ASPPH, in cooperation with the CDC and the South Central Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center (PERLC), is presenting a free webinar for faculty of the CEPH-accredited schools and programs of public health and Federal, state, local and Tribal governmental public health practice partners. The webinar, “Focused Continuity of Operations Planning (FCOOP): A Management Approach,” will be held on Tuesday, August 13 from 2-3:00 p.m. Eastern.

The webinar will focus on a specific method of developing and maintaining continuity of operations plans (COOPs), known as Focused COOPs. Dr. Andrew C. Rucks, investigator in the CDC-funded South Central Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center and co-project investigator of the HRSA-funded Alabama Public Health Training Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public health, as well as Dr. Peter M. Ginter, director and principal investigator of the South Central Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center and co-project investigator of the Alabama Public Health Training Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, are the featured speakers.

The development of efficient and effective COOPs requires considerable strategic thinking, the participation of key organizational personnel, and the development of detailed time-specific implementation plans. This presentation describes a simple, structured, participative, efficient, and effective process for developing and maintaining COOPs. The process, known as FCOOP, is an adaptation of Focused Strategic Thinking (FST), a tool designed to elicit and document the best strategic thinking of participants in the development of strategic and implementation plans. FST and FCOOP have been successfully used in state and local public health departments, governments, businesses, and other nongovernmental organizations. A one-day FCOOP process results in a 90 percent complete, detailed, and workable COOP. In addition, FCOOP participants can readily revise and update their continuity of operations plan after participating in the FCOOP process. A guest speaker, Ms. Tanya Phillips, preparedness coordinator at Jackson County Health and Human Services (Oregon), will speak about the COOP training and how it has improved her organization’s preparedness efforts.

Participants must register in advance. Please click here to register for the free webinar. Once you have registered, you will receive a confirmation email with details on how to join the webinar. There will be time at the end of the presentation for attendees to ask questions. Eligible attendees may receive one Certified in Public Health (CPH) continuing education credit for participating in the webinar.

For more information about the webinar, please email Ms. Rachel Eisenstein, at reisenstein@aspph.org.