Webinar: Animals & Zoonotic Diseases in Disaster Planning
Join us next month at 11am ET / 10am CT / 9am MT / 8am PT on October 9th for next month’s SCR CONNECTions webinar entitled, “Don’t Forget Animals When Planning for Disasters.”
Dawn D. Blackmar, Director of Emergency Management for the Houston SPCA, will be speaking. See below for details!
Don’t Forget Animals When Planning for Disasters
Guest Speaker: Dawn D. Blackmar, D.V.M, Director of Emergency Management for the Houston SPCA
Time: Wednesday, October 9th at 12pm ET / 11am CT / 10am MT / 9am PT
Description: Experience has taught that in order to protect public safety and health we must include animals in planning for disasters. This talk will provide examples highlighting the need to plan for animals in disasters. The five phases of emergency management will be discussed and the various roles of local, state and federal governments will be explained. Additionally, the types of threats that may impact animals will be covered. Examples of the partnerships needed for the effective planning for animals in disasters will be provided.
Speaker Bio: Dr. Blackmar currently serves as the Director of Emergency Management for the Houston SPCA. She earned her DVM from Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine in 1980. Dr. Blackmar received a Certificate in Homeland Security from the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M in 2008. She was Director of Veterinary Public Health for Harris County Public Health and Environmental Services for 26 years. During her tenure with Harris County, she was instrumental in creating the Harris County Disaster Animal Management Task Force. The purpose of the task force is to identify and coordinate community assets to assist and care for animals impacted by disasters. When the Astrodome was established as a mega shelter for Hurricane Katrina evacuees, she was instrumental in developing and implementing plans to care for the pets of people sheltered there. She and her team were deployed to assist communities impacted by Hurricane Rita with the resulting animal control and care issues. Dr. Blackmar coordinated the evacuation of animals from Harris County prior to Hurricane Ike. She and her team were responsible for caring for animals displaced and impacted by Hurricane Ike. During Hurricane Harvey Dr. Blackmar served as the liaison with the Harris County Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. She was also a member of the Houston SPCA Incident Command Staff and worked closely with the Texas Veterinary Medical Association (TVMA) to implement “Operation Reunite.”
Dr. Blackmar served as a veterinary resource during several zoonotic disease outbreaks including Avian Influenza, Rabies and Swine Flu. She was also involved in developing plans for zoonotic and infectious disease outbreaks. Dr. Blackmar is currently the chairperson for the Harris County Disaster Animal Management Committee and serves on the TVMA Disaster Preparedness Committee.
This webinar will be eligible for one hour of Medical Library Association (MLA) Continuing Education credit and will be archived for future viewing.
To join the meeting
1. Go to https://nih.webex.com/
2. Enter the session number: 294 337 820 and password: webinar
3. Please provide your name and email address.
4. You may have to download and install a web add-on or run a temporary application depending on the browser you use.
5. Select your audio connection preference:
*Call using computer – Adjust settings and test the connection
*Call from WebEx – Enter your direct phone number and press 1 when prompted
*Call in – Call: 1-650-479-3208 (US/Canada toll number)
Enter access code: 294 337 820 # then enter the Attendee ID on your screen and press #
6. If you are using a mobile device, your access code is: webinar
[cid:image001.png@01D379A3.E770B5F0]<https://nnlm.gov/scr/>
Brian D. Leaf
Community Engagement Coordinator
NNLM South Central Region
Gibson D. Lewis Health Science Library
University of North Texas Health Science Center
(817) 735-2169 | Brian.Leaf@unthsc.edu