Disaster Preparedness and Response for Older Adults
As a community health worker, how can you effectively support older adults in rural areas during health emergencies caused by extreme weather events?
Course Information
- Audience: All public health professionals, including community health workers, working in nonprofits, healthcare, educational institutions, government and private sector
- Format: Self-Paced
- Price: Free
- Length: 1 hour
- Credential(s) eligible for contact hours: N/A
- Competencies: Health Equity Skills, Public Health Science Skills, Leadership and Thinking Systems Skills
- Learning Level: Awareness
- Companion Trainings: None
- Supplemental materials:Presentation Slides
- Pre-requisites: None
About this course
Join us for Disaster Preparedness and Response 101, a session designed to enhance support for older adults in rural areas during extreme weather emergencies. This session will provide Community Health Workers with the skills needed to respond effectively to health emergencies, foster collaboration with emergency management agencies and healthcare providers for a coordinated response and develop personalized disaster plans tailored to individual needs.
What you'll learn
After completing the training, you will be able to...
1. Describe key strategies for Community Health Workers to effectively support older adults in rural areas during extreme weather emergencies.
2. Identify practical skills and tools community health workers can use to respond to health emergencies associated with disasters, including communication techniques and safety measures.
3. Discuss methods for collaborating with local emergency management agencies and healthcare providers to create a coordinated disaster response tailored to the needs of older adults.
4. Develop individualized disaster preparedness plans that consider the unique health needs and circumstances of older adults living in rural communities.
Subject Matter Expert
Established in
2017, the National Center for Equitable Care for Elders (NCECE) is a program of
the Harvard
School of Dental Medicine (HSDM),
located in Boston, MA. Supported by the Health Resources and Services
Administration (HRSA)
of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), NCECE operates under the National Training and Technical
Assistance Partners (NTTAP)
designation. NTTAPs provide free Training and Technical Assistance (T/TA) to
support health center grantees and look-alikes.
Dr. Christine Riedy
Tiffany Kehayoglou Sarkissian
Juliette Provost
Dr. Christine Riedy is the Delta Dental of Massachusetts Associate Professor in Oral Public Health and Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine. She is also a psychologist and health services researcher. Dr Riedy oversees the development of the training and the technical assistance modules, the testing with the Learning Collaborative, and the plan for dissemination. Her previous research has been primarily focused on the understanding and prevention of dental caries, particularly in underserved and diverse populations. Dr. Riedy's previously funded studies (HRSA, NIH-NIDCR) focused on the intergenerational aspect of dental disease and behavioral strategies for promoting prenatal dental visits to potentially prevent the initial transmission of infection between mothers and their children. Dr. Riedy’s more recent focus has been on the integration of health care, particularly medical, dental, and behavioral integration. She sits on the Advisory Board for the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine. Dr. Riedy has current funding from HRSA related to the integration of oral health and general health. She is the Lead PI/PD on a HRSA-funded cooperative agreement, “Center for Evaluating Integration of Oral Health into Primary Care Training”. Dr. Riedy draws experience from her extensive work with vulnerable and underserved populations and her current work developing oral health competencies for primary caregivers.
Tiffany Kehayoglou Sarkissian joined NCECE in 2021 from the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Office of Continuing Professional Education. Prior to joining HSDM, she held a research assistant position within Harvard Chan School of Public Health's Department of Environmental Health. Tiffany serves as the Communications Coordinator for NCECE, overseeing health center outreach and engagement, and contributing to the Center's publications and learning activities. She has an extensive background in communications, higher education, writing, and physical fitness/wellness programming, and has a lifelong passion for helping disadvantaged populations. Tiffany also holds a communications role with the Harvard School of Dental Medicine Initiative to Integrate Oral Health and Medicine, to spread awareness of the integration of oral health and overall health.
Juliette Provost serves as the Staff Assistant at NCECE, providing administrative support for the Center’s activities and day-to-day operations. She joins us from Simmons University where she earned a BA in English and served as an Office Assistant to Accessibility Services and was the Senior Administrative Assistant to the CIO.
Enrollment and Contact Hours
Select the Enroll Me button below to register for this course. If you have any trouble accessing the recording, contact
support@nephtc.org.
Acknowledgement: This project is supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of award 2 UB6HP31685‐05‐00 “Public Health Training Centers.” The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by HRSA, HHS or the U.S. Government.