Great Plains Disaster Behavioral Health Conference

Disaster Vulnerability and Understanding Community
Participants will learn the definition and steps of cultural competency, the complexity of communities and the relationship between vulnerability and resilience. With a focus on social vulnerability in the United States, the presentation will end with new ideas for practice and considerations for empowerment and building community capacity.

He is a past Chairperson and member of the Professional Ethics Committee for the American Counseling Association and the Nebraska Counseling Association. He has served as an ethics consultant at the federal, state, and local levels fort over 30 years.

How Behavioral Health Should React Ethically in a Disaster
Professionals will explore the key ethical principles that form the basis of our actions and reactions during a disaster, our code of conduct, the different crisis standards of care, and ethical approaches to the allocation of scarce resources and triage. We will also discuss prevention and intervention community strategies critical to ethical and legal mandates.

He has over 30 years of experience in chaplaincy, disaster emergency management, faith-based philanthropy, program management, and social services administration – including almost a decade in Emergency Medical Services. Mr. Gudaitis holds a B.A. from Kenyon College, and a M.Div. from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church.

The Role of Disaster Spiritual Care and Religious Literacy & Competency in Building Resilient Whole Communities
A look at the American religious landscape and the evolving role that religious literacy and competency play in building disaster resilience whole communities. Followed by an overview of current disaster spiritual care models, methodologies and practices – including rogue and harmful practices. Including an introduction to National VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), State VOAD and local emotional and spiritual care tools, structures, systems, and interventions – and, recommendations on how public health and mental health practitioners can build and sustain partnerships with communities and their trained/credentialed caregivers.

He is Core Faculty in the University of Missouri Master of Public Health Program. Houston’s research focuses on communication at all phases of disasters and on the mental health effects and political consequences of community crises. Recent and current research projects have examined the impact of media coverage of terrorism on children and adults, the role of new media during disasters, and the capacity for using information communication technologies to increase community resilience.