Sequoia Project Publishes Public Health Emergency Preparedness Guide

The Sequoia Project’s Emergency Preparedness Information Workgroup (EPIW) has published a free whitepaper that outlines public health recommendations based on lessons learned from COVID-19 response efforts.

The workgroup of public health, emergency preparedness, and response experts met over several months to create the Pandemic Response Insights and Recommendations whitepaper.

EPIW members created a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis of the COVID-19 response. They then consolidated this data into 17 recommendations to help local, state, and federal stakeholders prepare for a more coordinated national response to the next public health emergency.

“The COVID-19 pandemic brought circumstances that state and local public health agencies had to quickly act on,” Debbie Condrey, chief operations officer and chief information officer of The Sequoia Project, said in a press release.

“Everyone was forced to create a plan of action for a moving target; every day seemed to bring new and evolving information,” added Condrey, who also serves as EPIW facilitator. “The workgroup developed clear, actionable recommendations that address policy and regulatory issues, resources, equity, and more. For future emergencies, we are all better ready to react quickly.”

The workgroup included participants from various emergency public health response groups to ensure fair and inclusive recommendations.

“The wealth of the workgroup’s on-the-ground experience is invaluable as we look ahead to the next public health emergency,” noted Nora Belcher, executive director of Texas eHealth Alliance and EPIW chair. “With The Sequoia Project’s support, we’ve built a community of practice for experts to share, learn, and motivate as we move this whitepaper from research to action.”

EPIW will continue its work to support public health officials and their partners. The workgroup’s 2022 goals include:

1. Adding new public health emergency response stakeholders to EPIW membership
2. Prioritizing recommendations and acting on recommendations made by the group as appropriate
3. Continuing to provide a community of practice forum where members may openly discuss emergency response challenges

The Sequoia Project launched EPIW in 2021 as part of its Interoperability Matters cooperative.