Activity Description
The Institute of Medicine Standing Committee on Health Threats Resilience is sponsored by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Health Affairs. The standing committee discusses issues related to short- and long-term strategic planning and includes experts in emergency management, emergency medical services, emergency preparedness and response, intelligence, public health and medicine, community resiliency, economic development, and socio-cultural sciences. The standing committee maintains surveillance of the field, discusses planning and program development efforts, and serves as a focal point within the Institute of Medicine and National Academies for discussions and potential ad hoc studies related to (1) community resilience against health threats—including issues relevant to preparedness, community engagement, and communications; (2) health security—the interface with intelligence, infrastructure and security, and health resiliency; (3) emergency response and recovery activities and support of operational medicine; and (4) capacity and gaps in the capability of the federal, state, and local authorities to respond to catastrophic health events, including events related to food, agriculture, human health, and animal health issues. In this process, the standing committee may provide a public venue for communication among government, the academic community, and the private sector, as well as other relevant stakeholders involved in emergency preparedness and emergency response services.
Further, as needed, the standing committee will be involved in the planning, development, and oversight of related ad hoc activities undertaken by separately appointed committees operating under its auspices. Standing committee discussions have led to a couple of workshops, which have explored topics related to workforce resiliency and to biosurveillance (which resulted in the workshop summary listed on the right side of your screen under "Related Reports").