Public Health Initiatives
Cross-Border Preparedness: An Invaluable Cooperative Partnership
Article in the Nogales International
January 27, 2005
Brenda Granillo
Director of the Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness at the University of Arizona, Mel & Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health.
During the past several years our nation has experienced a magnitude of man-made and natural catastrophic disasters that have prompted a new level of consciousness and awareness regarding the importance of implementing effective strategic emergency preparedness and response measures.
The United States-Mexico border is considered a vulnerable location in our country and in recognition of this at-risk region, a number of efforts have come to fruition to address issues and ramifications of terrorism, and other public health threats.
In January 2003, public health institutions in Arizona and Sonora, led by the Arizona Department of Health Services and the Secretaríiacute;a de Salud de Sonora, formed a binational collaborative partnership to begin planning for Terrorism and Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response along the U.S-Mexico International Border. The relationship established between public health officials in Arizona and Sonora became the gold standard and a model for binational coordination among the U.S-Mexico Border States. The first critical agreement, which was the establishment of a binational network between the State Health Officers from the four U.S. Border States and the United States-Mexico Border Health Commission (USMBHC), was a result of a consorted effort by a delegation representing the USMBHC and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Since then, progress towards the implementation of a comprehensive binational strategic approach to protect the border region from a potential disastrous event has compounded to an altered level of alertness and mutual aid.
Dedicated funding to the border region has served to assist the Arizona-Sonora region in binational preparedness and planning efforts. Selected milestones include:
- Binational Draft Public Health Emergency Plans.
- Binational Emergency Response Directory
- Purchase of communications equipment
- Summer Spanish Language Immersion program in Guadalajara.
- Cross-border resource sharing
- Bi/Tri-national training exercises and drills
- Border-wide training needs assessment
- Border Health Portal in the State’s Secure Integrated Response Electronic Notification (SIREN) system.
- Expansion of stakeholders including representation from the Tohono O’Odham Nation, Pascua Yaqui Health Department, Inter-Tribal Council of Arizona, Indian Health Services, Arizona Division of Emergency Management, Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, US Customs, Arizona -Mexico Commission, Mariposa Community Health Center, Protección Civil de Sonora, and the Arizona and Sonora Governor’s offices.
- Improved laboratory capacity in Sonora
- Sharing of epidemiology and surveillance data
Although there have been significant achievements over the past three years, it remains imperative to continue advancement in strengthening the public health infrastructure in both Arizona and Sonora. Time and time again, we see the devastating effects of an uncoordinated emergency response effort, a point illustrated with Hurricane Katrina. However, these unfortunate tragedies tend to focus on “who’s to blame” instead of the most critical component of “what are the lessons that can be learned from such an event and what do we need to do to be better prepared the next time”
Although, the likelihood of a hurricane occurring in the Arizona-Sonora region is quite slim, we cannot rule out the potential for mass flooding due to the Southwest monsoon season. So the question remains; “What do we need to continue to do to strengthen our public health’s workforce capability to effectively respond to an all-hazards type of emergency”? There is no simple answer to this question, but there are a number of potential solutions to building the capacity of the public health workforce.
Providing continuous, targeted, standardized training opportunities followed by practical exercises; improving communications within and between public heath agencies at the federal, state, county, local, border and tribal level; involving and training volunteers; increasing the availability of training to rural areas; and ongoing assessment of training needs and evaluation of knowledge and skills gained are all valid solutions to the imminent preparedness needs of Arizona. Addressing these issues, however, is not a sole responsibility but instead a collaborative partnership between key stakeholders in public health.
The establishment of the recently funded Arizona Center for Public Health Preparedness (AzCPHP) at the University of Arizona, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health in Tucson, Arizona will serve the public health workforce by providing comprehensive competency-based preparedness educational training opportunities. The AzCPHP is part of a national network of training centers, funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and is designed to strengthen the public health workforce readiness to respond to terrorism and other public health threats. The center has established partnerships with the Arizona Department of Health Services, the border county health departments, the Arizona Area Health Education Centers, Pima Community College, the Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center at the UA College of Pharmacy, and the Pharmacy Task Force. In addition, AzCPHP will work with Mexico, particularly partners in the state of Sonora, to address cross-border training needs and activities.
This unique partnership illustrates the long-term commitment and dedication of public health leaders in both countries. Augmenting the emergency preparedness, response, and disaster recovery capability of our nation’s public health workforce is not just a common vision shared throughout our world but an overarching mission that will ultimately fortify the entire public health infrastructure.
