Date: February 3rd, 2009

Emergency Medical Responders role during an Influenza Pandemic

Another pandemic is inevitable; three influenza pandemics occurred in the 20th century, one of which was the most devastating single epidemic known in history with over 50 million lives lost worldwide. Even a pandemic of moderate severity will overwhelm the health care delivery sector in the US. Attack rates in excess of 30% can be expected with a prolonged recovery before a person could return to work. As part of health care system planning during a pandemic, the North Dakota Department of Health needs the assistance of local emergency medical responders to define how the EMS system is likely to be impacted and the actions that might to be taken to minimize the loss of life. All EMS personnel in North Dakota are invited to participate in four 1 and ¾ hour interactive video conferences. Sessions will be lead by Stephen Pickard MD and Brenda Vossler RN with the assistance of NDDoH EMS personnel, Tim Meyer and Ed Gregoire. The first session will focus on a pandemic scenario
which describes progressive worsening of a pandemic over the course of four weeks. Participants will be asked to describe the anticipated impact of the scenario events on EMS services. During subsequent meetings, attendees will be asked to define a staged approach to actions which can be taken to mitigate the impact on EMS services and populations morbidity. Meeting facilitators will use the guidance provided to design a proposal for action which will be circulated through the EMS system for review.

Dates:

March 17, 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM Deadline to Register: March 1, 2009
April 21, 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM Deadline to Register: April 10, 2009
May 19, 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM Deadline to Register: May 8, 2009
June 16, 7:00 PM to 8:45 PM Deadline to Register: June 5, 2009

Credit: Two hours of CE for EMS providers. You may attend this video conference at your local hospital, school or public health facility if available. Registration is required

POC:
Ed Gregoire
mailto:egregoire@nd.gov
701-328-2388

On-Line Registration - Click on Link:
http://www.ndhealth.gov/ET/Register.aspx?CourseID=ET-09-113