Effective partnerships between local and state public health agencies and schools of public health have tremendous potential to improve the health of communities nationwide. This article highlights successful collaboration between local public health agencies (LPHA), state health departments, and Academic Centers for Public Health Preparedness (ACPHP) in schools of public health developed through participation in Project Public Health Ready, a program to recognize LPHA emergency preparedness. The project's pilot phase illustrated that LPHAs, state health departments, and ACPHP can effectively work together to improve individual public health worker competency and organizational response capacity in local public health agencies nationwide.
National Association of County and City Health Officials. Project Public Health Ready criteria. Individual LPHA documentation checklist Fall 2004 [cited 2004 Dec 30]. Available from: URL: http://archive.naccho.org/Public-Health-Ready/Criteria.pdf
University of Illinois at Chicago. Illinois Public Health Preparedness Center. About us [cited 2004 Apr 15]. Available from: URL: http://www.uic.edu/sph/prepare/
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National Association of County and City Health Officials. Bt PREP: A bioterrorism response plan design guide for local public health agencies [CD-ROM]. Washington: NACCHO; 2003.
