A program of the Boston Public Health Commission, the institute was founded in 2003. The DelValle Institute is named in honor of Manuel DelValle, Jr. Manuel was a firefighter with Engine 5 for the New York City Fire Department (FDNY), who was killed while responding to the September 11th terrorist attack on the World Trade Center. He was the stepson of Dr. Peter Moyer, former Medical Director for Boston’s public safety agencies (Police, Fire, and EMS).
Mission
The DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness provides high quality all-hazards training for public health, health care, and public safety personnel, with a focus on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive incident preparedness, response, and recovery.
Vision
The DelValle Institute for Emergency Preparedness is the pre-eminent resource for emergency preparedness training in Eastern Massachusetts. The Institute prepares the community to respond to health-related challenges in ways that protect the City’s first responders, care providers, and citizens, alike. By providing a common forum for learning, it supports collaborative planning and interoperability in response to large-scale health challenges. The Institute draws on the best in the field to create and deliver programs that educate, inspire, and prepare, creating a healthier and safer community for all of Boston’s service providers, visitors, and residents.
Principles
The DelValle Institute bases its work on the following principles:
Local Direction – The DelValle Institute is operated by the Boston Public Health Commission, in cooperation with state and federal funding partners, to meet locally identified needs. Trainings are available to Boston providers and residents, except when specific grants allow Urban Area and Eastern Massachusetts partners to be included in order to enhance response to Boston-area threats.
Partnership – Trainings are designed and conducted in partnership with local, regional, statewide, and federal public health, health care, public safety, academic, and community institutions, drawing on the insight and expertise of the best in the field.
All-Hazards Approach – Curricula prepare students in universal principles of public health, public safety, medical, and community response, thereby raising awareness of a range of intentional and natural health threats and building performance-focused competencies to respond when needed.
Learner Focus – Teaching emphasizes hands-on exercises that build sustainable skills, and classroom presentations that respond to the needs of diverse adult learners.
Interoperability – Trainings support standardization of equipment and skills for response across disciplines and agencies, in order to increase the flexibility and efficiency of a response.
Inclusion – Curricula employ culturally competent and community-specific approaches, in order to engage diverse components of the Boston professional and lay communities.
Funding
The Institute is supported by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, with funding from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement; and by the Metro Boston Homeland Security Region, with funding from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Public Safety and Security and United States Department of Homeland Security.