Enhancing public health preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities through the Florida Hurricane Response Hub

Abstract

In 2017, climate-driven Atlantic hurricanes – Harvey, Irma, and Maria – produced harmful population health effects. Florida was one of the most significantly affected states. These hurricanes caused significant damage, but over time, lessons were revealed for opportunities to increase hurricane resilience. As a result, the Florida Hurricane Response Hub was established; this Hub was used as one of five technical assistance centers comprising the Hurricane Response Hub Initiative, which were established in areas most affected by hurricanes. The Initiative sought to improve population health through the dissemination of education and other resources by facilitating training, technical assistance, and information sharing to improve preparedness, response, and recovery of the public health workforce. The overall goal of the project was to coordinate efforts among federal, state, and local public health organizations to enhance ongoing environmental and occupational health recovery efforts, which improves workforce capacity and institutional knowledge to improve disaster-related recovery for future hurricanes.

Keywords

• Climate change
• Hurricane
• Education
• Capacity building
• Resilience