About Us
Jurisdiction
The jurisdiction covered by the Georgia Hurricane Response Hub is the state of Georgia. Georgia is the 8th most populous state and the largest state east of the Mississippi River. Georgia is bordered by Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama, four of which have their own coastal areas and have been previously impacted by hurricanes.
Headquarters
The Georgia Hurricane Response Hub is headquartered at the Rollins School of Public Health (RSPH) at Emory University. As headquarters to several training centers, RSPH has a long history providing training focused on both core public health skills and emergency preparedness and response. Additionally, RSPH has a rich record of successfully convening partners and coordinating efforts to improve public health systems, policies and programs in Georgia and regionally.
Staff
Melissa (Moose) Alperin, EdD, MPH, MCHES, Director
Laura Lloyd, MPH, MCHES, Associate Director
Mary Joyce (MJ) Bacon, MS, Training Specialist
Hilary Merlin, MEd, Communications Specialist
Quaneisha Robinson, CPLP, Senior Instructional Designer
Partners
Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH): The state’s lead agency in preventing disease, injury and disability; promoting health and well-being; and preparing for and responding to disasters from a health perspective.
Georgia Hospital Association (GHA): A nonprofit trade association made up of member health systems, hospitals and individuals in administrative and decision-making positions within those institutions. GHA helps the state administer the Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) grant which funds healthcare coalitions to help them prepare for and respond to disasters and emergencies.
Strategic Planning Work Groups
Over 50 staff from Georgia DPH, GHA and regional health care coalitions are active members of the Georgia Hurricane Response Hub work groups. Each group is charged with developing strategic work plans in one of the following areas: disaster epidemiology, incident management, resilience, strategic communications, and surge management.
Coordinating Body and Other Centers
The National Coordinating Center for Public Health Training (NCCPHT) at NNPHI is coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local public health organizations to facilitate training, technical assistance, and information sharing to enhance ongoing environmental and occupational health recovery in jurisdictions affected by the 2017 Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. NCCPHT coordinates the work of the Georgia Hurricane Response Hub and four additional centers:
Funding for this project has been provided to the National Network of Public Health Institutes (NNPHI) through a Cooperative Agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC – NU1ROT000004-01-00). NNPHI is collaborating with Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University and the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health on this project.