If It Happens Here
Healthcare Imagines the Unimaginable
Terrorist attacks. Natural disasters. Technological emergencies. And now comes the threat of a devastating avian flu pandemic. So what is the strategy for Colorado's health care community if something unthinkable happens here?
Speakers:
Phil Currance
Deputy Commander, US Public Health Service
Terrorist attacks. Natural disasters. Technological emergencies. The medical community recently has had to respond to woes that were once beyond human imagination. And now comes the threat of a devastating avian flu pandemic. To places like Colorado.
All public health disasters, as we now know, get worse if our reaction time is slow or ineffective.
It’s up to health care planners first to imagine and then to implement responses to the unimaginable. So what is the strategy of the state’s health care community if something unthinkable happens? How do we manage it?
Happily, some talented people have some answers. Both the state and federal governments have plans, assets and systems lined up. Come hear our region’s lead responders describe what’s supposed to happen if it happens here.
Phil Currance
As the Deputy Commander of the Central U.S. National Medical Response Team for WMD, Phil Currance leads one of three national response teams that can respond to terrorist incidents and render decontamination and medical care to mass casualties. He has more than 20 years experience as a firefighter and emergency paramedic. He has also been a hazardous materials emergency response trainer for Emedia Inc. and the Colorado Community College system. He is, moreover, the author of more than 20 publications (including video training programs and textbooks) about hazardous materials emergency response.
Don Sutton
Don Sutton, now training and education coordinator for the Emergency Preparedness and Response Section of Colorado’s Department of Public Health and Environment, has worked in public health and training for five years. He has developed courses in the Incident Command System and the National Incident Management System for Public Health Workers. He has also spent 25 years in higher education, serving as as director of faculty and curriculum for the undergraduate program of the School of Professional Studies at Regis University. Don holds a Ph.D. in organizational behavior from Saint Louis University.
