Opening Plenary Session

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2012
Room: Pacific Ballroom, 2nd floor

8:00 AM-8:30 AM

Welcome and Opening Remarks

Jack Herrmann
Chair, 2012 Public Health Preparedness Summit
Senior Advisor & Chief, Public Health Preparedness
National Association of County and City Health Officials

Elisabeth H. Lyman
Deputy Director, Public Health Emergency Preparedness
California Department of Public Health

Ronald Norby
Deputy Agency Director, Medical Services
County of Orange Health Care Agency

Opening Ceremony
Greater Los Angeles Cathedral Choir

8:30 AM-10:00 AM

A Community Comes Together: Rebuilding the Public Health and Healthcare System after the Joplin, Missouri, Tornado (#PL-01)
Late in the afternoon on May 22, 2011, an F5 multiple vortex tornado struck Joplin, Missouri, a small Midwestern city of just over 50,000 people. The aftermath of this catastrophe left 161 dead and more than 900 injured along with total destruction of thousands of homes, businesses, schools, and one of the community's major healthcare facilities, St. John's Medical Center. Public health, healthcare, and community-based agencies immediately responded to begin planning for the short-, mid-, and long-term needs of that community. Representatives from these critical sectors will discuss how their pre-event planning and their response and recovery efforts in the days and months following this devastating event have contributed to the community's resilience and the rebuilding of the public health and healthcare systems in Joplin.

Moderator:

David L. Lakey, M.D.
Commissioner, Texas Department of State Health Services

Panelists:

Melissa Friel
Director, Center for Emergency Response and Terrorism, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services; Jefferson City, MO

D. Sean Smith, D.O.
Emergency Physician, St. John's Regional Medical Center
Physician President, Mercy/St. John's Clinic—Joplin and Kansas Division; Joplin, MO

Chris Harmon
Chief Emergency Services Officer, American Red Cross Greater Ozarks Chapter; Springfield, MO

Plenary Session

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2012
Room: Pacific Ballroom, 2nd floor

8:00 AM–10:00 AM

Fact or Fiction: The Science behind Movie Making and Contagion (#PL-02)
The movie Contagion, from Warner Bros. and directed by Steven Soderbergh, tells the story of a flu-like virus that has jumped undetected from animals to humans, spreading a deadly pandemic for which there is no life-saving treatment or vaccine. The film follows the emergency investigation and response by CDC, WHO, state and local entities, and the lives of normal citizens suffering the consequences of the virulent disease—illness, loss, and social collapse. On the panel, Contagion's writer and the scientists and public health experts involved in the making of the film will discuss the parallels and differences between the film and the challenges of a real-world catastrophic pandemic.

Moderator:

Lillian Shirley, BSN, MPH, MPA
President, National Association of County and City Health Officials Director, Multnomah County Health Department; Portland, OR

Panelists:

Nicole Lurie, MD, MSPH
Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Department of Health and Human Services, RADM, Public Health Service

Alexander Garza, MD, MPH
Assistant Secretary and Chief Medical Officer, Office of Health Affairs, Department of Homeland Security

RADM Ali S. Khan, MD, MPH
Assistant Surgeon General and Director, Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Brian Kamoie, JD, MPH 
Senior Director for Preparedness Policy, National Security Staff, The White House

Matthew J. Hepburn, MD
Director for Medical Preparedness Policy, National Security Staff, The White House

W. Ian Lipkin, MD
Director, Center for Infection & Immunity, John Snow Professor of Epidemiology, Columbia University

Scott Z. Burns
Writer, Contagion

Closing Plenary Session

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2012
Room: Pacific Ballroom, 2nd floor

10:30 AM–Noon

Public Health: Past Adventures and Future Expectations
In a major conference speech 50 years ago, Dr. William Stewart, then Surgeon-General, proclaimed that the era of infectious diseases had past – that efforts must now shift to conquering the chronic diseases. It was unwelcome news to a young professional just embarking on a career in infectious disease epidemiology.  From a subsequent vantage point with WHO and later as Dean at Johns Hopkins, the subsequent 25 years were difficult ones for public health. But then in 1982, a new disease was discovered – AIDS – bringing the need for a range of new activities in prevention, behavioral sciences, and virology. With the advent of a Vaccine Era, the potential of vaccines as an important preventive measure took on new meaning. 

Then the 2001 World Trade Tower disaster followed by an anthrax attack dramatized the need for heightened national security measures and a strengthened public health infrastructure. It was only beginning to develop when our mishandled national monetary structure collapsed. A number of initiatives in public health that had only begun to take root were victims. The developments have been discouraging but I am now beginning to be optimistic that a robust future lies ahead provided that we do our part in advocacy and education.

Speaker:

Donald A. Henderson, MD, MPH
Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Public Health and Medicine, Center of Biosecurity of UPMC, University of Pittsburgh; Baltimore, MD