Epidemic Preparedness for Community Organizations

Community organizations, such as faith-based organizations and nonprofits, are instrumental when an epidemic strikes. This program walks organizations through a process to learn about potential epidemics and develop plans to serve their members and their communities before, during, and after an epidemic. This program was originally designed by EDEN in collaboration with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was Pandemic Preparedness for Faith-based Organizations to enable congregations, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship to protect the health of their staff and the communities they serve, and to fulfill their mission during a pandemic. However, EDEN delegates requested that the educational program be expanded from just faith-based organizations to community organizations more broadly and from just pandemic to epidemic. The program has three sections: Section 1: Reducing Illness and Death from an Epidemic — Participants learn about epidemic diseases and infection control measures to use in their organization to protect themselves and their community before and during an epidemic. Section 2: Building Hope: Understanding the Potential Impact of an Epidemic and Creating a Plan — Participants learn about the potential impact of an epidemic on their organization. They also learn to write a basic epidemic preparedness, response and recovery plan to maintain critical functions of the organization. Section 3: Putting Your Community Back Together: The Role of Your Organization — Participants identify the possible roles their organization can have in rebuilding a community after an epidemic and develop a community recovery plan that meshes the needs of the community with the strengths of the organization. Course Basics Target Audience: Community organization leaders, staff and volunteers Delivery Method: Interactive, with classroom or virtual delivery Cost: EDEN does not charge for use of these materials. Cost to particip…