Epi-Ready Team Training: Foodborne Illness Response Strategies

Epi-Ready Team Training Workshop Schedule

This will make the investigation process as a whole more efficient.

Epi-Ready Topics

• Passive Surveillance

• Outbreak Determination

• Environmental Assessment

• Epidemiological Investigation

• Laboratory Guidance

• Concluding Actions & Final Report Writing.

Epi-Ready’s primary areas of focus are in the disciplines of Environmental Health, Epidemiology & Laboratory.

Topics are covered through a combination of lecture, question and answer sessions and interactive group and final case study exercises.

Epi-Ready Audience

Representation in the workshop includes EH and PH professionals working in city, county, tribal and state health departments, environmental protection agencies, and individuals from agencies or private companies that have collaborated with environmental health professionals in conducting foodborne disease outbreak investigations. Attendees over the years have ranged from 0-30+ years of experience working in the field with foodborne illness matters.

Epi-Ready Accomplishments

• Over 2,400 EH and PH professionals have been trained

• Over 47 workshops conducted in 33 states

• Attendees represent all 50 states, plus Guam

• International attendance from China, Japan, Saudi Arabia, and Jamaica

• Recipient of the 2008 Food Safety Leadership Award from NSF International

• Due to the success of Epi-Ready, we have recently developed a similar course designed for those in the industry retail food service, food stores and restaurants. Industry-Foodborne Illness Investigation Training (I-FIIT) is a one-day face-to-face workshop designed to bring together food service representatives and their appropriate local and state regulatory officials in an effort to create stronger working relationships prior to a potential foodborne incident occurring, so that if and when it does, the foundation is already set for a collaborative effort.  Additionally, the workshop will provide a better understanding and clarification of the investigation process by identifying roles and responsibilities, discussing early detection strategies and establishing and implementing control measures based on model practices.  By providing this training, I-FIIT aims to assist industry and regulatory officials in producing a more rapid, efficient and effective response to foodborne illness incidents.  For more information about I-FIIT, or to find out how you can sponsor a workshop, please contact Elizabeth.

Host a Workshop

There are essentially 2 ways in which you can host an Epi-Ready workshop in your state. The first is to be selected by NEHA as one of the 4 cities we choose annually to host a CDC grant sponsored workshop. Since we can only offer four of these per year, the second way to host a workshop is to sponsor it through your own health department or association.

All workshops are based on a two-day training for 50 attendees and include:

• One NEHA Coordinator

• Three discipline specific experienced instructors

• NEHA Epi-Ready Manual

• APHA’s Control of Communicable Diseases Manual

• IAFP’s Procedures to Investigate Foodborne Illness Manual

• CDC/AMA’s Foodborne Illness Physician's Primer

Epi-Ready Team Training Program Resources

• Epi-Ready Team Training Course Curriculum

• Epi-Ready Course Instructors

• Epi-Ready Team Training Past Workshop Information

• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention-Food Safety Office

• Food Safety Web-Based Resources

• Download Guidelines for Foodborne Disease Outbreak Response

Past Epi-Ready Attendee Comments

“Ongoing conversation and collaboration between the epidemiologist and environmental health professionals has resulted directly from the workshop.”

“As district epidemiologist, I am in the process of working with our EH manager and EH specialists to create a database for passive surveillance by collecting and entering consistent data on all potential foodborne illness complaints. Our goal, specifically, is to collect quality data that can be readily analyzed. Such data does not currently exist for our district unless a foodborne illness is laboratory confirmed.”

“Our district is restructuring our epi response team to include a dedicated foodborne outbreak “sub-team” and will construct district policies and procedures specific to this team.”

“The workshop was excellent and the class helped the sanitarians that attended have a better working relationship with nurses and the different roles each would have in an outbreak of a foodborne disease. As a nurse it helped me have a better understanding how sanitarians felt and their responsibilities and roles.”

“Without the training I would not have collaborated with the food inspector, and we approached the situation jointly. The training was exceptional…”

Epi-Ready Contact

For more information about these program opportunities, please contact Elizabeth Landeen, Assistant Manager at 860-357-2097 or elandeen@neha.org.