Patricia Sweeney JD, MPH, RN presented at the National Preparedness Summit in Washington DC., sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Association of City and County Health Officers (NACCHO).

 The topic of Ms. Sweeney's presentation was Public Health and the Judiciary: Partners in Public Health Emergency Preparedness.

As Law Program Co-Director at the University of Pittsburgh Center for Public Health Preparedness, Ms. Sweeney has coordinated the development and publication of the Pennsylvania Public Health Law Bench Book in collaboration with the Administrative Office of the Pennsylvania Courts. The Bench Book provides Pennsylvania's judiciary with quick access to critical information regarding key areas of public health law such as isolation, quarantine, mandated examination and treatment, and property searches and closures for public health purposes. The Bench Book also provides a full description of the state's public health infrastructure, analysis of court jurisdiction in public health cases, implications of a disaster declaration, definition of responsibility for costs, as well as checklists and model orders for judicial use. To view the Bench Book visit: http://www.prepare.pitt.edu/law/bb/Default.aspx


In June, 2007, Ms. Sweeney presented her research on the impact Civil Service laws have upon state public health department personnel systems for the AcademyHealth Annual research meeting in Orlando Florida.