MCAH and Preparedness
Local health departments (LHDs) play critical roles in responding to public health threats across the country. Despite the number of public health threats that impact pregnant people and infants, there remains a lack of dedicated efforts to increase collaboration among maternal and child health (MCH) and emergency preparedness and response (EPR) departments within LHDs. Additionally, MCH considerations are often not integrated into emergency planning processes for all-hazards preparedness, which includes infectious disease threats, natural disasters, and other public health emergencies.
As leaders in public health prevention at the local level, LHDs are uniquely positioned to dedicate resources and implement strategies that meet the needs of MCH populations in their communities when public health threats emerge.
NACCHO’s MCAH/Preparedness portfolio works to increase capacity of LHDs to integrate MCH populations in emergency planning to prepare for future public health threats.
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Action Planning Template and Instructions | This template and accompanying instructions can be used to guide project action planning. | NACCHO/CPHI | Template |
| MCH, Infectious Disease, and Preparedness Capacity Assessment | Assessment designed to determine (1) current LHD capacity for responding to infectious disease emergencies that impact MCH populations and (2) current levels of collaboration among MCH, infectious disease, and preparedness staff/divisions at LHDs. | NACCHO/CPHI | Assessment |
| MCH/EPR Capacity Assessment | Assesses current LHD capacity for incorporating MCH considerations into emergency planning and current levels of MCH/EPR collaboration and cross-training efforts. | NACCHO/HCC | Assessment |
| Emergency Preparedness Checklist for MCH Populations | Checklist to review your LHDs current emergency plans and identifies considerations in the preparedness phase of the emergency management cycle. | NACCHO/HCC | Checklist |
| Emergency Response Checklist for MCH Populations | Checklist to review your LHDs current emergency plans and identifies considerations in the response phase of the emergency management cycle. | NACCHO/HCC | Checklist |
| Emergency Recovery Checklist for MCH Populations | Checklist to review your LHDs current emergency plans and identifies considerations in the recovery phase of the emergency management cycle. | NACCHO/HCC | Checklist |
| AMCHP Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Checklist for Maternal and Infant Health | Intended to augment the capacity of all jurisdictions to ensure that MCH populations are planned for in the event of emergencies – including multiple emergencies with intersecting impacts. | AMCHP | Checklist |
| Pediatric Tabletop Disaster Exercise Resource Kit and Case Scenarios | Provides step by step guidance to prepare for and implement a pediatric tabletop exercise in a community. Templates are provided for agendas, email invitations, and follow-up work. Additional resources to prepare pediatric practice settings for disasters and public health emergencies are also included. | AAP | Exercises |
| Process Tool for Planning for Safe Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies | Lists process steps for LHDs looking to plan for safe infant and young child feeding in emergencies. | Jefferson County Public Health | Informational Tool |
| Planning for Safe Infant Feeding in an Emergency | Outlines tips for supporting safe infant feeding in an emergency and provides an infant feeding supply checklist for mass-care locations. | Jefferson County Public Health | Tool/Checklist |
| Bridging Preparedness, Infectious Disease, Maternal-Child Health, and Birth Defects Within Cities and Counties: A Resource Guide for Local Health Departments | This resource guide presents tools and resources related to the intersections of preparedness, infectious disease, and MCH that LHDs can adapt in preparing for and responding to infectious diseases that threaten pregnant people and their infants. | NACCHO | Resource Guide |
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| RHAD 2.0 toolkit | A suite of tools to assist agencies or communities in assessing the reproductive health needs of women ages 15-44, pregnant and postpartum people, and infants less than one year old affected by disasters. | CSTE | Toolkit |
| HHS Maternal-Child Health Emergency Planning Toolkit | Outlines basic planning steps and highlights key resources and promising practices to address the needs of people who are pregnant, postpartum, and/or lactating and typically developing infants and young children in emergencies. | HHS/ASPR | Toolkit |
| HHS Child and Adolescent Health Emergency Planning Toolkit | Intended for health care, public health, and social services providers serving children and youth with special health care needs (CYSHCN) and their families/caregivers, this toolkit addresses the needs of CYSHCN in emergency preparedness, response, recovery, mitigation, and community resilience activities. | HHS/ASPR | Toolkit |
| Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) Toolkit | Provides information and resources for emergency preparedness and response personnel, families, and the public to ensure that infants and children are fed safely and appropriately when disaster strikes. | CDC DNPAO | Toolkit |
| Considerations for Maternal Child Health Policies and Public Health Emergencies | Outlines key considerations for preparedness, response, and recovery efforts that prioritize MCH populations during emergency planning. | ASTHO | Report |
| Maternal and Child Health Epidemiology and EPR Capacity Assessment and Key Informant Analysis Report | Outlines the current state of MCH emergency preparedness and response within state and territorial public health departments and identifies capacity and needs of state and territorial health departments to address the needs of MCH populations during public health emergencies. | CSTE | Report |
| Child and Adolescent Mental Health Resources | In collaboration with CDC, multiple resources were created to leverage informatics approaches to increase state, tribal, local and territorial system health department capacity to assess and improve child and adolescent mental health. | Public Health Informatics Institute | Resource Hub |
| Planning for an Emergency – Strategies for Identifying and Engaging At-Risk Groups | Guidance document created for emergency managers to help identify, plan for, and assist the at-risk groups or socially vulnerable populations within your community when responding to threats. | CDC | Toolkit |
| Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Hub (IYCF-E Hub) Disability-Inclusive IYCF Package | This collection of resources features practical tools to assist the implementation of IYCF-E programming that supports the inclusion of mothers, infants, and young children with disabilities in nutrition programming according to various levels of the IYCF-E model. | Save the Children | Manuals & Toolkits |
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protecting Vulnerable Patient Populations from Climate Hazards: A Referral Guide for Health Professionals | This resource is intended to inform education and referrals in clinical settings for patients who are vulnerable to climate change’s health impacts and can be used by health and human services providers to address climate-related threats to their clients’ well-being. | HHS | Referral Guide |
| Strategies to Include Maternal and Child Health in Emergency Planning | Outlines the needs identified by state and territorial health officials to incorporate MCH in infectious disease emergency preparedness and response practices in states and territories. | ASTHO | Strategy Guide |
| Helping Babies Sleep Safely | Lists steps to help babies sleep safely and reduce the risk of sleep-related infant deaths, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). | CDC DRH | Guidance |
| Reproductive Health in Emergency Preparedness and Response | Highlights tools and resources for understanding the impact of public health emergencies on reproductive health. | CDC DRH | Guidance |
| Feeding Your Child Safely During a Disaster | List of tips to help feed children safely during an emergency. | CDC | Guidance |
| Safety Messages for Pregnant, Postpartum, and Breastfeeding People During Natural Disasters and Severe Weather | Outlines steps to take before, during, and after a disaster to protect yourself and loved ones. | CDC | Guidance |
| How to Clean Infant Feeding Items During Emergencies | Best practices for how to safely clean infant feeding items during an emergency situation. | CDC | Fact Sheet |
| Strengthening Disability Inclusion Efforts within LHDs: Riverstone Health | Highlights how the Yellowstone City-County Health Department, dba RiverStone Health (RSH), developed a comprehensive approach to disability inclusion in organizations' policies and procedures, communications, physical accessibility, and program delivery. | NACCHO | Stories from the Field |
| Strengthening Disability Inclusion Efforts within LHDs: Sauk County Public Health | Shares an action plan developed by Sauk County to increase staff awareness of disability inclusion practices, reveal any ableism in policies and procedures, sharpen equity focus, and provide the tools to meet the needs of all participants creatively and proactively. | NACCHO | Stories from the Field |
| Tabletop Exercise for the Inclusion of MCH Populations in Emergency Preparedness and Response | This page outlines the materials and resources utilized in a tabletop exercise for incorporating MCH populations in EPR practices conducted by NACCHO at the 2023 Preparedness Summit. | NACCHO/HCC | Informational Overview |
| Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET) Overview | Informational presentation providing an overview of CDC's Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Mothers and Babies Network (SET-NET). Showcases data and impact of surveillance for infectious diseases impacting MCH populations at the local level. | CDC | Informational Overview |
| CDC Articles and Key Findings from SET-NET Data | Key findings from reports that use SET-NET data in various jurisdictions. | CDC | Research Articles |
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Division of State and Local Readiness - PHEP Connects Webinars | Monthly, hourlong webinars that serve to educate and provide information and guidance, expert advice, resources, and technical assistance to state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) public health officials. | CDC DSLR | Webinar |
| Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies: Community Preparedness Systems to Keep Babies Safe | This session provided an overview of the CDC's Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies (IYCF-E) Toolkit, shared current research exploring personal experiences and disaster-related factors that influence breastfeeding, and described how NACCHO has supported communities in emergency preparedness for maternal and child populations. | USBC/NACCHO | Webinar |
| Building Community Resilience Through Maternal Child Health and Emergency Preparedness and Response Collaboration: Opportunities and Lessons Learned | Webinar featuring four LHDs that discussed their efforts to prioritize MCH populations in EPR activities and shared lessons learned, success stories, partnership opportunities, and resources. This webinar features: Jefferson County Public Health (Colorado), Louisiana Office of Public Health – Bureau of Family Health, New Orleans (Louisiana), Tri-County Health Department (Missouri) and Western Upper Peninsula Heath Department (Michigan). | NACCHO | Webinar |
| Impact of Climate Change: How Reproductive Health Providers Can Make a Difference | Reviewed the impacts of climate change on maternal health, described what reproductive health providers can do to mitigate adverse outcomes for their clients, and shared resources on climate change and maternal health that providers can use. | Reproductive Health National Training Center | Webinar |
| Podcast from Washington: Maternal and Child Health During a Pandemic | Discussion with the Washington County Health Department on how maternal and child health programs have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and exploring collaborative efforts among maternal and child health programs with infectious disease and preparedness programs. | The NACCHO Podcast Series | Podcast |
| Podcast from Washington: A Look Back at Zika Virus | Conversation with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County to take a look back at the Zika virus response in 2016 and discuss how the challenges from the Zika outbreak differ from the COVID-19 pandemic, sharing lessons learned that helped to prepare the department for the COVID-19 response. | The NACCHO Podcast Series | Podcast |
| Podcast from Washington: The Impact of the MIP Initiative on MIP Members | Discussion with NACCHO's Maternal-Child Health, Infectious Disease, and Preparedness (MIP) Workgroup member about her role in the community and the maternal child health program at LA County Public Health. This episode also examines NACCHO’s efforts to strengthen and support the maternal child health program nationwide. | The NACCHO Podcast Series | Podcast |
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSTE Emergency Preparedness and Response Training for Public Health Epidemiologists | An online training focused on Emergency Preparedness for Epidemiologists. The training consists of 7 modules that go over various emergency preparedness topics and the role of epidemiologist in public health emergency planning, exercises, drills, and responses. | CSTE | Training |
| Prepared4ALL: Whole Community Inclusive Emergency Planning | Free course to increase your knowledge about whole community emergency planning, including COVID-19 planning, as well as provide basic information needed to connect with your own local emergency planners, public health professionals, and community. | AUCD's National Center on Disability in Public Health | Training |
| Title | Description | Organization | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hear Her Campaign | Resources and materials to prevent pregnancy-related deaths by sharing potentially life-saving messages about urgent maternal warning signs. | CDC | Campaign materials |
| Pregnant and Protected | Resources and FAQs to share simple, accurate, and current information about COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy. | CDC Foundation | Campaign materials |
| Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies Social Media Toolkit | Ready-to-go messages to promote information and resources related to Infant and Young Child Feeding to social media audiences in preparation for or during an emergency. | CDC | Social media toolkit |
Engage With Us
If you have questions or want to request more information, contact the MCAH/Preparedness staff listed below.
Community Health Program
Elana Filipos
Program Analyst, Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health
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Community Health Program
Tucker O'Donnell
Director-Maternal, Child & Adolescent Health
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Public Health Preparedness Program
Emily Schreiner
Senior Program Analyst
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Public Health Preparedness Program
Sarah Callahan
Program Analyst, Preparedness
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