Disaster training course at Sussex Community College Feb. 23

Newton - Sussex County Community College will host a free, interactive and hands-on disaster training course for individuals and families from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 23, at the college, located at One College Hill Rd. in Newton. The course will be led by instructor Beldina Opiyo-Omolo of the Sussex County Division of Health, Public Heath Emergency Preparedness and Response Program. The course will be offered again from 10 a.m. to noon on Thursday, March 23, and from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 27. In today’s world, being prepared for a disaster could help save your family and neighbors. Disaster can strike quickly and without warning. It can force you to evacuate your neighborhood or confine you to your home, possibly without water, gas, electricity or telephones. This course is designed to teach you how to protect yourself and your loved ones by planning ahead. It will help you plan and ensure the safety and well-being of you and your family for at least the first 72 hours following a major catastrophe. The Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program is dedicated to ensuring the development of a coordinated, timely, and effective response to a bioterrorist event, disaster, or other public health emergency in Sussex County. The program was initiated in 2001, when the N.J. Dept. of Health and Senior Services awarded each county health department funding and computer equipment to increase communication with health care partners in their community. Recent efforts have focused on increasing public knowledge and capacity to detect and respond to a natural or man-made public health emergency. To register for the course, call 973-300-2143 or log on to sussex.edu/cce/.