American Public Health Association
The American Public Health Association (APHA) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that represents public health professionals and organizations in the federal policy legislation process. APHA policy areas include public health preparedness and emerging threats.
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that has provided emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States since its founding in 1881. The Red Cross is a key non-governmental organization involved in responding to public health emergencies.
Association of Schools of Public Health
The Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH) is the national nonprofit organization representing the deans, faculty and students of the accredited member’s schools of public health. ASPH, in coordination with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, runs the Centers for Public Health Preparedness, a network of 50 public health schools that work closely with local public health officials to prepare a national defense system against public health threats.
Association of State and Territorial Health Organizations
The Association of State and Territorial Health Organizations (ASTHO) is the national nonprofit organization that represents public health agencies at the state and territorial level. ASTHO’s mission is to formulate and influence national public health policy and to assist state health departments in the development and implementation of public health programs and policies. ASTHO supports national policy that will help states develop emergency preparedness programs.
Center for Public Health Preparedness
The Center for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) is a part of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Mailman school of Public Health at Columbia University. The CPHP works closely with local schools and health departments to provide training to health workers to increase the capacity to respond to terrorist events.
Centers for Public Health Preparedness Program
As part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Association of Schools of Public Health program, the regional and state Centers for Public Health Preparedness offer a variety of geographically tailored information and programs on public health problems, threats and resources.
The Century Foundation
The Century Foundation is a nonprofit public policy research institution which operates on the belief that effective government, open democracy and free markets are the most effective solutions major challenges in the United States. The Foundation focuses on both health care and homeland security.
Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a nonprofit, private operating foundation focusing on the major health care issues facing the nation. The Foundation issued a series of reports examining the public health impacts of Hurricane Katrina, and operates the StateHealthFacts.org website, providing state-level data on several public health measures.
Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations
The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) works to continuously improve the safety and quality of care provided to the public through the provision of health care accreditation and related services that support performance improvement in health care organizations. One of JCAHO’s public policy areas is emergency preparedness.
Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness
The Johns Hopkins Center for Public Health Preparedness provides training and education to personnel at state and local health department levels, as well as community-based organizations.
National Association of County and City Health Officials
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) is the national nonprofit organization representing local public health agencies. NACCHO seeks to improve public health by promoting national policy, developing resources and programs, seeking health equity and supporting effective local public health practice and systems. Project Public Health Ready is the result of collaboration between NACCHO and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to help train local governmental public health departments to respond to emergencies. Project Public Health Ready is a competency-based training and recognition program to help local departments meet emergency preparedness criteria.
National Conference of State Legislatures
The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) is a bipartisan organization that serves the legislators and staffs of the nation's 50 states, its commonwealths and territories. NCSL provides research, technical assistance and a forum for policymakers to exchange ideas on state issues.
National Health Policy Forum
The National Health Policy Forum is a participant-driven, nonpartisan information exchange program that works to foster more informed government decision making related to health policy legislation. One of the Forum’s program areas is "Public Health & Preparedness."
New York Academy of Medicine
The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) is an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public through research, education, advocacy, and prevention. NYAM maintains the Resource Guide for Public Health Preparedness, a searchable database of preparedness resources.
Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce
Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Workforce is a collaboration of U.S. government agencies, public health organizations and health sciences libraries. Partners helps the public health workforce find and use information effectively to protect the public’s health.
Public Health Foundation
The Public Health Foundation (PHF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving public health infrastructure and performance. On their website, PHF has created a Public Health Infrastructure Resource Center as a database of related information, resources and data.
RAND Corporation
The RAND Corporation is a nonprofit policy analysis institution that works to develop and influence policy and decision-making through research and analysis. The RAND Health division has a project focusing on public health preparedness and has released a series of technical reports about the state and progress of emergency preparedness.
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan foundation that makes grants to improve the quality and access to health care for all Americans. One of the Foundation’s program focuses is public health and the Foundation recently provided the grant for Trust for America’s Health analysis of bioterrorism funding by state, entitled "Shortchanging America's Health: A State-by-State Look at How Federal Public Health Dollars are Spent."
Society for Public Health Education
The Society for Public Health Education is an independent, international professional association made up health education professionals and students. Its primary focus is on public health education.
Trust for America’s Health
Trust for America's Health (TFAH) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization working to make disease prevention a national priority. TFAH has written reports analyzing preparedness funding levels and assessing state readiness for disasters.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is the Cabinet-level office of the United States government responsible for protecting the health of all Americans and providing essential human services. The HHS Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness (OPHEP) is responsible for coordinating interagency programming and communication on issues of public health preparedness. The HHS has been operating since 1980 and includes many important public health agencies as well as the website Pandemicflu.gov, which is the official government website about pandemic flu preparedness.
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ)—an agency of HHS—is the agency charged with improving the quality, safety, efficiency and effectiveness of health care for all Americans. AHRQ supports health services research that will work towards these goals. The AHRQ has an issue area highlighting research in the field of public health preparedness.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)—an agency of HHS—is the agency responsible for promoting the public health and quality of life of all Americans by preventing and controlling disease, injury and disability. The CDC is in charge of maintaining, coordinating and distributing the Strategic National Stockpile, a stockpile of medicine devoted to domestic emergency situations. The CDC also runs the Health Alert Network which provides an infrastructure for continuous information access, communication and distance learning between public health agencies at all levels.
Health Resources and Services Administration
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA)—an agency of the HHS—is the primary Federal agency responsible for improving access to health care services for people who are uninsured, isolated or medically vulnerable. The HRSA has the primary responsibility for improving hospital capacity to respond to major disasters.
U.S. Department of Homeland Security
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is a Cabinet-level office of the United States government responsible for protecting America from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. Created in 2002, the DHS is comprised of 22 existing federal agencies and maintains the website Ready.gov, an emergency preparedness website for citizens.
U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health
The Subcommittee on Health of the Committee on Energy and Commerce maintains principal responsibility for legislative oversight relating to food and drug safety, public health, Public health and quarantine; hospital construction; mental health and research; biomedical programs and health protection in general, including Medicaid and national health insurance. This jurisdiction extends from the Energy Department, Health and Human Services, and Food and Drug Administration, and other quasi-governmental organizations. This site has links to hearings, publications, and other resources.
U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions, Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness
The Senate Subcommittee on Bioterrorism and Public Health Preparedness of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, & Pensions was established at the start of the 109th Congress to focus exclusively on ensuring that the United States is prepared for public health emergencies—whether deliberate, accidental, or natural. The Subcommittee has jurisdiction over a wide range of bioterrorism and public health issues including BioShield, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, immunizations, infectious diseases, pandemic flu, and vaccines and has information about hearings, roundtables, legislation, and links to information and resources on the Subcommittee's issues.
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization (WHO) is the United Nations specialized agency for health. The WHO coordinates the Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response to help all member nations prepare for and respond to a global influenza pandemic.