NCDP has the ability to assemble high-level subject matter expertise to address emerging issues. And NCDP takes action – bringing together public officials, physicians, researchers, public health leaders, community advocates, and others to explore disaster preparedness and response issues in ways that are rarely addressed by other organizations. NCDP Conferences have broken new ground in pediatric preparedness, preparedness for persons with disabilities, nuclear terrorism response, and regional response capacity in varying scenarios.
Conferences
NCDP conferences provide opportunities for developing leadership, based on shared knowledge and discovery. NCDP brings together local, city, state, and federal subject matter experts and partners for conferences to discuss relevant and pressing emergency preparedness, disaster preparedness, and community recovery and resiliency topics. Many NCDP conferences are streamed live to a viewing audience, and also are available as webinars for future viewing.
NCDP has developed two highly effective conference models: “Day 3” conferences (and variations) are roundtables in which expert participants are asked to focus on likely conditions and challenges in an affected area 3 days (or some other specified time) following a specific catastrophic event; this format gives people who would usually meet only under emergency situations the opportunity to work together in a non-emergency situation. A second format, the Consensus Conference, brings together experts from diverse disciplines in order to identify the best thinking, and best practices, in an area of national importance.
- Day 3 / 30 / 360 Conferences. For any given significant event (pandemic, weather event, cyber-terrorism, etc.) and population affected (vulnerable groups, such as children or the disabled, or geographically-defined groups), NCDP can assemble a group of experts to consider the recovery implications in the short-term (Day 3), near-term (Day 30) and long-term (Day 360). This approach brings stakeholders together to explore potential consequences in ways that are rarely considered. Examples are Day Three: Regional Resiliency and Health Challenges in the Aftermath of Nuclear Terrorism (2010), and Day 3: 72 hours post-landfall of a Category 3 hurricane – a workshop to strengthen regional and local hurricane readiness (2011).
- Consensus Conferences. NCDP can assemble subject matter experts and use consensus processes to arrive at “best practices” in areas where there is limited evidence or clear guidance or agreement on how to best manage a particular hazard or its effects.NCDP has held three National Consensus Conferences on Pediatric Emergency Preparedness (in 2003, 2005 and 2009), bringing together experts in pediatric medicine, emergency preparedness, public health and other disciplines that are involved in planning for children in disasters. NCDP and its Director Irwin Redlener, MD, a pediatrician were the first to deliver the message — that children are not small adults, but rather have unique vulnerabilities and require special medical and psychological care in a disaster situation. The National Consensus Conferences have helped disseminate this view and build leadership in pediatric preparedness. The 2003 conference issued the first nationally accepted pediatric disaster preparedness guidelines, which continue to be updated.
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