The Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness

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The Florida Center
for Public Health Preparedness

"Preparing the public health workforce to protect the public against current and emerging health threats, including bioterrorism"

Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training for Responders - (RFAST)

Program Aim:

To provide public health workers and other professionals with the necessary awareness, knowledge, and skills to promote behavioral health and wellness through individual and team approaches for preventing, mitigating, and managing disaster worker stress and for developing disaster stress resistance and resilience to the negative effects of critical incident stress exposure.

Target Audience:
Florida Department of Health Special Needs Shelter Team members, Florida Department of Health personnel, State of Florida Disaster Behavioral Health Response Team members, and other disaster response workers.

Program Goals:
•	Gain knowledge of critical incident stress, individual risk and resiliency factors, mild or typical distress reactions and potentially incapacitating stress reactions, and stress-related disorders and syndromes affecting disaster response workers.
•	Develop an awareness of the occupational stress and stressors associated with disaster response work.
•	Gain knowledge of stress management methods and techniques for building stress resistance, resilience, and recovery in disaster.
•	Develop an awareness of one's own persoanl and professional risk and readiness for engaging in disaster response work.
•	Develop an awareness of personal and organizational strategies for promoting behavioral health in disaster response workers and response team members.

Program Modules:
•	Module 1 - Disaster Response Worker Stress Awareness: Stress, Stressors, Signs, Symptoms, and Syndromes
•	Module 2 - Disaster Response Worker Stress Management: Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery
•	Module 3 - Disaster Response Worker Behavioral Health Promotion: Self-Care and Team-Care

Program Length: 4 hour onsite program.

Program Agenda: To be determined based on delivery location and date. Note: Afternoon courses will start at 1:00pm.

7:45am	Program Check-In
8:00am	Program Introduction & Overview
8:10am	Disaster Response Worker Stress Awareness: Stress, Stressors, Signs, Symptoms, and Syndromes
9:50am	Break
10:00am	Disaster Response Worker Stress Management: Resistance, Resilience, and Recovery
11:00am	Disaster Response Worker Behavioral Health Promotion: Self-Care and Team-Care
11:50am	Program Wrap-up and Next Steps
12:00pm	Adjourn

Continuing Education: This program is approved for continuing education credit (CECs) awarded by the Suwannee River Area Health Education Center (SRAHEC) for nurses, certified health education specialists, registered dieticians, licensed mental health counselors, social workers, and marriage and family therapists.

Registration Information: This program is limited to 30 participants. Advanced registration is required.

Registration Fee: There is no registration fee.

Relevant Bioterrorism and Emergency Readiness Competencies for Public Health Professionals:
Core Competency 1. Describe the public heath role in emergency response in a range of emergencies that might arise.
Core Competency 3. Identify and locate the agency emergency response plan (or the pertinent portion of the plan).
Core Competency 4. Describe his/her functional role(s) in emergency response.
Core Competency 6. Describe communication role(s) in emergency response.
Core Competency 7. Identify limits to own knowledge/skill/authority and identify key system resources for referring matters that exceed these limits.
Core Competency 8. Recognize unusual events that might indicate an emergency and describe appropriate action.
Core Competency 9. Apply creative problem solving and flexible thinking to unusual challenges within his/her functional responsibilities.

Relevant Bioterrorism and Emergency Readiness Sub-Competencies for Public Health Clinical Staff:
•	Recognize and treat the [behavioral health] impact of a disaster or terrorism event on disaster workers.
•	Identify persons potentially exposed to [behavioral health] hazards.
•	Identify the signs and symptoms for [disaster related stress] exposure.
•	Perform effective behavioral health assessment, stabilization, education, and/or triage and referral of disaster workers.
•	Provide support for disaster workers.
•	Assure safety and practice personal protection.

Course Developers and Sponsors:
This course was developed by the Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of South Florida College of Public Health. The development and delivery of this course are supported by funding from a cooperative agreement by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Association of Schools of Public Health. This course has been planned and implemented in accordance with the Essential Areas and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint sponsorship of the University of South Florida College of Medicine and the Florida Center for Public Health Preparedness.

Events of the University of South Florida are available without regard to race, color, sex, national origin, disability, age, or veteran status as provided by law and in accordance with the University’s respect for personal dignity.

For more information see http://www.fcphp.usf.edu/ or contact us at fcphpinfo@health.usf.edu

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Course slides - Click here (1.92MB; .pdf format)

All rights reserved. Copyright © FCPHP, 2009. The information and illustrations are proprietary material and cannot be reproduced in any form including mechanical or electronic means without prior permission from FCPHP, Tampa, FL.

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