News and Announcements 

TECS-PERLC and South Dakota Department of Health: Building Community Resilience in Rapid City

Community resilience, or the sustained ability of a community to withstand and recovery from adversity, has become a key policy issue, which is being embraced at federal, state, and local levels. Given that resources are limited in the wake of an emergency, it is increasingly recognized that resilience is considered critical to a community's ability to reduce long recovery periods after an emergency.

The South Dakota Department of Health, in partnership with TECS-PERLC, is hosting a Community Resilience Building training at no charge in September. This awareness level training will provide participants with an understanding of the concept of resilience, including community preparedness and community recovery. The goal of the training is to enhance the community's ability to support preparedness and response efforts by developing and sustaining resilient communities. 

September 26, 2011, 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM

To register, please click here. 

For additional information, please contact Jill Artzberger, MPH, at jjartzberger@tamhsc.edu.

Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC)

The CDC-funded Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Centers (PERLC) were established to enhance public health training and workforce. The learning centers will serve in a national capacity for preparedness and response training and education needs of the U. S. public health workforce. The learning centers provide unique workforce development needs by offering assistance to nearby state, local, and tribal public health authorities.Learn more

Online CHW Courses

The USA Center is pleased to announce a new series of continuing education courses for Promotores available online, free of charge. There are currently six courses, including:

  • Community Engagement
  • Communicating Risk Messages
  • Environmental Health and Children
  • Family Preparedness
  • Infection Control and Prevention
  • Mental Health in Disasters

Participants will receive CEUs (non-DSHS certified for Texas participants) upon completing each course.  The courses are available in English and Spanish, and can be accessed at www.rural-preparedness.org/campus .  Please send any questions or comments to:  USACenter@srph.tamhsc.edu .


USA Center Online Campus

The campus houses a number of online courses related to rural public health preparedness, beginning with sessions from Module I of T-TIER.

The courses in the USA Center Online campus will be offered free of charge to emergency responders and public health professionals. The first four courses, which will be deployed at the end of the year, will cover the following topics:

  • Introduction to Epidemiology
  • Public Health Information Network
  • Agroterrorism and Bioterrorism
  • Chemical Weapons

Our Mission

To work with both internal and external partners to promote the development of skills and competencies that support the nine CDC goals for emergency response and preparedness in primarily rural states and rural sections of the country.

Read more about us...