Shelters

CDC Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Response – how to prepare, and plan for shelters and safety after disasters:

• CDC Shelter Assessment Tool – Environmental Health Shelter Assessment Tool assists environmental health practitioners in conducting a rapid assessment of shelter conditions during emergencies and disasters
• Chemical Agents: Facts About Sheltering in Place – precautions about sheltering in place after a chemical incident
• Disaster Information for Pet Shelters – guidelines for animal health & control of disease transmission in pet shelters and other information about pet shelters
• Infection Control Guidance for Community Evacuation Centers Following Disasters – recommendations for basic infection control guidance to prevent exposure to or transmission of infectious diseases in temporary community evacuation centers
• Learn How to Shelter in Place – information about how to know when to shelter-in-place
• Sheltering in Place During a Radiation Emergency – precautions to help reduce exposure to radiation

Emergency and Terrorism Preparedness for Environmental Health Practitioners (ETP) – information on Shelters for evacuation and emergency response.

Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response – introductory-level training addresses a range of environmental health topics commonly faced in response to emergency events, to include shelters (12 continuing education credits available)

Internet-Based Morbidity and Mortality Surveillance Among Hurricane Katrina Evacuees in Georgia – use and analysis of data from Internet-based surveillance forms for evacuation shelters and an Internet-based death registry in Georgia's public health response to Hurricane Katrina

Public Health Surveillance During a Disaster – information to assess the human health impacts of a disaster and evaluate potential problems such as disease outbreaks

Widespread Outbreak of Norovirus Gastroenteritis Among Evacuees of Hurricane Katrina Residing in a Large “Megashelter” in Houston, Texas: Lessons Learned for Prevention [PDF - 515 KB] – investigation underscoring the difficulties in managing such outbreaks of norovirus gastroenteritis in crowded settings and the need for rapid, sensitive laboratory assays to detect norovirus

MMWR - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports

Hurricane Katrina Response and Guidance for Health-Care Providers, Relief Workers, and Shelter Operators. MMWR – guidelines for Hurricane Katrina response

Norovirus Outbreak Among Evacuees from Hurricane Katrina—Houston, Texas, September 2005. MMWR – preliminary epidemiologic data from norovirus outbreak investigation

Surveillance in Hurricane Evacuation Centers – Louisiana, September–October 2005. MMWR – development and implementation of a surveillance system in evacuation centers, types of data collected and how they were used, and limitations of the data

Tuberculosis Transmission in a Homeless Shelter Population—New York, 2000–2003. MMWR – investigation of tuberculosis transmission among residents of a homeless shelter for men

Links to information from outside CDC

Emergency Response for People Who Have Access and Functional Needs: A Guide For First Responders (Center for Public Safety Innovation) – guidance for emergency responders in assisting people who have access and functional needs during an emergency situation

Shelter Health: Essentials for Care of People Living in Shelter (National Health Care for the Homeless Council) – guides to help shelter providers and public health respond more effectively to the health needs of residents

• Shelter Health: Essentials of Care for People Living in Shelter (2006) [PDF - 1.7 MB]
• Pandemic Influenza Guidance for Homeless Shelters & Homeless Service Providers (2009)
• The Health Care of Homeless Persons: A Manual of Communicable Diseases and Common Problems in Shelters and on the Streets.

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