The Foodborne Illness Response Strategy (F.I.R.St.) for Michigan course was developed to identify roles, responsibilities and legal requirements for the agencies involved in a foodborne outbreak investigation.

The course promotes teamwork and consistency in surveillance and investigation methods by outlining a general approach for Michigan public health agencies. The course encourages the multidisciplinary approach between public health nursing, environmental health and laboratories.

The course is designed for new and existing staff members in Environmental Health, Nursing, Public Health, Communicable Disease and Laboratory Services. Participants complete six web-based modules in the following areas on the MDCH MI-Train website.

• Mod 1 – Passive Surveillance
• Mod 2 – Outbreak Determination
• Mod 3 – Epidemiologic Investigation and Environmental Assessment
• Mod 4 – Concluding Actions
• Mod 5 – Laboratory Guidance
• Mod 6 – Investigation of Intentional Events

After completing all modules with a passing score of 80%, an on-site day of facilitated team exercises is scheduled regionally as needed. Only those that successfully complete the on-line modules will be accepted to participate. The course is considered completed once all modules and the day of exercises have been successfully completed by the student.

Michigan’s F.I.R.St training is available on the MI-Train website.  Participants must be registered as users on the site and logged in before completing modules.  Instructions on how to register for and complete the training may be found here.