Launched in October 2024 with funding from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the University of Washington (UW) Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response supports public health readiness across Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Washington.
The center is led by the UW Center for Disaster Resilient Communities (CDRC) in partnership with the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice. It is part of a national network of ten regional centers established by the CDC Office of Readiness and Response to strengthen local capacity for public health preparedness and response.
Each center works with state and local health departments, hospitals and community-based organizations to develop and implement evidence-based strategies and interventions tailored to regional needs.
The Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response consists of the five following cores:
- The Administrative and Planning Core offers strategic leadership, coordination, administration and fiscal management.
- The Implementation Core identifies, adapts or co-creates, implements and evaluates evidence-based strategies or interventions (EBSIs) / evidence-informed strategies or interventions (EISIs) in partnership with Region 10 public health emergency preparedness partners.
- The Collaboration Core convenes Communities of Practice (CoPs) for each Focus Area and hosts an annual Region 10 Conference.
- The Dissemination Core offers training and/or technical assistance (TA) regarding specific EISIs/EBSIs and/or skills/competencies relevant to their implementation.
- The Tribal Engagement Team offers strategic leadership, coordination and administration of activities to implement the center’s tribal-specific work plan.
The following image offers a visual overview of the five cores:
Leadership team (left to right): Nicole Errett, Resham Patel, Tania Busch Isaksen, Jamie Donatuto, Betty Bekemeier.
- Nicole Errett, PhD, MSPH, Director
- Resham Patel, MPH, Deputy Director, Collaboration Core
- Tania Busch Isaksen, PhD, MPH, Associate Director, Implementation Core and Tribal Engagement
- Jamie Donatuto, PhD, Associate Director, Implementation Core and Tribal Engagement, Health Equity Lead
- Betty Bekemeier, PhD, MPH, RN, FAAN, Associate Director, Dissemination Core
In its first year, the Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response (NWPHEPR) recruited and convened a Steering Committee made up of Directors of Public Health Emergency Preparedness and local health jurisdiction representatives from Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska; intertribal organizations; a healthcare coalition; the Region 10 Emerging Special Pathogens Treatment Center; and Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Region 10. The Steering Committee has adopted a charter and meets regularly to provide guidance on NWPHEPR activities.
The following image describes the entities that comprise the Steering Committee’s membership:
In its first year, the Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response recruited and convened a Tribal Working Group comprised of representatives from Tribes or Tribal organizations in all four Region 10 states—Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska. Members of the Tribal Working Group work in emergency planning and response or a related aspect of public health. The group meets regularly and has identified “Communications” as its initial focus area, with communication technologies and infrastructure as the subtopic. Please visit the Current Activities page for additional detail regarding tribal activities.
At its first meeting the Steering Committee selected workforce capacity and leadership as the first focus area for the Northwest Center for Evidence-Based Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response to address. To support the development, implementation, and evaluation of an evidence-based strategy or intervention to advance these goals, the center formed a community of practice consisting of regional members with experience or a vested interest in the workforce capacity and leadership focus area. The community of practice made recommendations leading to the development of the Crisis Leadership Institute and mentorship program and continues to meet regularly to guide their implementation and evaluation.