Environmental Health Officer Professional Advisory Committee

Deployment Resources

Pre-Deployment:

Basic Readiness Compliance Checklist

Click here to view the Environmental Health Readiness Guidelines (PDF: 113 KB, 21pages). These guidelines assist Commissioned Corps officers performing emergency environmental health duties by listing skill sets and competencies required for a successful deployment under the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD).

The Environmental Health Officer Utilization Handbook is available here (PDF: 138 KB, 17 pages). This handbook lists a summary of skills possessed by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs) of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS). It also describes typical activities these officers might perform in an emergency response situation following a disaster under the Federal Response Plan.

Deployments

The Environmental Health Officers Deployment Resource DVD is available here.

The Environmental Health Officers Deployment Resource DVD provides information on common environmental health issues faced in disasters. It is organized into five sections: General Environmental Health, Food Safety, Occupational Health/Industrial Hygiene, Hazardous Waste/Materials, and Safety Officer. For more information, please click here (PDF: 76 KB, 1 page).

If you would like to a request a copy of the EHO Deployment Resource DVD, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Priority will be given to local, state and federal employees practicing in the field of Environmental Health.

General

Click here to link to the CDC Emergency Preparedness and Response website (http://emergency.cdc.gov). That website is CDC's primary source of information and resources for preparing for and responding to public health emergencies. The site continues to keep the public informed about public health emergencies and provides the information needed to protect and save lives.

Water-Related Emergencies and Outbreaks

Water-related emergency preparedness and outbreak response has become one of the most significant and crucial issues in recent history. Individuals, families, and businesses have been advised to be prepared for emergencies by creating disaster supply kits that include appropriate amounts of safe drinking water. Emergencies can include natural disasters (for example, hurricanes, floods, and droughts) man-made disasters (for example, intentional contamination), and outbreaks (for example, infections linked to water exposure). Preparedness resources include preparedness toolkits, preparedness training, and directions for emergency disinfection. Click here to link to the CDC website for water-realted emergencies and outbreaks (http://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/index.html).

Post-Deployment

Lessons Learned

Archives of EHO Officer Deployment stories

Click here to view the International Deployment Survey (PDF: 228 KB, 13 pages).

A survey of EHOs who have participated in global humanitarian and disaster response missions was administered during the fall of 2009 in order to capture information useful to future deploying EHOs.

Click here to view EHOs in the 2004 Hurricane Response (PDF: 1.6 MB, 24 pages).

The role of the Environmental Health Officer in support of state health department operations was a crucial and successful component in the USPHS response.

Click here to link to the Lessons Learned Information Sharing website (https://www.llis.dhs.gov/index.do).

LLIS.gov is a Department of Homeland Security/Federal Emergency Management Agency program. LLIS.gov serves as the national, online network of lessons learned, best practices, and innovative ideas for the emergency management and homeland security communities.