Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) Awareness
Recognize environmental health hazards and understand the role of Environmental Health Responders during emergencies and disasters.
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Course Description
Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) Awareness provides foundational knowledge to help environmental health professionals understand their roles and responsibilities in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery. Across five online modules, you will explore key environmental health considerations that arise during emergencies and learn how responders help protect the health and safety of affected communities.
This course combines foundational concepts with real-world applications through interactive learning activities, case studies, links to key technical resources, and knowledge checks.
This course is ideal for:
- Environmental health professionals who may respond to disasters or public health emergencies.
- Professionals who may deploy during emergencies to conduct environmental health field assessments.
- Responders who may serve on Environmental Health Strike Teams.
- Professionals responsible for shelters, food safety, water and wastewater, building conditions, and related environmental health operations during emergencies.
- Participants preparing for the Environmental Health Strike Team Training Program.
Whether you are preparing for a future deployment or strengthening your understanding of environmental health emergency response, this course will help you build the foundational knowledge needed to recognize hazards, understand responder responsibilities, and support safer, more effective emergency preparedness, response, and recovery efforts.
EHTER Awareness also serves as required online pre-training for participants in the Region 2 EHTER Operations Strike Team Training Pilot, where eligible participants build on this foundation through classroom instruction, hands-on skill stations, and scenario-based field exercises.
Course Prerequisites
No prior training or experience is required to enroll in this course.
- EHTER Awareness is designed to provide foundational knowledge of environmental health emergency preparedness, response, and recovery.
- For participants in the Region 2 EHTER Operations Strike Team Training Pilot, completion of this online course is required as pre-training before the in-person training.
What You Will Learn
By the end of this course, you will be able to define the roles and responsibilities of Environmental Health Responders in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters; recognize key emergency preparedness initiatives and activities; identify important safety and health measures for field deployment; and understand the role of Environmental Health Responders in addressing environmental health concerns involving safe drinking water, wastewater, buildings, vectors and pests, solid waste and debris, and mass-care environments.
By the end of the course, you will be able to:
- Define the roles and responsibilities of Environmental Health Responders in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from emergencies and disasters.
- Recognize key emergency preparedness initiatives and activities at the national, State, local, and Tribal levels.
- Identify important safety and health measures for Environmental Health Responders before and during field deployment.
- Understand the role of Environmental Health Responders in protecting potable water supplies and addressing wastewater issues.
- Recognize environmental health considerations related to building assessments, vectors and pests, and solid waste and debris.
- Understand the role of Environmental Health Responders in establishing, monitoring, and maintaining safe and healthy mass-care environments, including shelters.
- Module 1: Disaster Management
Explore the role of Environmental Health Responders in emergency and disaster management, including:
- Roles and responsibilities in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery
- Key emergency preparedness initiatives and activities at the national level
- Emergency preparedness activities within State, local, and Tribal jurisdictions
- Module 2: Responder Safety and Health
Examine safety and health considerations for Environmental Health Responders, including:
- Safety and health steps taken prior to field deployment
- Safety and health steps taken during field deployment
- Module 3: Safe Water
Learn about the Environmental Health Responder's role in protecting safe drinking water, including:
- Protecting potable water supplies
- Ensuring safe drinking water
- Module 4: Vectors and Pest Management
Explore considerations for controlling and managing vectors and pests, including:
- Challenges associated with vector and pest management
- Effective strategies for controlling and managing vectors and pests
- Procedures for vector and pest management
- Module 5: Safe Shelters
Examine the Environmental Health Responder's role in supporting safe mass-care environments, including:
- Establishing safe and healthy mass-care environments
- Monitoring safety and health in mass-care environments
- Ensuring safety and health in shelters
Instructors
Captain Mark D. Miller, MPH, RS, USPHS (Retired), is an environmental health professional, consultant, and instructor with 40 years of experience in environmental health, public health, and emergency response. During his 26-year career with the United States Public Health Service, he served with the Indian Health Service, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
As a Senior Environmental Health Scientist with the CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, Miller provided assistance and consultation to local, state, and tribal professionals and national organizations on environmental health and emergency response. He responded to environmental disease outbreaks, public health crises, and natural disasters and served as a technical advisor on environmental health and emergency preparedness.
While at CDC, Miller led the development of the first edition of the Environmental Health Training in Emergency Response (EHTER) course. He later collaborated with FEMA's Center for Domestic Preparedness and state and local environmental public health programs to further develop EHTER into an operations-level offering. He currently teaches EHTER Operations at the Center for Domestic Preparedness and serves as an emergency response instructor with the National Environmental Health Association and the Rural Domestic Preparedness Consortium. Through Miller Consulting and Educational Services, he also provides environmental health training and development.
Tim Hatch, MPA, REHS, HEPP, is a public and environmental health professional with more than 30 years of experience at the state and local levels. An expert in disaster management and public health preparedness, he has deployed nationally and internationally and has extensive experience training public health and environmental health professionals in emergency response.
Hatch currently serves as Administrator of the East Central District for the Alabama Department of Public Health, where he oversees public health operations across 12 counties. He has been active in state and national environmental health professional associations for decades and has held leadership positions within the profession for more than 20 years.
A sought-after instructor for EHTER and EHTER Operations, Hatch has also taught international equivalents of the programs in more than 12 countries. His contributions to public and environmental health have been recognized by NSF International, the National Environmental Health Association, and Alabama's public health and environmental health associations. He has also received an honorary commission as a Colonel in the Alabama National Guard.
Andrew Ruiz, DrPH, is a public health professional with extensive experience in mosquito and vector control across local, state, federal, and private sector settings. His work spans operational mosquito control, environmental public health, disease surveillance, and emergency response.
Ruiz also applies data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence to address public health challenges. He holds a Doctor of Public Health and a Master of Science in Public Health in Tropical Medicine, and is a Board-certified Entomologist specializing in medical and veterinary entomology.