MORGANTOWN — Jamie Moore, MPA, RS, got his start at Monongalia County Health Department as a registered sanitarian before becoming the initial Threat Preparedness Coordinator. Following the completion of his Masters of Public Administration degree at West Virginia University, he has returned to that role.
The Wallace native has joined MCHD from Marion County Health Department in Fairmont, where he was Public Health Emergency Program Manager.
“I am excited about another opportunity to serve Monongalia County Health Department,” Moore said. “I have friends and family living in the Morgantown area and have spent much of my life going to school and working here.”
As Threat Preparedness Coordinator, Moore will facilitate community engagement in threat prep activities. Moore’s position with MCHD requires his working with several programs, including as Public Health Emergency Programs Manager; Grant Manager; Epidemiologist; Preparedness Action Coalition Team Leadership and Medical Reserve Corps Administrator.
Tasks that fall under the auspices of MCHD’s Threat Preparedness Program include Public Health Emergency Preparedness Training, Planning and Response Management; volunteer recruitment and retention for West Virginia Responder Emergency Deployment Information (WVREDI); Public Health Preparedness Education and Training for response partners and the general public; Community Emergency Response Team (CERT); Medical Reserves Corps (MRC); Strategic National Stockpile planning and response and Northern West Virginia Radiation Response Team development and Training.
“We utilize an all-hazards approach in our training and our planning,” Moore said. “We work to synergize our different activities so that we are always building capability and capacity to respond to the full spectrum of public health emergencies.”
Before he joined MCHD for the first time in 2002, Moore taught school, owned a restaurant and worked for a food distributor, all of which helped him in his job as sanitarian. He also is a journeyman farrier, although he no longer shoes horses.
In the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, Threat Preparedness arose as a field and Moore helped establish MCHD’s program in January 2004. In September 2005, he became the Regional All Hazards Coordinator of the Preparedness Action Coalition Team (PACT), covering Monongalia, Preston, Marion, Harrison, Taylor and Doddridge counties. He went to Marion County Health Department in June 2007.
Dr. Lee B. Smith, MCHD executive director and county health officer, said he is delighted that Moore has returned to lead the Threat Preparedness program.
“Jamie was the first Regional Threat Preparedness Director and will have a very short learning curve to get back to speed,” Smith said. “He is well-known to our region and now with the completion of his Master of Public Administration degree, he brings additional capabilities to our health department. We are looking to expand the role of this program and Jamie is the ideal person to help achieve those goals. We are extremely pleased to have him on board.”
In mid-June, Moore attended a weeklong training in Radiation Emergency Medicine at the Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site (REAC/TS) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, in order to learn more about conducting radiation drills and responding to radiation events. Upon returning, he coordinated a Technical Materials Emergency Radiation Response Transportation Training (T-MERRTT) for MCHD employees and area first responders.
“I’ve made an effort to hit the ground running by meeting response partners in the community, attending and holding trainings and getting oriented to the business process here at the health department,” Moore said.
