Lafayette General Medical Center Director Attends Homeland Security Training

Daryl Cetnar, Director of Community Relations for Lafayette General Health, recently completed training offered by the Center for Domestic Preparedness (CDP) in Anniston, AL. The CDP is operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and is the only federally chartered Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) training facility in the nation.

Cetnar successfully completed the Advanced Public Information Officer course, which teaches participants to apply knowledge and skills needed to manage and communicate information during a healthcare emergency situation.

The four-day training was held at the Noble Training Facility, the nation’s only hospital dedicated to training healthcare professionals in disaster preparedness and response. The former Noble Army Hospital was converted into a training site for health and medical education in both terrorism and manmade tragedies.

Cetnar also attended a special guest lecture by Rear Admiral Ali S. Khan, M.D., MPH, former Director of the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Dr. Khan, who helped establish the CDC’s bioterrorism program and published the first national public health preparedness plan, spoke in-depth about Ebola, as well as the Chikungunya virus.

Lafayette General Medical Center sent a group of 14 employees to this same facility in spring 2013 to receive training on massive decontamination of patients exposed to hazardous materials.

In addition to courses at the Noble Training Facility, some attendees also train at the CDP’s Chemical, Ordnance, Biological and Radiological (COBRA) Training Facility. The COBRA is the nation’s only facility featuring civilian training exercises in a true toxic environment using chemical agents. Everyone participating in CDP training gains critical skills and confidence to respond effectively to local, regional, state or national events.

Information about CDP training programs can be found at cdp.dhs.gov or by calling (256) 847-2212.