UNMC selected as one of 10 new regional public health centers for CDC • Nebraska Examiner

The recognition and five-year funding commitment from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention follows a previous grant in which UNMC led the development of a new national approach to planning for large-scale health crises.

The grant’s first annual installment is about $640,000, said Rachel Lucadoo, principal investigator who is also an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental, Agricultural and Occupational Health.

She said UNMC did not know early on that it would be used for subsequent implementation efforts, and she is excited to see its use among those selected as the Public Health Preparedness and Response Center.

UNMC announced Thursday it will operate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 7 center serving Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

UNMC announced Thursday it will operate the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Region 7 center serving Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas and Missouri.

“The goal of this center will be to help create a more interconnected regional approach to responding to some of the emergency public health threats that are particularly concerning to our region,” Lucado said.

She believes the center engages more proactively with communities in the lead-up to a real emergency, improving their ability to respond.

For example, Lucado said, center staff, working with an advisory committee, will prepare cities and communities on how to respond to extreme weather events. It will identify new and innovative ways to grow and mobilize the public health workforce.