Medical Reserve Corps Capacity Building Award      

The MRC Capacity Building Award (CBA) program is designed to help local MRCs increase their unit's local capacity and resiliency by providing limited funding that can be used for projects, training, or other activities that address their local needs and interests in emergency response and/or public health activities. For FY2012-2013, the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), in collaboration with HHS' Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (DCVMRC),is pleased to offer CBAs to local Medical Reserve Corps units. This year a two-tiered  award structure will be offered to include a Non-Competitive and a Competitive Award. MRC units may apply for one or both awards. The Non-Competitive Award is available to all MRC units that meet basic eligibility and application requirements. This award is designed to provide funding for eligible MRC units to enhance their unit capacity. Individual award amounts will be based on the total number of eligible applicants. Preliminary budgets should be submitted for an amount between $2,500 and $5,000. MRC units are also encouraged to submit applications for the Competitive Award, which is designed to fund projects that (1) enhance the capacity of MRC units; (2) demonstrate innovation in addressing unit or community need(s); and (3) demonstrate return on investment (ROI), direct impact (DI), and/or value-added (VA) benefit(s) at the local level. Once again, the award amounts will be based in the total number of applicants and monies available. Preliminary budgets should be submitted for an amount between $5,000 and $10,000. The 2012-2013 CBA application period opens on August 27, 2012, and closes on September 28, 2012, at 5 PM EDT. Visit http://www.naccho.org/topics/emergency/MRC/CBA.cfm for details. 

Bomb Threats Prompt Evacuations at 3 Campuses   
HSToday - Sept 17, 2012. Thousands of people streamed off three college campuses Friday after bomb threats prompted officials to issue evacuation orders for schools in Texas, North Dakota and Ohio. The campuses of the University of Texas at Austin and North Dakota State University in Fargo had been deemed safe by early afternoon, and authorities were working to determine whether those threats were related. A third evacuation order for much-smaller Hiram College in northeast Ohio was issued hours later but lifted Friday night after a sweep found nothing suspicious. The threats on the campuses in Texas and North Dakota ended as false alarms after tens of thousands of people followed urgently worded evacuation orders, one of which some worried didn't come fast enough. Both of those campuses emptied at quick but orderly paces Friday morning, though students acknowledged an air of confusion about what was going on. The threats coming as violent protests outside US embassies in the Middle East also stirred nervous tension among some students, and Texas officials acknowledged global events were taken into account. http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/bomb-threats-prompt-evacuations-at-3-campuses/2228c0c24860782c9ce181c18c79af15.html  

2013 Partners in Emergency Preparedness - Save the Date & Call for Presentations    

HSToday - Sept 6, 2012. The bulletins were terrifying: a powerful earthquake had struck off the coast of this Central American country, spawning a tsunami warning and bringing fears of widespread catastrophe. But Costa Rica suffered remarkably little damage from Wednesday's magnitude-7.6 quake - a few blocked highways, some collapsed houses and one death, of a heart attack caused by fright. Officials credited the relatively deep location of the quake and building codes that Costa Rican officials call as strict as those in California and Japan. The quake was 25 miles (41 kilometers) below the surface. Tremors that occur deep underground tend to be less damaging, but their shaking can be felt over a wider area. http://www.hstoday.us/single-article/costa-rica-escapes-serious-damage-from-big-earthquake/a98cc4e64394146553da22348e5a4577.html  

The HSIN-HPH Web portal is a public/private collaboration to protect critical infrastructure. It is the primary means by which the Department of Homeland Security and Health and Human Services share sensitive but unclassified information with partners. HSIN-HPH users can access information about threats and recovery activities affecting the healthcare and public health communities, report suspicious events, and collaborate with peers in research and strategy. HSIN-HPH is available to qualified members of the HPH community. To request access: https://connect.hsin.gov/hph/event/registration.html  

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program at FEMA is pleased to announce publication of the new CERT Liability Guide, now available for download on the Supplemental Information page of the National CERT website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/cert/downloads/pdf/CERT_Liability_Guide.pdf. CERT programs across the nation support post-disaster response and help ensure that CERT efforts are as safe and effective as possible. CERT advocates have understood that program activities can create risk and adverse consequences; however, perceptions about liability may become a larger barrier to CERT formation, activities and partnerships than is justified by reality.  The purpose of this Guide is to offer information and suggested techniques to help local CERT programs overcome this barrier. The new CERT Liability Guide presents the benefits of risk management for CERT programs, including building confidence and a positive public image for the program, reducing the cost of insurance and avoiding other costs, helping to preserve a local program's investment in its members, and increasing overall participation in CERT.