Supporting Efforts to Create a Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex as a Part of Your Emergency Operations Plan
There are various reasons that an education agency may need to activate the Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex within their emergency operations plans (EOPs) to support prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery efforts before, during, and after an incident occurs. For example, if students, staff, or visitors are injured, emergency medical services (e.g., first aid) from community partners may be needed immediately. Furthermore, if an infectious disease outbreak occurs within your locality, the support of public health professionals within the school and campus community will be required. During and after a traumatic event, students and staff may need mental health counseling services to support recovery. A Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex will help schools and institutions of higher education (IHEs) coordinate these efforts with the appropriate emergency medical services, public health, mental health, law enforcement, fire department, and emergency management representatives.
K-12 Safety Practitioners: Learn more about creating a Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex.
Higher ed Safety Practitioners: Learn more about creating a Public Health, Medical, and Mental Health Annex.
What’s on this page?
Resources from the REMS TA Center, U.S. Department of Education, and Federal agency partners on the topic of public health, medical, and mental health within K-12 schools and IHEs. They are organized based on the categories of public health, medical, and mental health.
Public Health
- Behavioral Health Among College Students Information & Resource Kit, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Higher ed)
- Combating the Opioid Crisis and Other Substance Misuse: Schools, Students, Families, U.S. Department of Education (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Examples of Research-Based Drug Abuse Prevention Programs, National Institute on Drug Abuse (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Healthy Schools, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- National Environmental Public Health Tracking, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12 and Higher ed)
- National Health Security Strategy and Implementation Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Nonpharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) at School, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12 and Higher ed)
- The Opioid Crisis and K-12 Schools: Impact and Response Webinar, U.S. Department of Education and National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments with National Institute on Drug Abuse, Maryland State Department of Education, and New Hampshire Department of Education and (K-12)
- Preparing for Opioid-Related Emergencies for K-12 Schools and Institutions of Higher Education, REMS TA Center (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Strategy and Implementation Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (K-12 and Higher ed)
- The Role of Law Enforcement in Preventing Substance Misuse on College Campuses Webinar, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Higher ed)
- School Health Policies and Practices Study, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Substance Use Prevention: A Resource Guide for School Staff, White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (K-12)
Medical
- Automatic External Defibrillators and CPR Training: Daytona State College (Success Stories Volume 1, Issue 3), REMS TA Center (Higher ed)
- CPR Programs for Schools, American Red Cross (K-12)
- Diabetes: Be Prepared, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Epilepsy: Seizure First Aid, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12 and Higher ed)
- First Aid Mobile App, American Red Cross (K-12 and Higher ed)
- HEADS UP to Schools: Know Your Concussion ABCs, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Healthy Schools, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Asthma in Schools, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Diabetes in Schools, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Epilepsy in Schools, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- How to Respond: Injury and Illness at School, Washington State Department of Health, Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction, and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Naloxone in Schools Toolkit, National Association of School Nurses (K-12)
- Public Health Emergency Medical Countermeasures Enterprise Strategy and Implementation Plan, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Safe Place: Trauma-Sensitive Practice for Health Centers Serving Higher Education Students, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (Higher ed)
- School-Located Vaccination: Information for Planners, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- SchoolVaxView for College and Technical School Applicants, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Higher ed)
- SchoolVaxView for School Administrators and School Nurses, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Stop the Bleed, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Tracking and Reunification of Children in Disasters: A Lesson and Reference for Health Professionals Online Course, National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health and U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
Mental Health
- 10 Tips for Teaching the Psychological First Aid Model for K-12 Education Agencies, REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (K-12)
- Depression and College Students, National Institute of Mental Health (Higher ed)
- Disaster Technical Assistance Center, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Final Report of the Federal Commission on School Safety, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Department of Homeland Security (K-12)
- Implementing Psychological First Aid (PFA) in School and Postsecondary Settings Webinar, REMS TA Center and U.S. Department of Education with Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Leading Trauma-Sensitive Schools Training Package, National Center on Safe Supportive Learning Environments (K-12)
- Listen, Protect, Connect—Model & Teach: PFA for Students and Teachers, Federal Emergency Management Agency and National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement (K-12)
- Managing Student Mental Health at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, National Center for Campus Public Safety and Historically Black Colleges and Universities – Law Enforcement Executives and Administrators (Higher ed)
- PFA, U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Health and Human Services (Higher ed)
- PFA Field Operations Guide, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, National Center for PTSD, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12 and Higher ed)
- PFA for Students and Teachers: Listen, Protect, Connect—Model & Teach (Helpful Hints Volume 3, Issue 3), REMS TA Center (K-12)
- PFA Mobile App, National Center for PTSD, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, and National Center for Telehealth and Technology (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Psychological First Aid for Schools (PFA-S), U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and U.S. Health and Human Services (K-12)
- PFA-S Field Operations Guide, National Child Traumatic Stress Network, National Center for PTSD, and Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12)
- Psychosocial Issues for Children and Adolescents in Disasters, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12)
- Responding to a Suicide Cluster: Palo Alto School District (Lessons Learned Volume 5, Issue 2), REMS TA Center (K-12)
- Special Considerations for Mental Health Services in Rural Schools, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (K-12)
- Teen Depression, National Institute of Mental Health (K-12 and Higher ed)
- Ten Years After Virginia Tech: Impacts on Campus Mental Health, National Center for Campus Public Safety (Higher ed)
- Trauma-Informed Care for Schools Before, During, and After Possible Emergency Events Webinar, REMS TA Center with University of Southern California (K-12)