New Haven, Conn. — To help reduce the psychological
impact of terror and disaster, the City of New Haven’s Urban
Area Security Initiative (UASI), The National Center for Children
Exposed to Violence (NCCEV) at the Yale Child Study Center, and the
Department of Psychiatry, will host a conference March 20 and 21 at
Yale School of Medicine.
Titled “The Terror of Terrorism and Disaster: Planning,
Response and Recovery,” the conference will feature
talks by NCCEV and Department of Psychiatry faculty, and officials
from the United States and Israeli governments. The conference will
be held Monday, March 20 from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Yale New
Haven Health System Institute for Excellence Auditorium, 300 George
St. The conference will continue Tuesday, March 21 from 9 a.m. to
1 p.m., with a look at “School-based Disaster Response: The
Tel-Aviv Model,” at the Yale Child Study Center Cohen Auditorium,
230 South Frontage Road.
Conference presenters, including J. Robert Flores,
administrator of the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, will discuss ways to integrate
behavioral health perspectives with disaster plans on the local level.
The goal is to increase the capacity of Greater New Haven cities and
towns to clarify functions, roles and activities that will better
prepare them to meet all aspects of critical events. These events
also have implications for the behavioral health of citizens in the
wake of any disastrous mass-casualty.
According to conference organizers, the chaos that follows natural
disasters like Hurricane Katrina and the 9/11 terrorist attacks can
severely impede coordination of municipal and professional caregivers
working to re-establish order and safety, and to reduce anxiety. The
plan is to develop integrated partnerships before disasters occur
to enhance their ability to react.
Because of the emerging appreciation of psychological reactions on
the management of disaster and terrorist events, an Israeli model
that integrates behavioral health perspectives with practical approaches
to dealing with the terror of terrorism and disaster will be presented.
The presentations are intended to help stimulate discussion and promote
further planning of UASI strategies in local communities.
The conference will kick off a year-long project designed to inform
and raise awareness about the need for psychological disaster management
within the community. Participants will work with the community to
provide technical assistance in developing plans and templates that
incorporate mental health as a component in emergency operations plans.
In addition to Flores, conference speakers include three officials
from the Cohen-Harris Center for Trauma and Disaster Intervention
in Tel Aviv: Nathaniel Laor, director, Leo
Wolmer, director of research and Zeev Weiner,
director of community interventions. Other speakers will be Smadar
Spirman, director of the city of Tel-Aviv Emergency Treatment
Services; Steven Marans, director of NCCEV; Stephen
Bunney, M.D., chair, Yale School of Medicine Department of
Psychiatry; Steven Berkowitz, medical director of
NCCEV; Craig Newton, Yale-New Haven Hospital; Leonard
Barbieri, UASI program director at the NCCEV; John
Burtula, chief administrative officer of the city of New
Haven; and Wayne Dailey, assistant clinical professor,
Department of Psychiatry at Yale School of Medicine and senior policy
analyst, Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services.
For further information on the conference, please contact Sharon
Reynolds at 203-785-7047 or sharon.reynolds@yale.edu.
Orginal news release posted on the Yale University Office of Public
Affairs website - http://www.yale.edu/opa/newsr/06-03-15-01.all.html
