Friday, February 4, 2011


PhilaU Connect: Professional International Presentations

Will be presenting

Plagues are a “Team Sport”: Public Health
and EMS Collaboration in Pandemic Planning and Response

February 23, 2011 9:00 p.m. (Eastern Time)



You can stick your head in the sand and pretend that it’s not going to happen, or you can prepare now for an outbreak of pandemic influenza. In a pandemic situation, your EMS agency is not an island…you need to be up close and personal with the other players in the healthcare system, especially the Public Health authorities. Public health entities and emergency medical services agencies will face numerous challenges in a pandemic situation. As demand for service has the potential to spiral out of control, the medical workforce also dwindles due to illness. This presentation reveals how understanding their unique roles as well as adequate planning and collaboration between public health and EMS agencies can improve service delivery despite the anticipated stresses on the healthcare system. The history of pandemics in the U.S., the realities of what will be experienced during a pandemic, as well as proven planning and response strategies--including regular communication and pre-planning--will be reviewed and best practices shared.

Raphael M. Barishansky is the Chief of Public Health Emergency Preparedness for the Prince George’s County (MD) Health Department. In this capacity, he is responsible for carrying out the agency’s mission to prepare the Health Department for response to emergencies and disasters of all kinds (natural and man-made), develop and implement emergency plans specific to large-scale health emergencies, as well as coordinate with other emergency services agencies.

Mr. Barishansky joined the Prince George’s County Health Department after serving as Executive Director of the Hudson Valley Regional EMS Council, based in Newburgh, NY. In that role he established policies and procedures for the development of EMS System infrastructure in the Hudson Valley, oversaw and coordinated programs and services for a six-county regional EMS System and coordinated regional ambulance assets for deployment to local, state and federal disaster assignments as needed.

Mr. Barishansky has served as adjunct faculty at New York Medical College, Yeshiva University and Westchester Community College and has been a Guest Lecturer at both the George Washington University EMS Degree program and Philadelphia University's Disaster Medicine and Management graduate degree program. Additionally, Mr. Barishansky has written and lectured extensively on many facets of Emergency Medical Services and Public Health Emergency Preparedness.

Mr. Barishansky holds a Bachelor of Arts from Touro College and a Master of Public Health Degree from New York Medical College. He is also a graduate of the “Senior Executives in State and Local Government” program held at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the “Healthcare Leadership and Administrative Decision Making” class held at the Center for Domestic Preparedness in Anniston, AL. In 2010, he was selected to serve as a Senior Fellow at the George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute.

Instructions outlining how to join the PhilaU Connect will be sent via email prior to the event. Each PhilaU Connect presentation will include a certificate of attendance emailed to the attendee. Questions or to register, please contact Annette Solarski at solarskia@philau.edu.

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