Legal Bases for Public Health Preparedness for Terrorism

Trainer
Jason W. Sapsin, JD, MPH, assistant scientist, Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health

Description
This training product will introduce you to legal rules and principles underlying public health authority during bioterrorism response. After learning some legal fundamentals, you will see a hypothetical scenario to which specific legal rules will be applied. By the time you've completed this module, you should understand the basic underpinnings of emergency health law, legal issues arising during a public health emergency and how state and federal laws assist public health action in health emergencies.

Trainer Biography
Jason Sapsin is a member of the Center for Law and the Public’s Health at Johns Hopkins and Georgetown Universities. He is a graduate of Williams College, the University of Michigan Law School and Johns Hopkins University. With other Center faculty, he is a co-author of the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act. Currently, he is most active in the area of public health preparedness and bioterrorism, developing a Center for Disease Control and Prevention legal training module for emergency public health response. Mr. Sapsin is an author of publications dealing with the Model State Emergency Health Powers Act, public health law and emergency response and litigation as a public health tool. His interests include public health strategies for epidemic control, administrative regulation and trade and health. Mr. Sapsin has presented for the Center for Strategic and International Studies, regional Public Health Leadership Institutes, Centers for Preparedness, State Governments, the Johns Hopkins’ Center for Civilian Biodefense Studies, the American Bar Association and the CDC. Prior to joining Hopkins, he practiced international litigation and health legislative policy at a Washington, D.C., law firm, served as a corporate vice president and general counsel and engaged in trial, appellate and administrative practice. He is also affiliated with the Johns Hopkins Centers of Excellence in Environmental Public Health Tracking and Environmental Public Health Practice.