Integrating Emergency Management and Public Health for Local Hazard Risk and Vulnerability Assessment

The University of Washington and the Washington State Department of Health are developing a comprehensive jurisdictional public health hazard risk and vulnerability assessment tool for use by local health jurisdictions in the state. The tool will synthesize data and insights from the disciplines of emergency management and public health, providing informative, accessible, and locally tailored assessments to support local health jurisdictions in planning for emergencies and building resilience. It is currently scheduled to be released in early 2025.

This presentation will outline the proposed structure of the tool, explaining the domains included, the sources of data to be used, and points of integration between this new public health risk assessment tool and existing emergency management assessments. UW and DOH will also solicit audience feedback on these points to improve the final tool.

About the Presenters

Kathleen Moloney is a Research Scientist with the University of Washington Collaborative on Extreme Event Resilience (CEER). Her research focuses on improving the communities’ ability to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters. She co-leads the development of a public health risk assessment tool to support Washington local health jurisdictions’ public health emergency preparedness and response planning. Prior to joining CEER, Kathleen worked in disaster response with the American Red Cross and Catholic Charities.

Evan Mix is a public policy researcher and a Research Coordinator with CEER. He co-leads the development of the public health risk assessment tool. Before joining CEER, Evan was an attorney.