Preparedness Committee

Thank you to all who applied to join the committee.

  • The term is 2 years: October 2023 - September 2025.
  • Time commitment is 1-hour meetings per month plus subcommittee work (approx. additional potential 1 hour a month).

Mission

To serve as a resource for NEHA and all environmental health professionals in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters, in order to minimize death, illness, and injury and create more resilient communities.

Description

Our Preparedness Committee is comprised of public and private sector environmental health and emergency management experts working in partnership to provide outcomes in the following priority areas:

  • Development of position papers and policy statements.
  • Guidance and input on NEHA's preparedness programs and projects.
  • Promotion and dissemination of NEHA preparedness related, and the committee developed materials and resources
  • Identification and recommendations related to training gaps, needs of the profession, horizon challenges, and emerging disaster issues that can affect environmental health
  • Identification of scientific-based practices, successes, and challenges for environmental health professionals in environmental health preparedness
  • Identify funding opportunities for environmental health preparedness
  • Help to clearly define the role of environmental health in emergency response

Membership

Our Preparedness Committee is comprised of local, state, federal, and industry professionals with environmental health and preparedness backgrounds.

Highlights

Here are a few of the recent activities and products that the committee has developed.

  • Coordinating Environmental Health Preparedness Across Sectors, JEH Article | PDF
  • What Matters in Individual Health Preparedness, JEH Article | PDF
  • Preparedness Go-Bag Blog Post | Webpage

Environmental health professionals work with federal, state, and local agencies to ensure communities are prepared for natural and human-made emergencies, including the awareness, planning, response, and recovery periods of the response.