In a health crisis, it's public radio to the rescue

In the aftermath of January's devastating earthquake in Haiti, rapid communication was critical to the rescue and aid efforts. One of the key links in the response was an obscure radio network designed to carry messages when traditional communications infrastructure has been wiped out.

The National Public Health Radio Network (NPHRN) was activated during the earthquake to provide vital communications between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Federal Communications Commission-licensed communications services and other agencies in the affected areas in Haiti. The NPHRN, a unit of CDC Coordinating Center for Health Information and Service, is designed to be used during such events, when traditional communications, such as the telephone, the Internet and cellular networks are damaged or overloaded. "The purpose of the [network] is to provide the CDC and state, territorial, tribal and local health departments with a non-infrastructure dependent communications capability to ensure the exchange of critical health-related information under all conditions," said David Clark, the CDC's NPHRN manager. The radio network was created in 2003 with the assistance of FEMA, which controls the 14 frequencies maintained by the CDC.