The Center for Emergency Preparedness at the UT School of Public Health center provides research and training focused on managing a wide variety of emergency situations, including emergency and trauma medical response,  disaster management, and hazardous environmental conditions. Through our programs we seek to improve capacity to respond to emergency events. Our vision is for communities to be wholly prepared and able to rapidly respond and recover from emergency events. Our capabilities can help further community preparedness through:

• Strategic planning - helping communities proactively develop response plans, avoiding wasted resources or risk to residents through delayed response
• Modeling - developing a variety of disaster and response scenarios to assist in formulating a disaster management approach best suited for community needs
• Surveillance - working with community resources to track events like missed days of work/school, medical visits, and prescription patterns to proactively assess and mitigate the presence of disease outbreaks
• Evaluations - working with community leaders to objectively assess current operating procedures for opportunities to improve or streamline processes, yielding cost savings that can relieve local budget challenges

We continuously seek to provide ground-breaking research and service to improve readiness capabilities so that communities and governments can prevent, eliminate, and manage all health and safety threats, such as emerging infectious disease, natural disasters, and bioterrorism events.

The goals of the Center are to improve the public health capacity to address all types of disasters locally, within Texas and throughout the country, through training and education, research and community service. The Center develops public health and medical collaborations with our partner institutions to help coordinate the local public health and medical response to threats. The Center also provides training, support, and mentoring to the UTSPH Student Epidemic Intelligence Society (SEIS), which prepares public health graduate students to respond to emergencies and support state and local health department surveillance activities.

Research Areas of the Center

• Animal Preparedness
• Bioinformatics and Surveillance
• Bioterrorism
• Disaster Leadership and Crisis Decision Making
• Emergency Management
• EMS/Cardiovascular Outcomes
• Hospital Preparedness
• Infectious Disease and Epidemiological Intelligence
• Medical Emergency Response
• Strategic Readiness

 Training, investigating, and serving together... 

The Center for Emergency Preparedness (Center) provides online and face-to-face training programs as well as an academic program and consulting services. The Center's mission is to educate the frontline public health workforce, medical and emergency responders, key leaders, and other professionals to respond to threats such as bioterrorism, emerging infectious diseases, and other emergencies affecting our communities.

The Center is a part of The University of Texas School of Public Health (UTSPH). It responds to the unique challenges in Texas through UTSPH's Houston and regional campuses, including sites along the critical US-Mexico border and urban campuses located in San Antonio, El Paso, Dallas, Brownsville, and Austin.

The Center works on a local, state, national, and international level with educational institutions, governmental agencies, relief organizations, and foreign ministries of health to promote our health security program objectives.

CEP's work revolves around these key activities

Training and Education

• integrated forum to bring critical community responders together
• short-term targeted programs of instruction
• opportunities for more specialized graduate education

Research

• emerging public health and safety issues
• analysis, evaluation, and solutions for homeland security health threats that imperil our citizens and those who must respond to preserve their health
• translation of new ideas into effective solutions that address state-based health security needs

Community Service

• expertise for planning, training, executive leadership, public health, and hospital preparedness in domestic and international setting

The Center for Emergency Preparedness (Center) was created in 2000 with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funding as part of a network of 25 centers. Centers for Public Health Preparedness (CPHP) train front-line workers in state and local health departments, preparing them to protect American citizens in the event of a public health emergency — inclusive of infections, environmental, occupational, and terrorist threats. The network has already reached thousands through applied training and targeted technical expertise aimed at defending communities in real-world crises. CPHP staff includes world-renowned preparedness experts from accredited schools of public health, allopathic medicine, and veterinary medicine, as well as community colleges across the country. The CPHP network, convened and coordinated by the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH), ensures a strong public health system across the nation when and where it is needed.

Texas has a number of factors that increase its potential for terrorism and other public health emergencies. It is one of the largest and most populous states and contains highly concentrated urban areas. Texas has the nation's second busiest seaport, the largest U.S. refining capacity, two nuclear power plants, major international airports, Mission Control for NASA, and the longest strip of the porous US-Mexico border (1,200 miles). These vulnerabilities, as well as the reminders of the events in 2001, indicate the crucial need to train the health care workforce to recognize and report an emergency to proper authorities, to rapidly address the medical and public needs of victims, and to work in an integrated multidisciplinary emergency response.

The Center for Emergency Preparedness at The University of Texas School of Public Health addresses these apparent and urgent needs of Texas by partnering with numerous educational and clinical institutes throughout Texas, as well as with Mexico and other American states. The Center holds a global perspective on preparedness by collaborating with more distant localities (Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands) while focusing most of its energy and attention to the critical local and county levels.

The Center provides significant levels of service and scholarship, including: 

1. Trained over 15,000 people annually for the past two years to better equip the health care community in Texas and the surrounding region. The disciplines ranged from preparedness in the laboratory and instruction of advanced life support methods to the communication and education of regional bioterrorist coordinators. Follow-up surveys indicated that those who participated in the Center training felt better prepared to respond to hurricanes Katrina and Rita based on what they learned from the Center's instruction.
2. Developed and executed a bilingual initiative, La Frontera, to concentrate on the various health security needs along the porous U.S.-Mexico border and the foreseeable dangers it presents. More than 1,300 people were trained in disciplines ranging from the most advanced disaster life support to the essential fundamentals for the Mexican health workers (promotoras) working in the rural communities. Furthermore, it hosted two binational conferences to provide an avenue for communication and planning among 300 health officials and health care workers from all of the six Mexican states and the four American states along the U.S.-Mexico border.
3. Organized and conducted at the state level a series of webinars for the principal Texas Department of State Health Services officials in all of the different health regions throughout Texas. One simulated a bioterrorist attack and the subsequent public health emergencies that followed. It continued the necessary cultivation of a communication among security officials for an exchange of ideas and deliberations to better prepare for a bioterrorist attack or any public health emergency in Texas.
4. Augmented the local planning for disaster preparedness by hosting and creating a Department of Homeland Security Executive Education session that assembled both the County and the City of Houston key officials, as well as critical private sector leaders (Centerpoint Energy, Continental Airlines, Houston METRO, and the Texas Medical Center), who all play integral roles in the event of a public health emergency. They considered the many consequences of a public health emergency, but primarily focused on the proliferation of avian flu and its effects on Texans. The preparedness exercise revealed the gaps in the preparedness plans developed by the two key departments and created a setting to encourage a resolution of these hanging issues between the entities.
5. Held an avian flu conference centered on the regional preparedness plan to educate the affected local workers, ranging from epidemiologists and nurses to sanitarians and law enforcement. The conference trained 150 local workers and continued the distribution of knowledge to every level of disaster preparedness

The Center for Emergency Preparedness has partnered with other institutions to provide training. These partnering groups include the La Frontera Project and other partners (all funded by CDC).

La Frontera Project 

• Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health 
• University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth 
• University of Texas Southwestern Medical School at Dallas  
• University of Texas School of Public Health at Brownsville  
• University of Texas School of Public Health at El Paso  
• University of Texas School of Public Health at San Antonio'

Other CDC Partners

• St. Louis University  
• University of Hawaii and Hawaii State Department of Health  
• University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth  
• U.S. Virgin Islands Department of Health   
• University of South Florida  

The Center collaborates with a number of organizatons supporting the public health and emergency preparedness needs of our nation, state, and community. 

	The Center for Emergency Preparedness is part of the Association of Schools of Public Health, working together to create a safer tomorrow through training, investigating, and providing community service to our nation.
	The Center for Biosecurity and Public Health Informatics Research is established to coordinate research and development of IT infrastructures and technological platforms relevant to Homeland Security.
	The School of Biomedical Informatics is working with the Center to design and develop web-based training solutions to expand the numbers of people receiving training for biosecurity and public health preparedness.
	The Texas Association of Local Health Officials (TALHO) is the official state association of city and county health professionals.
	The Southwest Texas Regional Advisory Council (STRAC) is an organization designed to facilitate the development, implementation, and operation of a comprehensive trauma care system based on accepted standards of care to decrease morbidity and mortality for Texas Trauma Service Area P.

The Center for Emergency Preparedness has three main areas of research:

• emerging public health and safety issues
• analysis, evaluation, and solutions for homeland security health threats that imperil our citizens and those who must respond to preserve their health
• translation of new ideas into effective solutions that address state-based health security needs

2010

>Hacker CS, Wingfield K, "Public Health Law." In Kapur BG, Smith JP, Emergency Public Health, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2010. 

Jacobson HE, Soto Mas F, Hsu CE, Miller JA, Turley JP. "Self-Assessed Emergency Readiness and Training Needs of Nurses in Rural Texas." Public Health Nursing, 27(1): 41-48; 2010. 

Langabeer J , Worthington, D. "Operations Research in Healthcare Management." Journal of Health Care Finance, 36(3):73-97; 2010. 

Zottarelli LK . “Broken Bond: An Exploration of the Human Consequences of Pet Loss during Hurricane Katrina.” Sociological Forum, 25(1): 110-122; 2010. 

Zottarelli LK , Kwon J, Ryu D, Rider E, Deane A. “Shelter in the Storm: A Sociopolitical Ecology Analysis of Faith-Based Organizations Providing Food and Shelter during Large Scale Evacuations of the United States Gulf Coast.” Paper to be presented at the International Sociological Association World Congress, Sweden, July 11-17; 2010. 

2009

Barney CE , Roush RE. "Emergency Preparedness and Response Considerations for the Geriatric Population." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 39-41; 2009. 

Calcote JC , Gaddis KB, Phipps JA, Herbold JR. "Syndromic Surveillance in Texas: A Brief Overview of Current Activities." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 22-24; 2009. 

Chiu YW, Hsu CE, Wang MQ, Nkhoma ET. "Examining Geographic and Temporal Variations of AIDS Mortality: Evidence of Racial Disparities." Journal of the National Medical Association. 99 (7): 788-96. July 2008. 

Chiu YW, Wang MQ, Chuang HY, Hsu CE, Nkhoma ET. "A New Application of Spatiotemporal Analysis for Detecting Demographic Variations in AIDS Mortality: An Example from Florida." The Kaohsiung Journal of Medical Sciences, 24(11): 568-76; 2008. 

Delgado R, Langabeer, J. "Strategic Performance Evaluation in Cancer Centers. Journal of Healthcare Management." 54(6); 2009. 

Emery RJ , Bible JP, Brown BJ. "Using Aggregate Retained Loss Data for the Purposes of Institutional Education and Loss Prevention." University Risk Management and Insurance Association Insights (on-line at urmia.org), January 2009. 

Emery, RJ , Sprau DD, Morecook RC, Herbold JR. "Risk Communication Considerations for Volunteer Surge Capacity Disaster Response Organizations." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 25-29; 2009. 

Emery, RJ , Sprau DD, Morecook RC, Herbold JR. "Surge Capacity Volunteer Perspectives on a Field Training Exercise Specifically Designed to Emphasize Likely Roles During a Disaster Response." Health Physics, 97(Supplement 3):S155-S160; 2009. 

Fernandez ME, McCurdy SA, Arvey SR, Tyson SK, Morales-Campos D, Flores B, Useche B, Mitchell-Bennett L, Sanderson, M. "HPV knowledge, attitudes, and cultural beliefs among Hispanic men and women living on the Texas-Mexico Border." Ethnicity and Health, Dec 1, 2009. 

Galeener C, Langabeer J. "Variability in Medicare Reimbursement and Resource Intensity in End of Life Acute Care." Journal of Health Care Finance, 35(3); 2009. 

Galterio L, Helton J, Langabeer J, DelliFraine, J. "Performance Normalization and Benchmarking in Healthcare." Journal of Healthcare Information Management, 23(2); 2009. 

Grimes CZ, Walker CM, Murray KO. "Viral Vector-Borne Disease in Texas and Effective Surveillance Strategies." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 30-32; 2009. 

Herbold J . "Introduction to Public Health Preparedness." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 13-17; 2009. 

Kwon J, Ryu D, Zottarelli L, Kwon S, Paulson R. “Food Safety Training Priorities for Evacuation Shelters Operated by Faith-based Organizations: An Expert Survey using Discrete Selections.” Journal of Food Protection, 71(A) 99; 2009. 

Langabeer J , DelliFraine J, Heineke J, and Abbass I. "Implementation of Lean and Six Sigma Quality Initiatives in Hospitals: A Goal Theoreti Perspective." Operations Management Research, Nov 2009. 

Langabeer J , DelliFraine J, Tyson S, Emert J, and Herbold J. "Investment, Managerial Capacity, and Bias in Public Health Preparedness." American Journal of Disaster Medicine, 4(4):207-215; 2009. 

Langabeer J , Helton J, and Langabeer D. "Financial Simulation Modeling in Clinical Trials." Journal of Applied Clinical Trials, 18(10):46-51; 2009. 

Langabeer JR, II . Performance Improvement in Hospitals and Health Systems. Chicago: Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, HIMSS Publishing (ISBN 9780980069778), 2009. 

Langabeer JR II , DelliFraine JL, Tyson S, Emert JM, Herbold J. "Assessing Public Health Preparedness in Texas Local Health Departments." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 58-63; 2009. 

Montealegre JR , Emert JM, Lackey SC, Bryson RS, Murray KO. "Response Program's Partnership with Local Health Departments to Meet H1N1 Surge Capacity Needs." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 33-34; 2009. 

Phosuwan A, Hsu CE, Dunn K, Mansueto M, Salisbury L. "Applying Informatics to Inprove Vulnerable Population Registration for Emergency Preparedness for the Gulf Coast Region of Texas." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 42-47; 2009. 

Risser JMH , Padgett P, Wolverton M, Risser WL. "The relationship between heterosexual anal sex, injection drug use, and HIV infection among Black men and women." International Journal of STD and AIDS, 20(5): 310-314; 2009. 

Risser JMH , Risser WL. "Purulent vaginal and cervical discharge in the diagnosis of pelvic inflammatory disease." International Journal of STD and AIDS, 20:73-76; 2009. 

Smolenski D, Ross M, Risser JMH, Rosser B. "Sexual compulsivity and high-risk sex among Latino men: the role of internalized homonegativity and gay organizations." AIDS Care, 21(1); 42-49, 2009. 

Walji M, Taylor D, Valenza J, Langabeer J. "Factors Influencing Implementation of a Dental Electronic Patient Record." American Dental Association Journal of Dental Education, 73(5):589-600; 2009. 

Zottarelli LK , Sunil TS, Rider E. "Voluntary Infectious Disease Precautions and Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions among Students at a University in Texas during the Spring 2009 Novel H1N1 Outbreak." Texas Public Health Journal, 61(4): 52-57; 2009.
 

Jami DelliFraine , PhD 

Management & Community Health Sciences , Assistant Professor 

E-mail:  jami.l.dellifraine@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone:  (713) 500-9392 

Research Interests: Healthcare management, organization theory, quality management  

 

Ebbin Dotson , PhD 

Management & Community Health Sciences , Assistant Professor 

E-mail:  ebbin.d.dotson@uth.tmc.edu  

 Phone:  (713) 500-9392 

Research Interests: Healthcare management, policy, leadership, diversity, health disparities, and the macro-micro management nexus in healthcare organizations. 
 

Robert John Emery , DrPH

 Environmental & Occupational Health, Associate Professor of Occupational Health 

E-mail robert.j.emery@uth.tmc.edu  

Phone:  (713) 500-9469 

Research Interests: Comprehensive approaches to health and safety; health and safety program outcome measures; health and safety for special populations; occupational radiation protection; hazardous waste management; emergency preparedness and response, training.  

 

Sarah Felknor ,  DrPH 

Management & Community Health Sciences , Associate Professor and Director, Southwest Center for Occupational and Environmental Health 

E-mail: sarah.a.felknor@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone:  (713) 500-9464 

Research Interests: Occupational health and safety management; workplace risk assessment; injury surveillance systems; organizational safety climate; worker safety training; program evaluation; public health systems in Latin America.

 

Carl Hacker , PhD, JD 

Management & Community Health Sciences , Associate Professor 

E-mail: carl.s.hacker@uth.tmc.edu   

Phone:  (713) 500-9185 

Research Interests: Public health law; environmental law; Behavior of environmentally sustainable organizations; modeling vector populations; effect of pollutants on ecosystems 

 

John Herbold , DVM, PhD

Epidemiology , Associate Professor of Epidemiology 

E-mail: john.r.herbold@uth.tmc.edu  

 Phone:   (713) 500-9420 

Research Interests: Epidemiology; environmental health; infectious disease; animal-human issues; military medicine. 

 

James Langabeer II , PhD, EdD, MBA 

Management & Community Health Sciences , Associate Professor and Director, Center for Emergency Preparedness 

E-Mail:  james.r.langabeer@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone: (713) 500-9190 

 Research Interests: Operations Management, Emergency Management, Decision Making 
 

Linda E. Lloyd, PhD

Community Health Sciences , Associate Professor and Dean for Public Health Practice 

E-mail: linda.e.lloyd@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone: (713) 500-9163 

Research interests: Public health practice, health disparities, injury prevention, cancer control, women’s health 

 

   

Kristy O. Murray, DVM, PhD 

Epidemiology , Assistant Professor 

E-mail:  kristy.o.murray@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone:  (713) 500-9358 

 

 

 

Dennis Andrulis, PhD, MPH 

Austin Campus - Management and Community Health Sciences , Associate Professor 

E-mail:  dennis.p.andrulis@uth.tmc.edu  

Phone:  (512) 391-2500
 

 

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Collaborating Faculty:  

University of Texas School of Biomedical Informatics  

 

Chiehwen ("Ed") Hsu, PhD  

Biomedical Informatics , Assistant Professor 

E-mail:  Chiehwen.E.Hsu@uth.tmc.edu    

Phone:  (713) 500-3969 

 

 

 

  Parsa Mirhaji,  PhD  

Interdisciplinary Studies , Assistant Professor 

E-mail:  Parsa.Mirhaji@uth.tmc.edu 

Phone:  (713) 500-3157 

 

 

   

 University of Texas Medical School at Houston 

Richard Bradley , MD  

Memorial Hermann - TMC , Chief of Disaster Medicine, Assistant Professor 

Phone: (713) 704-4060   

 

Leah Blanton, Executive Assistant
Office: RAS W302
Phone: 713-500-9420
Email: leah.a.blanton@uth.tmc.edu
 
Diaa Alqusairi, Graduate Research Assistant
Office: RAS W322
Phone: 713-500-9438
Email: diaa.alqusairi@uth.tmc.edu 

Jamie Emert, Graduate Research Assistant
Office: RAS W322
Phone: 713-500-9438
Email: jamie.m.emert@uth.tmc.edu 

Alexandria Stack, Graduate Research Assistant
Office: RAS W322
Phone: 713-500-9438
Email: alexandria.d.stack@uth.tmc.edu