Research and Information Needs to Improve Healthcare Access in Disasters

We are writing to invite you to share your input and expertise in a virtual forum hosted by the Cascadia Coastlines and People Research Coordination Network (Cascadia CoPe RCN) on “Research and Information Needs to Improve Healthcare Access in Disasters.” This event is part of a broader effort to advance research on coastal hazards and resilience that will be useful to coastal communities in the Pacific Northwest, coordinated by the Cascadia Coastlines and Peoples Hub (Cascadia CoPes Hub). You can learn more about our work here.

The forum will be held by Zoom on March 2, 2022 from 9am - 11am PST.  Please register by our priority registration deadline of February 23, 2022 [here] to receive the Zoom link.

Coastal communities are among those most at risk of disruptions to healthcare access in the event of an earthquake or other natural hazard. In response, our virtual forum will bring together practitioners and scientists interested in collaboration to improve healthcare access following major disasters resulting from natural hazards in coastal communities to:

1. Identify information needed to better understand healthcare access impacts and prevent disruptions within Cascadia coastal communities following disasters resulting from natural hazards;

2. To develop a collaborative research agenda, based on community priorities, to inform and improve healthcare access following major disasters resulting from natural hazards in coastal communities.

The virtual forum will be space for Pacific Northwest coastal emergency managers, public health officials, healthcare coalitions, hospital emergency managers, healthcare service providers/administrators, transportation planners, local elected officials, public safety (police/fire/EMS), and community planners to share their insights and expertise.

Please share this invitation with your colleagues with relevant responsibilities or expertise, particularly those from small and medium sized healthcare organizations serving PNW coastal communities (e.g., skilled nursing facilities, opioid treatment programs, federally qualified health centers, etc.). Please note that we are planning to host a separate forum at a later date specifically for tribal representatives.

We understand that your time is limited. To thank you for your sharing your time and expertise with us during the forum, we are offering an honorarium. Please contact Jessica Nagtalon (nagtalon@uw.edu) for more information about the honorarium.

Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns. We look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Nicole Errett, Forum organizing committee chair
with support from:

David Schmidt, PI Cascadia CoPe RCN
Peter Ruggiero, PI Cascadia CoPes Hub

Ann Bostrom, Co-PI Cascadia CoPes Hub and Cascadia CoPe RCN