Prestigious New York Department of Health Workforce Grant Will Enable Adelphi University to Serve the Region by Training Medical Personnel in Emergency Management

Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation has been awarded a competitive grant from the New York Department of Health, Health Workforce Retraining Program of $115,067 to develop a pilot program, starting in fall 2017, to bolster training of non-physician medical personnel in emergency management. The plan is to enroll and train six students in the nationally recognized Adelphi Graduate Certificate in Emergency Management program, three each from Nassau and Suffolk County, to address the critical need for responders who can manage a disaster, both locally and regionally. This will include tuition, books, supplies and fees. The project is titled Resiliency and Emergency Services Cohort: Understanding Emergency Management Essentials (RESCUE).

Long Island communities are vulnerable to disasters. Residents expect hospitals, health departments and emergency personnel to have the necessary training to respond and manage a disaster. The Joint Commission, which accredits more than 21,000 health care organizations and programs in the United States, recently approved new and revised requirements addressing core emergency management principles. In response, many area hospitals have re-written job descriptions to incorporate these new competencies. Unfortunately, many hospital personnel are not able to meet the required competencies due to a lack of tailored training programs, competing time commitments, and insufficient financial resources to enroll and complete the programs. The RESCUE program will have a significant impact on meeting these needs.

“The graduate certificate program will provide eligible professionals at all levels the opportunity to participate in an online certificate program in three semesters in a one year period,” said Elizabeth Cohn, executive director of the Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation and primary investigator for the grant. “The subjects and training included will qualify them for new employment and promotion within their current positions for which they would not otherwise currently be eligible. In addition, it augments their skills to meet an expanding need regionally and nationally.” 

“RESCUE provides medical personnel access to an established emergency management graduate certificate program,” said Meghan McPherson, assistant director of the Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation and RESCUE program advisor. “The pilot program will focus on teaching working professionals emerging issues and standards, utilizing FEMA’s all-hazard approach to emergency management.” 

For more information about the Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation and to apply for this cohort, please visit chi.adelphi.edu. Applications for this cohort are due by May 15, 2017.

About Adelphi University Center for Health Innovation

Adelphi University’s Center for Health Innovation (CHI) is the primary resource in our region for innovative, multidisciplinary, evidence-based responses to improving health, healthcare systems and public health. CHI creates and fosters community-focused, interdisciplinary academic programming, applied research, community partnerships and leadership—all with the goal of meeting current and emergent health needs of Long Island and our region.