During times of crisis, the ability of Public Health to provide essential services and support healthy communities is strained. Recent emergencies and disasters have and continue to teach us lessons in how best to prepare the Public Health system for such incidents. This course will teach students the concepts and practices central to public health emergency preparedness for human-made and natural disasters. Case studies will be will be used to analyze planning, response, recovery, and mitigation operations of the public health emergency response system to Hurricane Katrina. Students will employ the tools of emergency preparedness to describe systemic factors that contributed to the impact of the Hurricane on population health in Louisiana. Pre-Katrina documents will be used to explore the state of preparedness efforts along the Gulf Coast and Spike Lee’s film, “When the Levees Broke”, will provide New Orleans residents’ accounts of the storm and its aftermath. In the end, students will possess a command over the various ways a Public Health system can protect community health during times of emergency and ensure the accessibility of emergency services to the most vulnerable of populations.

Note that this information may change at any time. Please visit the Student Link for the most up-to-date course information.