Florida Public Health Training Center (FPHTC) – The Florida Public Health Training Center (FPHTC), part of the USF College of Public Health’s Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice (CLPHP), presented the following on-site training programs to Florida Department of Health employees and their community partners:

• FIRST – Field Investigator Response and Surveillance Training in Ocala, FL on March 5, 2012 with 22 participants in attendance.  FIRST is an 8 hour onsite program developed to help public health staff who may be called upon to assist epidemiology staff during a surge capacity event. It is designed to help public health workers develop the abilities needed to assist in epidemiology investigations at times when epidemiology staff are overburdened.  This training was successfully facilitated by Sarah Matthews, MPH, a consultant for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.
• Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training plus Special Needs Populations (BFASTplusSN) in Jacksonville, FL, on March 7, 2012, with 43 participants in attendance.  BFASTplusSN is a 4-hour training that provides public health workers and other professionals with the opportunity to develop the essential awareness, knowledge, and skills to effectively deliver Psychological First Aid to disaster survivors who have special needs.  This training was successfully facilitated by Nadine D. Mescia, MHS, Instructor and Senior Instructional Designer at the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice. 
• IFIRST – Intermediate Field Investigator Response and Surveillance Training in Naples, FL on March 26-27, 2012 with 25 participants in attendance.  IFIRST is a 16 hour program designed to develop the knowledge, skills, and abilities of public health workers who may be deployed on Field Epidemiology Strike Teams in order to assist local, regional, state, and national epidemiology staff in Gastrointestinal Illness or Avian Influenza disease investigations during surge capacity.  This training was successfully facilitated by Sarah Matthews, MPH and Sandra Ruzycki, consultants for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice. 
• FIRST – Field Investigator Response and Surveillance Training in Tampa, FL on April 9, 2012 with 40 participants in attendance.  FIRST is an 8 hour onsite program developed to help public health staff who may be called upon to assist epidemiology staff during a surge capacity event. It is designed to help public health workers develop the abilities needed to assist in epidemiology investigations at times when epidemiology staff are overburdened.  This training was successfully facilitated by Sarah Matthews, MPH, a consultant for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.

Preparedness Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC) – The Preparedness Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC), part of the USF College of Public Health’s Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice (CLPHP), presented the following on-site training programs to Florida Department of Health employees and their community partners: 

• Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training for Responders (RFAST) in Gainesville, FL, on March 2, 2012, with 51 participants in attendance.  RFAST is a 4 hour onsite program that provides public health workers and other professionals with the necessary awareness, knowledge, and skills to promote behavioral health and wellness through individual and team approaches for preventing, mitigating, and managing disaster worker stress and for developing disaster stress resistance and resilience to the negative effects of critical incident stress exposure.  This training was successfully facilitated by Chip Weiner, LMHC, a consultant for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.
• Disaster Behavioral Health First Aid Specialist Training with Children (CFAST) in Jacksonville, FL, on March 7, 2012, with 32 participants in attendance.  CFAST is a 4-hour program that provides public health workers and other professionals with the knowledge and skill to effectively deliver initial behavioral health assistance to children and adolescent survivors of disasters.  This training was successfully facilitated by Nadine D. Mescia, MHS, Instructor and Senior Instructional Designer at the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.
• FIRST – Field Investigator Response and Surveillance Training in Port Charlotte, FL on March 9, 2012 with 28 participants in attendance.  FIRST is an 8 hour onsite program developed to help public health staff who may be called upon to assist epidemiology staff during a surge capacity event. It is designed to help public health workers develop the abilities needed to assist in epidemiology investigations at times when epidemiology staff are overburdened.  This training was successfully facilitated by Sarah Matthews, MPH, a consultant for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice.
• CBDC – Community-Based Disaster Coalition Training in Sarasota, FL on March 14-16, 2012 with 27 participants in attendance.  CBDC is a 3-day onsite program developed to help program participants to develop the essential knowledge, skills, and abilities to organize a Community-Based Disaster Coalition (CBDC) or strengthen an existing CBDC that integrates public health, human services, and emergency management systems into their respective county’s disaster preparedness, response, and recovery structure.  This training was successfully facilitated by the following Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice staff: Patrick Gardner, EMT, RN, MPH, Assistant Director; Nadine D. Mescia, MHS, Instructor and Senior Instructional Designer; and Dave Rogoff, MHA, Center Director.  The following consultants for the Center for Leadership in Public Health Practice also helped facilitate the training: Teresa Goodman, ARNP, PhD; Gayle Guidash, MPH; Don Mullins,CFCP; and Kevin Rolfe, PMD.