News on investigations into East Harlem tragedy

March 14, 2014

The NTSB says a gas main under the building appears to be intact, as investigations into the East Harlem building collapse continue. In relation, Dr. Irwin Redlener tells Andrew Siff from NBC News: “There’s a lot of fragility built into the system so the possibility of having more events like this in New York City is certainly going to be there.”

Tags: news, interview, systems, event, emergency management, journalism, Harlem

Dr. Irwin Redlener on the Brian Lehrer Show on the Harlem building collapse

March 13, 2014

NCDP Director Dr. Irwin Redlener offers advice on the Brian Lehrer Show for preparing for and responding to disasters like yesterday’s gas explosion in East Harlem. “The recommendation is that there is significant smell of gas, you should literally leave right that second. Don’t turn off the lights, just go out of the building and make the calls to Con Ed or 911,” he says. Listen to the radio segment.

Tags: interview, Evacuation, systems, event, community resiliency, emergency management, response, journalism, Harlem

Going Beyond Body Count In Haiyan Aftermath

November 12, 2013

“The local and international journalists descending on Tacloban and other devastated swaths of the Philippines can play a far more active role than waiting for official body counts.  After the Fukushima nuclear reactor disaster, the Dart Center interviewed Irwin Redlener, MD of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness based at Columbia University. Redlener suggests a five-point disaster agenda for journalists which have special relevance to the Philippines’ catastrophe: The first issue is: are human needs recognized and being addressed? This is a primal responsibility of government. The second thing is: are there ongoing threats? And are they being addressed?… Have appropriate steps been taken…
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Tags: interview, response, journalism, super typhoon haiyan

NCDP & CRLC Preparedness Month Activities Highlighted in ASPPH Friday Letter

September 6, 2013

The Center has designed two innovative approaches to strengthen community preparedness, response and recovery capabilities for agencies, workforce, and individuals. Reaching Our Communities’ Vulnerable Populations – CLRC is building an agency-staff-client centered curriculum entitled “Disaster Planning for Community-Based Human Service Organizations and Their Clients: The Community’s Most Vulnerable Populations.” The Preparedness Wizard: Personal Preparedness in 5 Action Steps – In a self-paced design similar to TurboTax, The Preparedness Wizard program was developed by NCDP to offer an easy way to be prepared for all types of disasters or emergencies and help individuals and their families stay safe and independent during…
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Tags: news, community outreach, training & education, preparedness month, aspph

NCDP On Gulf Coast, Organizing Youth to Face Disaster

August 20, 2013

A new youth development and disaster recovery program, which grew out of research on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, will debut in five Gulf Coast high schools next week. The SHOREline Project will bring together teens to create and share resources to help their own communities and others to recover from disasters. The program is spearheaded by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at Columbia University in partnership with Colorado State University and the Children’s Health Fund, with funding from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation. Read the full story.

Tags: news, community outreach, recovery & resiliency, community resiliency, disaster research, youth, shoreline

NCDP’s Derrin Culp opines on avian flu virus research and biosecurity

August 9, 2013

Without addressing whether flu-modification experiments should be continued, NCDP Research Associate Derrin Culp says federal and state legislators could alter privacy statutes to “permit more intrusive screening and monitoring” of individuals who handle dangerous biological agents. Such oversight might be comparable to measures focused on people who work with nuclear weapons and related materials, he wrote.

Tags: news, pandemic flu

Disaster Readiness Center Joins Earth Institute

August 1, 2013

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness, a research, policy and education institution that has worked for the past decade across the United States to strengthen responses to extreme weather, terrorism and other threats, has joined Columbia University’s Earth Institute. Previously based at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health, the center will expand its focus internationally, working with the Earth Institute’s 27 other centers and affiliates to deploy advances in earth sciences, sociology, environmental sustainability and other fields to prepare societies for a wide spectrum of disasters. Read the full story.

Tags: news, earth institute, ncdp

NCDP has strong presence at the 38th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop

July 13, 2013

National Center for Disaster Preparedness had a strong presence at the 38th Annual Natural Hazards Workshop in Boulder, Colorado in mid-July. Irwin Redlener, MD, Director, delivered a keynote presentation on Hurricane Sandy impacts and response; David Abramson, PhD, Deputy Director, moderated a panel on the science and practice of public health in emergency management and disaster research; and Lori Peek, PhD, Visiting Research Scientist, moderated a panel on the role of youth in fostering community resiliency.

Tags: hurricane sandy, presentation, community resiliency, disaster research, emergency management, public health, response, youth

NCDP delivers keynote address, anchors a panel, and presents white paper at Institute of Medicine Workshop

June 10, 2013

NCDP Director  Irwin Redlener, MD delivered the keynote address at an Institute of Medicine workshop in June, “Medical and Public Health Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Considerations for Children and Families”, and Deputy Director David Abramson, PhD anchored a panel on child resilience and presented a white paper on “The Science and Practice of Resilience Interventions for Children Exposed to Disasters,” co-authored with Kallin Brooks, JD, and Lori Peek, PhD.

Tags: response, children, familes, institute of medicine, preparedness, recovery, workshop

How children cope with the trauma of the Oklahoma tornado

May 21, 2013

Dr. Redlener, joins Martin Bashir to discuss the challenges of making children, like those in Oklahoma, feel safe again after the devastating tornadoes. Click the source link for the full interview.

Tags: interview, children's health & disasters, oklahoma tornado

Ensuring the Health Security of America’s Children

February 28, 2013

ASPR’s Nicki Lurie and CDC’s Ali Khan reference NCDP’s Children as Bellwethers framework in their article as a rationale for a Whole Community approach to children’s health.

Tags: diaster research, children's health & disasters

Experts lament cuts in funds for disaster preparedness

February 26, 2013

The United States is grappling with increased threats from catastrophic disasters. It is against this backdrop that the federal and state governments have made significant cuts to disaster preparedness funding as they have grappled with budget shortfalls and growing debt. Dr. Irwin Redlener provides some insights.

Tags: news, disaster funding

Calls for Better Evacuation Plans for the Infirm

February 22, 2013

As state panels prepare final recommendations for improving disaster preparedness, advocates and experts point to a series of failures in evacuating and housing some of society’s most vulnerable citizens. Dr. Irwin Redlener discusses the policy challenges that will need to be addressed in the upcoming months.

Tags: interview, Evacuation, vulnerable populations

Video

Why London and other cities could be “doomed”

February 19, 2013

Irwin Redlener, MD of The National Center for Disaster Preparedness and seismologist Klaus Jacobs explain why rising sea levels mean London and other cities could eventually be “doomed”.

Tags: video, climate change

Lessons from Sandy — Preparing Health Systems for Future Disasters

December 15, 2012

Irwin Redlener, M.D., and Michael J. Reilly, Dr.P.H., M.P.H. note that it is essential to consider the health care delivery system and the public health infrastructure as an integrated whole in planning for, responding to, or recovering from large-scale disasters. Lessons learned are addressed in relation to Hurricane Sandy.

Tags: hurricane sandy, publication, systems

Video

Connecticut school shooting: How to discuss it with your kids

December 15, 2012

A tragedy like the Newton school attack is difficult to fathom for adults, but how do you explain it to your kids? Center Director, Dr. Irwin Redlener, a pediatrician at Columbia University, offers his insights as to how parents can help their children cope with their fears.

Tags: video, newton, children's health & disasters

Hurricane Sandy: Lessons Learned, Again

December 15, 2012

Drs. Redlener and Abramson discuss how the disciplines of medicine and public health can learn lessons, again, from Sandy: to develop more integrated systems, to practice and train together, and to build redundancy into everything, whether electronic medical records or generators or fuel pumps.

Tags: hurricane sandy, publication, systems

Jeter’s Leaders and the National Center for Disaster Preparedness Community Collaborative: Integrating Disaster Preparedness at the Community Level

February 24, 2012

In 2012 NCDP developed an interactive workshop and Train the Trainer certificate program for use by programs like Jeter’s Leaders, which prepare high school aged students to serve as community preparedness messengers. Students, as leaders in their communities, are trained to promote awareness of emergency preparedness and increase preparedness levels within their communities. Students learn to exercise leadership skills by creating a ‘culture of preparedness’ in their schools, and in peer groups,  such as basketball teams. During group work, students practice  skills to ‘influence’ peers and deliver the preparedness message. Jeter’s Leaders uses a version of the NCDP model of…
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Tags: community outreach, event

9/11 +10 Conference Highlights

September 28, 2011

The ’9/11 + 10: Science, Policy, and Public Health – Looking Ahead to the Next Ten Years’ conference was hosted on September 8, 2011, by the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and the Department of Epidemiology at the Mailman School of Public Health at the Columbia University Low Library in New York City. This conference examined how the past events on 9/11 have influenced public health and disaster policy over the past 10 years and explore how they will impact the future. Click the source link to read the conference highlights from Elaine Meyer at the Mailman School of Public Health….
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Tags: event, conference, 9/11

America Unprepared: Are Budget Cuts Undermining National Disaster Readiness?

July 19, 2011

Center Director Irwin Redlener, MD discusses the implications of funding cuts to preparedness and response programs and training. NCDP’s own Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC) funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is also facing serious cutbacks.  “In fact, overall preparedness and response funding within the U.S Departments of Health and Human Services and Homeland Security dropped by nearly $900 million, from $5.3 billion in FY10 to $4.4 billion in FY11, a 17% overall reduction. And for 2012, even more cuts in disaster readiness programs are being proposed.” “Ironically, the PERLCs actually ensure that local readiness…
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Tags: blog, disaster funding, PERLC, training & education

Domestic Preparedness Cuts in the Current Federal Budget Threaten Infrastructure Gains and Public Health Preparedness

July 3, 2011

Recent cuts in the federal budget have serious implications for the country’s preparedness and response standing. In mid-May, federal agencies released their final FY11 budgets. Much of the country’s funding for homeland security and public health preparedness resides in the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) budgets. Preparedness and response funding within DHHS and DHS dropped by nearly $900 million, from $5.3 billion in FY10 to $4.4 billion in FY11, a 17% overall reduction. The DHHS FY11 operating budget of $911 billion is overwhelmingly composed of entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, TANF, and children’s…
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Tags: disaster funding, memo

Dr. David Abramson Receives Two Grants for Disaster Recovery Study

March 28, 2011

David Abramson, PhD, MPH, assistant professor of clinical sociomedical sciences and director of research at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness, recently received awards of $100,000 from the Baton Rouge Area Foundation and $50,000 from the Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation to study “Community Factors Associated with Long-Term Disaster Recovery.”

Tags: news, diaster research, recovery & resiliency

Lessons from Japan

March 14, 2011

Japan has long been a leader among nations in disaster planning and preparedness. But the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck on March 11, 2011, demonstrated how a complex disaster can overwhelm even the best of planning. Irwin Redlener, MD, director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and author of the recent book, Americans at Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared for Megadisasters and What We Can Do Now, is an authority on disaster planning. Dr. Redlener, a faculty member at the Mailman School, shared his thoughts on the unfolding catastrophe in Japan and the state of U.S. disaster…
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Tags: interview, systems, japan earthquake

CDC Selects the National Center for Disaster Preparedness as One of 14 National Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers

September 17, 2010

The National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health was selected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as one of 14 new national centers to provide training to workers involved in public health preparedness and response to emergencies. The 14 centers are tasked with creating a standardized set of skills and training… Click the source link to read the full story.

Tags: news, PERLC, training & education

Harlem Children’s Zone: High school students, Community Health Messengers H1N1

September 11, 2009

In 2009 H1N1, a new and not well understood virus appeared in New York City. Reliable scientific information regarding what the virus was, who was at risk and how the population could protect itself was very much on the minds of parents and school officials.  A trusted source was needed, to give clear information and dispel myths in the community.  In collaboration with Harlem Children’s Zone, Children’s Health Fund and experts at Columbia University,  NCDP held a day of community health messaging trainings.  It was a day that brought the Harlem community together to learn protective measures to interrupt the…
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Tags: H1N1, pandemic flu, community outreach

Are our children terrorist targets?

January 2, 2005

Are U.S. children potential terror targets? While such a notion is almost impossible to contemplate, evidence increasingly suggests that U.S. intelligence efforts must be alert to this horrific possibility and that schools and first-responders should have appropriate emergency plans. Click for the full story.

Tags: children's health & disasters, children, terrorism