Five things you didn’t know: Institute for Disaster Management
The Institute for Disaster Management, housed in UGA’s College of Public Health, is committed to solving grand challenges on the local, national and global scale by assisting more than 140 hospitals, 100 long-term care facilities and 500 community partners across Georgia in developing emergency response plans.
We sat down with Dr. Curt Harris (BS ’03, PhD ’08), associate professor and director of the institute, to learn how his team is paving the way in disaster training and how additional funding propels his team’s work forward.
The Institute for Disaster Management (IDM) facility boasts a state-of-the-art Emergency Operations Center.
The IDM recently moved into the Commissary, a facility on the UGA Health Sciences Campus, which will allow it to expand its research, teaching and service initiatives for community resilience in crisis. The center’s labs and workspaces support students, faculty and disaster management practitioners from around the world.
As the IDM recruits more faculty, staff and students, it needs to secure an unused portion of the building for further expansion. This would include the installation of a simulation center to train students and community partners in scenarios that mimic real-world disaster situations.
“Expansion would allow us to house more faculty and staff and create a simulation center where we would be one of the foremost disaster trainers, not only for the state of Georgia but potentially in the entire United States,” said Harris.
Multi-disciplinary faculty and staff lead the institute.
IDM researchers have an array of expertise ranging from radiation health and mass casualty simulation to psychology and public policy. But they all have a common mission: ensuring that when disaster strikes, help follows.
The collaborative team at IDM is dedicated to furthering research, knowledge and training as it relates to emergency management.
Recent research and training focuses included:
- Community Disaster Preparedness: IDM designs and implements disaster exercises for hospitals, nursing homes and other health care organizations across the state.
- Nuclear Attack Simulations: For decades, IDM scientists have conducted research on the consequences of nuclear detonation in urban areas, with a focus on the outcomes of medical casualty distributions.
- Ebola patient full-scale exercise: IDM tested the notification processes, coordination decisions and resources needed to move patients with suspected or confirmed Ebola using both air (simulated) and ground transportation resources. The methods practiced can be applied to other cases of infectious disease outbreak, like COVID-19.
The IDM was awarded a three-year grant funded by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Civil Monetary Penalty funds (and extended for another year due to how well-received it’s been).
In 2018, the IDM used the grant to kickstart its Georgia Long Term Care Emergency Preparedness Educational Program (GA LTCEPEP). The mission of the program is to provide preparedness and disaster exercise training to certified caregivers and administrators across the state.
Now in its fourth year, the LTCEP has trained over 1,200 staff members, representing over 80% of Georgia’s certified long-term care facilities. The IDM also delivers emergency preparedness kits (filled with items valued at $1,000 per kit) to participating nursing homes.
The IDM delivers these emergency preparedness kits to long-term care facilities across the state.
“The kits are filled with really good resources, like emergency blankets and car battery chargers, that can be used in a disaster setting,” said Harris.
IDM offers one of the only Master of Public Health degrees with a concentration in disaster management.
The IDM teaches courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels, offering a master’s concentration in disaster management, graduate and undergraduate certificates and an undergraduate minor. The goal is to broaden the emergency response workforce. IDM graduates provide service and leadership in public health around the globe.
“Speaking from the heart, I can say that I moved 800+ miles, away from friends and family, to a state where I didn’t know a single soul or the culture just to come to this program. I researched every school that offered both an MPH and a disaster management curriculum. The University of Georgia’s Institute for Disaster Management was the best in the country for what I wanted to study,” said Christopher Russo (MPH ’19).
The IDM focuses on experiential learning and gives students the opportunity to see, touch and wear equipment needed in the field.
“We provide our students with internships all over the world. We’ve had students go to places like Kenya, Australia and Israel to collaborate on international disaster management projects,” said Harris.
IDM led a community-wide effort to combat COVID-19.
During the pandemic, IDM faculty and staff participated on a COVID-19 task force and donated the majority of their personal protective equipment supplies to response efforts.
“We’re constantly extending resources through training, whether it’s training of our students or community-level training, and we don’t always have the ability to recoup those supplies,” said Harris.
Private support is essential to the IDM’s success.
The IDM relies on donations and contributions from the community in order to ensure a safer tomorrow. The Institute of Disaster Management Fund supports opportunities for special programming, conference attendance, recruitment, professional education, and overall enhancement of the Institute.
Why not start the season with one of the most anticipated match-ups of the season? Kirby Smart and the Dawgs renew the UGA-Clemson rivalry in Charlotte against a Clemson team expected to compete for a national title. The all-time record in this dormant rivalry favors the Bulldogs significantly, but UGA has only played Clemson twice in the Dabo Swinney era (going 1-1 in those games), and Kirby and Dabo have never squared off as head coaches. For both teams, this result won’t make or break the season, but a win over a top-five team will certainly generate a lot of momentum. This one figures to be a barnburner between two excellent squads, a contest befitting the return of full-fledged college football.
Even the grass on Vince Dooley Field will be vibrating with the energy of the first full-capacity game in Sanford Stadium since 2019. The game itself will likely be decided early, but don’t expect the Blazers, who were Conference USA champions last year, to lie down for this one. If you’ve snagged tickets for this one, it may have been a while since you’ve gone Between The Hedges, so let us remind you the most important elements of September game attendance: water and sunscreen.
Remember the last time we played the Gamecocks at home? Yeah, us too. Well, things are different now: the South Carolina coach responsible for that debacle is now on Kirby Smart’s staff, and the new USC coach is Shane Beamer, a former Kirby Smart staffer. This year’s Gamecocks are almost certainly better than last year’s 2-8 squad, but a rebuilding USC team will have quite a difficult time with a UGA team that’s loaded with talent and experience.
The Bulldogs travel to Nashville for the 81st matchup between UGA and Vanderbilt. Ever since Coach Smart’s first game against the Commodores—his only loss to them—he has left no doubt who the better side is: three consecutive Dawg victories were decided by an average of just under 4 touchdowns. First-year Vandy coach Clark Lea—who played fullback for the ‘Dores between 2002 and 2004—has a strong defensive pedigree, and he will likely get more out of a squad that allowed over 37 points per game last year under Derek Mason, but a win over the Bulldogs is unlikely, to say the least.
Sanford Stadium welcomes back Sam Pittman, who coached the Bulldog offensive line from 2016-2019. Pittman enters his second year with the Razorbacks on a positive note, despite the Hawgs’ 3-7 record in 2020: three of their losses were decided by 3 or fewer points, including a game against no. 13 Auburn in the Tigers’ home stadium, and they claimed a few encouraging victories, among them a win over no. 16 Mississippi State that snapped the Razorbacks’ 20-game SEC losing streak. Pittman’s Arkansas rebuild will likely continue to progress well under Pittman, so don’t be surprised if they play the Dawgs close, but even if Arky’s defense can control the Bulldog offense at the outset, our defense should be able to contain the Hawgs long enough for the difference in the two teams’ depth charts to become apparent.
In this 126th edition of the Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry, Kirby Smart attempts to become only the third UGA coach to win 5 in a row over the Tigers. Meanwhile, first-year Auburn head coach Bryan Harsin—along with offensive coordinator Mike Bobo (weird, right?) and defensive coordinator Derek Mason—will attempt to reverse the bad fortune Auburn had under Gus Malzahn (2-7 against UGA). Much rests on the performance of Auburn’s junior quarterback Bo Nix, though talented running back Tank Bigsby will provide a consistent offensive threat, and Auburn’s defense looks to be just as strong as last year. Don’t expect a romp like last year’s game, but the schedule could help Georgia: Auburn plays LSU in Baton Rouge the week before the Dawgs.
Mark Stoops is entering his ninth year as head coach at Kentucky, making him the second longest tenured coach in the SEC, behind only Nick Saban. If that seems hard to believe—particularly in light of Kentucky’s 24-42 SEC record during Stoops’ time—remember that Kentucky is on a three-game bowl win streak and Stoops is only three years removed from being named SEC Coach of the Year. So, Kentucky is no pushover, and even though Stoops has never beaten Georgia, years of solid recruiting, some key new arrivals (UK has new offensive and defensive coordinators and some solid new players in by way of transfers), and a respectable defense will keep the Wildcats competitive.
No Trask, no Pitts, no Toney, no Grimes: music to Bulldogs’ ears. In fact, the hated Gators return just 9 starters across offense, defense AND special teams. But perhaps the most important returning member of the Florida team isn’t a player at all: unbelievably, Todd Grantham returns to coach the defense after allowing 30.8 points per game in 2020, the most Florida’s allowed since World War II. Still, Florida is Florida, and they definitely still recruit like Florida, so no matter how much they lose, they’re still a contender. Dual-threat quarterback Emory Jones will pose a problem for Dan Lanning and the UGA defense, and All-SEC cornerback Kaiir Elam can control his side of the field (even if Grantham does more Grantham-type things). Unless Kentucky or Missouri overperform, this looks to be the deciding contest for the SEC East. Just the way we like it.
After the Florida game, this one could be sneakily difficult. Missouri has recruited well and the year 2 effect—new coaches often see a significant uptick in their team’s performance in year 2—could be in play for Eliah Drinkwitz. Sophomore Connor Bazelak returns under center following a freshman year that saw him throw for over 2,300 yards on a 67% completion rate, but he is one of just a few underclassmen starters on this team—Mizzou returns lots of experience this year. The Tigers will likely improve this year, but there’s a lot of distance between losing to a woeful Tennessee team in 2020 and competing with the 2021 UGA squad. It’s unlikely Missouri will clear that gap.
Oh, what a year it’s been for the Vols. Last year’s squad went 3-7 (including a 6-game losing streak), former coach Jeremy Pruitt got caught up in a recruiting scandal that saw him ousted along with Tennessee legend and now-former athletic director Phillip Fulmer, a swath of players hit the transfer portal and got out of Knoxville as fast as they could, and the new athletic director, Danny White, underwhelmed Vol Nation by bringing in the head football coach from his last stop, Josh Heupel. You could almost feel bad for them if they weren’t the Vols. The preview for this one is simple: some decent pieces still remain in Knoxville, but this Tennessee team is about to undergo not just a rebuild but a total culture shift. In other words, Dawgs win.
Apparently, these are the Buccaneers. And frankly, unless they’re the Tom Brady ones from Tampa, we probably don’t need to give it a second thought. If you wanted to take a deeper look, though, you’d see an FCS team—a member of the Big South Conference—that went 2-2 in their abbreviated, postponed 2020 season that was played between March and April of this year, and a team that has gone 0-22 against FBS teams over the history of the program. This game will be most significant as our senior class’s final home game.
There are Bulldog fans out there who will tell you this is no longer a rivalry, citing perhaps the 23-6 record in the Bulldogs’ favor since 1991 or maybe the 16-3 UGA edge since 2001. But recall with us, dear reader, the image of a victorious Yellow Jacket, branches of The Hedges clamped between his teeth with a strength and desperation matched only by your Georgia Tech alum neighbor for the 364 days following that victory, and we think you’ll remember why we need to remind the Jackets who they are. Quarterback Jeff Sims and running back Jahmyr Gibbs are legitimate threats on Geoff Collins’ third GT team, and a slew of transfer players may strengthen the team, but this is still a team in the midst of a reclamation project (thank you, Paul Johnson, for your ironclad commitment to the triple option).
