AFC Hazmat Worker Health and Safety Training Cooperative Agreement (U45)

AFC Supplement 2020 Project Summary: With this application, the Alabama Fire College (AFC) requests supplemental funding to conductCOVID-19 specific health and safety training with public safety personnel, including healthcareworkers and others that are considered essential workers during the COVID-19 response.Using current Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are over 556,000 public safety and healthcarepersonnel working in the region including those who will provide patient transport or aremembers of emergency response teams and have roles which will require them to respond toan infectious disease outbreak such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of these personnel workin rural areas or medically underserved areas which put them and the patients they serve atgreater risk. All these target populations have in common the potential for exposure to personsinfected with COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases, through direct contact withinfected individuals as well as through surface contamination or other contaminated materials.Alabama and Mississippi contain many medically underserved areas, health professionalshortage areas, health department with limited budgets and limited ability to conduct contacttracing, and limited access to professional occupational safety and health training programs.Unfortunately, federal funds for preparedness assistance have not reached public safety andhealthcare professionals in the amounts sufficient to meet their needs for training. AFC and it'spartner, UAB, will develop and implement evidence-based training tools that are locally-relevantand consistent with the NIEHS WTP Coronavirus Bio-safety Initiative and guidance from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Occupational Safety and HealthAdministration (OSHA), the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), aswell as other recognized health professionals. The proposed project will bring critical training toover 400 participants in webinar, virtual simulation, YouTube video, and limited in-persontraining. Courses will also be available through AFC's learning management system to NativeAmerican tribes and other responders and essential workers, adding many potential traineesthrough distance education.