Gillings center helps Southeast prepare for storms like Hurricane Erin

When the next natural disaster or public health crisis occurs, local, state and tribal public health agencies in eight Southern states will be better prepared, thanks to Carolina’s Regional Center for Public Health Preparedness and Response.

The center launched in October 2024 as part of the North Carolina Institute for Public Health at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. It and eight other regional centers nationwide are funded by a five-year grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention focused on enhancing public health responses by supporting the implementation of proven strategies.

The Gillings center provides support to public health agencies and their partners to strengthen public health preparedness and response in North Carolina, Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, South Carolina and Tennessee. Those states comprise the federal Department of Health and Human Services Region 4.

John Wallace (left) and John Wiesman.

Co-directors John Wallace (MSPH ’12, PhD ’15) and John Wiesman (DrPH ’12) emphasize the center’s academic positioning, which allows it to translate and apply evidence-based practices. “We’re taking what has been successful or is showing promise and helping public health agencies implement those while we evaluate the impacts,” Wallace said.

Earlier work by the center’s staff and a regional body of community partners found that agencies wanted help in these areas:

• Supporting responder mental health and workforce resiliency
• Improving public health emergency communications
• Adapting planning and response to emerging and evolving public health threats

Since that planning, emergency responses to crises like Hurricane Helene have reaffirmed the priorities. “Helene provided an example of the need for tailored preparedness and effective strategies to counter harmful rumors,” Wallace said.

Rather than dictate solutions, the center supports agencies in the region by building on their frontline experience, needs and expertise. It considers their different public health governance models, resources and cultural and populations needs. No single solution to addressing preparedness needs exists, but agencies across the region can learn from each other, Wallace said.

The center researches best practices and adapts them across varied settings. For example, an initial effort includes testing toolkits such as one developed by the Region 3 center at Johns Hopkins University for addressing health rumors. To test the toolkit, the center is beginning its first round of engagement with representatives from state agencies in Kentucky, South Carolina and Tennessee, two local health departments in Kentucky and one in North Carolina. The center will adapt and refine the toolkit for use in other Region 4 agencies.

The center also gathers feedback to assess whether shared strategies increase agencies’ knowledge, improve practices, and strengthen public health preparedness and response. “There’s a major evaluation component in what we do,” Wallace said. “Ultimately, we’re trying to effect agency- and system-level improvements in public health preparedness and response.”

Through this approach, the work will also strengthen collaboration and networks to increase coordination and trust among communities and agencies. In North Carolina, it is connecting agencies such as North Carolina Emergency Management and Health and Human Services, county health officials and tribal health agencies of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians to improve preparedness and response strategies.