The Nation’s Joint Disaster Medicine and Public Health Science and Education Program
The National Center is charged with establishing and maintaining a national science and education program in disaster medicine and public health for all executive departments. This program comprises three mission areas: Science, Operations, and Education. The missions are designed to integrate, support, and enable one another. The Science Mission aims to move from data to decisions by bringing the Nation’s research forward to where decisions are made in disasters that may impact health and well-being. We recognize this goal is necessary, but also insufficient to deliver impact. Therefore, the Operations Mission aims to move from decisions to impact by advancing operational excellence and enabling evidence-based decisions to achieve their intended impact during a crisis. We also acknowledge that the highest functioning organizations in the world cannot sustain a high level of performance without addressing the needs of their people and the people they serve. Therefore, our Education Mission aims to sustain excellence across organizations carrying out essential medical and public health roles in disasters and other health emergencies by developing and propagating essential education and training. Together, our three missions create a virtuous cycle that helps advance knowledge and action in disaster medicine and public health.