2010 Update

As of mid-February 2010, there is no annual conference planned for this year due to tight budgets and severe staffing shortages in many agencies receiving federal and state disaster planning funds.  However, the Colorado Medical Society has Disaster Medical Response sessions coming up in April that might be of interest to some.  Click here to download the flyer.

Continue to check back for updates, or click on the Contact Us link to send us an email--we will put you on our list and email you when our next event is launching. 


Changes in Attitudes—Changes in Latitudes

Bridging the Divide Between Medical and Behavioral Health

July 30–August 1, 2009  -  Colorado Springs, CO

For over 150 years, pioneers in the Rocky Mountain West have been inventing ways to bridge the Continental Divide, an obstacle of enormous challenge with altitudes often exceeding 14,000 feet. The Continental Divide Disaster Behavioral Health Conference continues this pioneering tradition by promoting the creation of innovative partnerships to improve the way we plan for, respond to, and recover from extreme events.

In 2007, our inaugural conference, we began bridging the divide between the behavioral health community practitioners and scientists in the Rocky Mountain Region. Last year, we teamed up with military leaders  from US Northern Command and public health practitioners from the U.S. Public Health Service to focus on pandemic—a timely choice given the H1N1 influenza outbreak spreading across our globe and testing our pandemic response systems.

This year, we have teamed with the medical community to present sessions focused on the interface between medical and behavioral health disaster planning, response, and recovery. We also have added a new feature to the conference, a poster session, where practitioners, scientists, and students will present their best work.

As professionals passionate about disaster behavioral health, we believe that by coming together we will build a bridge across the divide that separates us, one that will enhance our behavioral health community and advance our profession.

To download information about the poster session, click here. To download the conference brochure, click here.