Disaster prepared: How federal funding in the USA supports health system and public health readiness

Author's Biography

Jeff Schlegelmilch is the Deputy Director for the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. He oversees projects related to the practice of disaster preparedness and guides the development of strategic planning for the centre. His areas of expertise include public health policy and preparedness, community resilience and public-private partnerships.

Elisaveta Petkova is a project director at the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. She holds a doctorate in public health from Columbia University and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Minnesota, both in environmental health sciences. Her work is focused on preparedness and response to natural and man-made disasters, environmental health policy and population health impacts assessments.

Irwin Redlener is the Director of the National Center for Disaster Preparedness at the Earth Institute, Columbia University. He is also Professor of Health Policy and Management and Pediatrics at the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University. He is a nationally recognised expert on disaster preparedness policies, pandemic influenza, the threat of terrorism in the USA, the impact and consequences of major natural disasters and related issues. Dr Redlener is the author of Americans At Risk: Why We Are Not Prepared For Megadisasters and What We Can Do Now (Alfred A. Knopf, 2006) and recently served as one of the 10 members of the congressionally established National Commission on Children and Disasters.