The Center for Biopreparedness Education, a joint endeavor between the University of Nebraska Medical Center and Creighton University Medical Center, is offering free disaster preparedness courses for Nebraska health care professionals, public health professionals, first-responders and other professionals who may respond to disasters.
The Basic Disaster Life Support and Advanced Disaster Life Support courses will be offered Sept. 4, 5 and 6, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in Omaha at the Scott Conference Center, 6450 Pine St. Meals and course materials are included.
Free American Academy of Continuing Medical Education credit is available for Nebraska residents. The basic course is worth 7.5 hours and the advanced course 15 hours.
The two courses will prepare health professionals to better understand their roles in the disaster response system, including coordination among local, state, and federal emergency response efforts and providing, protection for themselves and others during a disaster. It also will teach how to communicate effectively with other emergency personnel and the media and how to address the unique psychological impacts and related social chaos that may ensue.
The advanced course includes skill stations in triage, personal protective equipment and decontamination, disaster skills, and human patient simulator.
Registration, which is limited to the first 60 people, can be done through Web sites at www.bioprepare.org or www.disasterlifesupport.com. Questions can be directed to Leslie Scofield at lscofield@unmc.edu.
UNMC is the only public health science center in the state. Its educational programs are responsible for training more health professionals practicing in Nebraska than any other institution. Through their commitment to education, research, patient care and outreach, UNMC and its hospital partner, The Nebraska Medical Center, have established themselves as one of the country’s leading centers in cancer, transplantation biology, bioterrorism preparedness, neurodegenerative diseases, cardiovascular diseases, genetics, biomedical technology and ophthalmology. UNMC’s research funding from external sources now exceeds $82 million annually and has resulted in the creation of more than 2,400 highly skilled jobs in the state. UNMC’s physician practice group, UNMC Physicians, includes 513 physicians in 50 specialties and subspecialties who practice primarily in The Nebraska Medical Center. For more information, go to UNMC’s Web site at www.unmc.edu.
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