Community preparedness: Best practices for emergency and disaster response
For decades, ORAU has engaged state and local public health departments across the United States to develop tools that focus on a whole-community approach to emergency preparedness. The approach requires public health, healthcare, emergency medical services and emergency management working together to provide the right care at the right time.
ORAU forensic DNA examiners help piece together clues that save military lives
When an improvised explosive device detonates, the remaining pieces may hold clues about who created the device as well as the movement of their organization. Helping catch these terrorists ultimately saves the lives of our service men and women in combat zones.
Since 2003, ORAU has worked with Department of Health and Human Services operating and staff divisions that are instrumental in preparing for and responding to public health emergencies. Our capabilities and experience make us uniquely suited to support federal agencies and other organizations working to better understand and solve COVID-19 issues. We have proven experience in areas including peer review, health communication, pandemic preparedness, social listening and more.
For more than 70 years, we have helped our customers advance their mission by providing science, health and workforce solutions. Through our specialized teams of experts and a consortium of more than 120 universities, we connect the right people and resources to help our customers solve our nation’s most challenging issues.
ORAU awarded National Science Foundation grant to study greenhouse gas fluxes in the Arctic
The National Science Foundation Office of Polar Programs has awarded ORAU a collaborative research grant to study local and regional methane and carbon dioxide isotopic fluxes in the Arctic.
ORAU awarded contract to develop rapid assessment framework for HHS Office of Inspector General
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded ORAU a contract to develop a framework for the assessment of HHS public health emergency response and recovery capabilities. The OIG’s goal is to help HHS leaders use this information to implement recommendations for improvement and be better prepared for future emergencies that may occur soon after the last event.
VHA PIMS helps VA prepare for and respond to COVID-19 and plan for vaccine distribution
The Veterans Health Administration used VHA PIMS, a web-based platform developed by ORAU, to conduct exercises that helped plan for the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine recently made available by the Food and Drug Administration, and to plan for patient surge and staffing needs before the pandemic took hold in the U.S.
Anticipated consequences—Mental health implications and the benefit of true planning
ORAU experts like Crumly and Freddy Gray, MPH, MCHES, director of public health and healthcare, are working with federal agencies and national organizations on the planning and implementation of preparedness education campaigns. Gray says that while mental health issues are anticipated in community preparedness and planning, it is ultimately up to each community and the local preparedness infrastructure to partner together to develop a local plan to manage the issues that arise.
ORAU's 127-member University Consortium enables us to leverage the research capabilities of members and those of our subject matter experts to collaborate on research projects that meet the needs of our federal and industry partners. Ken Tobin and Cathy Fore from ORAU's Research and University Partnerships Office discuss ORAU's research priority areas, how ORAU serves as matchmaker and convener for universities and federal agencies, and their excitement for the future of research at ORAU.
ORAU provides innovative scientific and technical solutions to advance science education and workforce development and protect health and the environment. We connect the right people and resources to get things done, and we put the full power of our organization behind every project—both large and small.
