Disaster Health Information Outreach Project

Disaster Health Information Outreach Project 2013-14City of El Paso Department of Public HealthAnd thePan American Health Organization/U.S.-Mexico Border Office Virtual LibraryPresenterAngela MoraCity of El Paso Department of Public Health objectivesPresent the Disaster Health Information Outreach Project goalsIntroduce the activities and accomplishments of each quarter of the projectPresent key collaboratorsShow pictures of the workshops at which the key players of the project participated

Project GoalTo strengthen the local communitys preparedness to respond to emergencies through partnership building among key players, and increase access to resource information.

The project goal is accomplished through:Delivery of emergency preparedness capacity building workshopsNetwork development between First Responders, Community Health Workers, Librarians, the NLM Disaster Medical Information Research Center (MNIRC) to better prepare and inform community during a disasterIncrease access to preparedness information resources through PAHOs Virtual Library, the National Library of Medicines Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC), and 2-1-1 Texas-Rio Grande Region Development of a local bilingual Emergency Preparedness Resources Directory

1St Quarter ActivitiesRecruitment of representatives from the target groups to serve as the projects planning committee.Development of workshop agendas and learning objectives by the planning committee of proposed workshopsIssuing of press release announcing new project Regular meetings with PAHO staff to coordinate staff activitiesFirst time meeting of local librarians, community health workers, and first responders to enhance community preparednessFirst Quarter Main ActivitiesRecruitment and training of 2 staff and placing one at PAHO and one at DPH. Staff duties included: Identifying National Library of Medicine (NLM) Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC) resources and selecting/integrating them to the PAHOs Virtual Health Library; researching additional resources; coordinating with 2-1-1 Texas Rio Grande Region for inclusion of MIMRC resources into the 2-11- database; and assisting with planning meetings and coordination of proposed workshops.Recruitment of representatives from the target groups: librarians, community health workers, and first responders to serve as the projects planning committee, and hosting an all-day planning meeting. Development of workshop agendas and learning objectives by the planning committee for the proposed workshops, providing a list of potential guest speakers.Other activities that took place during this quarter included issuing a press release announcing new project and meeting regularly with PAHO staff to coordinate staff activitiesOne of the major accomplishments during this quarter was bringing together for the first time local librarians, community health workers, and first responders to learn about each other and work as a team to enhance community preparedness

61St Quarter Activities ContRecruitment and training of staff for PAHO and DPH. Staff duties included: Identifying National Library of Medicine (NLM) DIMRC resources and selecting/integrating them to the PAHOs Virtual Health Library.Researching additional resources.Coordinating with 2-1-1 Texas Rio Grande Region for inclusion of MIMRC resources into the 2-1-1 database.Assisting with planning meetings and coordination of proposed workshops.

2Nd Quarter ActivitiesSkills-building workshops Purpose: To increase the capacity of the target groups to assist their communities, become aware of the importance of preparing for emergencies, and to facilitate their access to related resources. Introduction to emergency preparedness agencies and their resourcesIntegration into the emergency preparedness network. Hands-on training on accessing NLM- DIMRC on-line emergency resources, American Red Cross, 2-1-1, PAHOs Virtual Library resources, and others.Exercise based on a disaster scenarioDevelopment of an English/Spanish Community Preparedness Resource Directory and addition of several NLM online resources to the 2-1-1 database and PAHO Virtual Library.Introducing community health workers to the wealth of preparedness resources offered by the NLM.Two all-day skills-building workshops took place during this quarter, one for community health workers, another for librarians. Purpose: To increase the capacity of the target groups to assist their communities become aware of the importance of preparing for emergencies and to facilitate their access to related resources. Participants were introduced to emergency preparedness agencies, their resources, and the manner in which to access them. The workshops also served to integrate participants into the emergency preparedness network. Another significant activity during the workshops was hands-on training on accessing NLM DIMRC on-line emergency resources, in addition to American Red Cross, 2-1-1, PAHOs Virtual Library resources, and other.An exercise based on a disaster scenario was conducted for participants to exercise their response during a disaster. These stimulation exercises helped to increase the participants understanding and importance of having preparedness plans in place in case of an emergency. Other activities that took place included the development of an English/Spanish Community Preparedness Resource Directory and addition of several NLM online resources to the 2-1-1 database and PAHO Virtual Library.One significant accomplishment during this quarter was introducing both librarians and community health workers to first responders and emergency preparedness staff. Also significant was introducing community health workers for the first time to the wealth of preparedness resources offered by the NLM and providing them with hands-on-training on accessing those resources, in particular, Spanish language resources.

83Rd Quarter ActivitiesLibrarians and community health workers discussed their roles and experiences in the communityIdentified needs and gaps, and the benefits of working together. Participants increased their ability to network with first responders during emergency situations. Device ways to increase the communitys capacity to respond to emergencies. Participants increase in understanding of planning and responding to community.Development of You Tube video, in partnership with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), on the significance of the NLM grant for the El Paso community.All participating groups brought together: librarians, community health workers, emergency preparedness staff, first responders, and 2-1-1 were brought together to learn about each other. Librarians and community health workers discussed their roles and experiences in assisting their communities during emergencies and disasters; identified needs and gaps, and the benefits an strengths of working together. This workshop facilitated discussion on new ideas for serving as mutual resource for each other and how to increase their communitys capacity to prepare and respond to disasters and emergencies. The workshops assisted participants increasing their ability and capacity to communicate and network with first responders, and other officials during emergency situations, and to device ways to increase the communitys capacity to respond to emergencies. An exercise was conducted to increase participants understanding on planning and responding to community.Other activities: Developing a You Tube video, in partnership with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) featuring librarians, community health workers and preparedness staff on the significance of the NLM grant for the El Paso community.One of the major accomplishments during this quarter included groups recognition of the commonalties among each other in assisting the community during emergencies, and how they can augment community preparedness by sharing resources and continue working together.

94th Quarter This quarter served to wrap-up project activities and prepare the final report for the project. Workshops evaluation yielded positive resultsRecommendations from the groups included the desire to continue the project to strengthen the new established network and focus exercises specifically on the needs of colonias.This quarter served to wrap-up project activities, tabulate workshop evaluations and prepare the final report for the project. Some of the major accomplishments of the project included bringing together, for the first time, individuals who play a key role in supporting the community during emergencies such as librarians, community health workers, and first responders to learn about each other and the way in which they can support each other for the benefit of the community during emergencies and disasters.Evaluations conducted during the workshops yielded positive results with the majority of participants stating they had found the workshop effective and their expectations met. Some of the recommendations from the groups included the desire to continue the project to strengthen the new established network and focus exercises specifically on the needs of colonias.

104th Quarter contLibrarians and community health workers are now a part of the emergency preparedness network, with increased access to information and resources.Emergency Preparedness NetworkNumber of ParticipantsLibrarians24Promotoras25First Responders5DSHS2Other Agencies9Emergency Preparedness Staff6PAHO Staff 46Total75Due to the repeated interaction with first responders and emergency preparedness staff, both librarians and community health workers are now a part of the emergency preparedness network, with increased access to information and resources to assist their communities. The total number of participants in the project: 75

11Key Collaborators2-1-1 Texas - Rio Grande RegionEl Paso Community College Jenna Welch & Laura Bush Community LibraryEl Paso Office of Emergency ManagementEl Paso Police and Fire Departments

El Paso County Sheriffs Office,American Red CrossTexas Department of Public SafetyTexas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR)NLM Houston Regional OfficeBetween others

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Photo of participants