Join us on Monday, April 8th at the Sheraton Eatontown, NJ.  Come together with the emergency planning community, first responders, public health workers, and community and faith-based groups to provide a forum for discussing roles libraries can play in supporting future disaster preparedness, response and recovery efforts:  http://lss.njstatelib.org/events/2013/apr/08/ports_in_a_storm_the_library_as_disaster_recovery_center

When asked, leaders in communities everywhere will say that communication is by far the biggest problem during an emergency. Communication is such a broad term that it does not pinpoint the problem. Is it actual communication systems like phone lines and cell towers? Is it the communication you receive or try to obtain in an emergency? Is it communication to the people you are responsible for? Is it communication from the people you are responsible for? The question becomes how do we go about addressing these issues?  Start small and focus on one solution to one communication problem.

The New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) has instituted the Partners in Preparedness program. OEM’s Partners in Preparedness program is designed to help organizations in the New York City metro area better prepare their employees, services, and facilities and develop a trusted communication system before disaster strikes. To become a Partner, an organization must complete five preparedness activities (three required and two additional) and report their actions through a partner’s survey. Only then will the organization become an official partner and obtain a Partners in Preparedness seal.

The three required activities are:

1) Stay Connected – Encourage coworkers and volunteers to sign up for Notify NYC, the city’s free real-time emergency notification system.

2) Get Prepared – Set up and test an emergency contact plan or call tree for your organization.

3) Send Preparedness Messages – Use e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or your website to test and send preparedness messages to your employees.

To make the process simple and streamlined, the OEM provides marketing materials, samples, and pre-approved messaging for each activity. The end result is a larger pool of people better connected to a trusted information source prior to, during, and after an emergency.  Other added benefits to becoming a Partner in Preparedness include:

• Highlighting the dedication to the safety and well-being of employees and their families.
• Gaining tools and resources to prepare organizations for all types of emergencies.
• Receiving emergency updates from OEM.
• Displaying an official seal from OEM to demonstrate commitment to emergency preparedness.

Shearman & Sterling, LLP, an international law firm with a worldwide presence of some 1000 attorneys in 20 offices around the world, is headquartered in midtown Manhattan and is an official Partner in Preparedness. “During Hurricane Sandy, the support we received from Partners in Preparedness was incredible,” says Toni Reiffe, Sherman and Sterling’s Business Continuity Manager.  Reiffe adds that the information from Partners in Preparedness was constant and reliable before, during and after the storm. “We knew what city services were impacted and were able to get that information directly to our employees. We opened our doors on Wednesday after Sandy because people needed to come back to work in order to continue serving our clients in New York and around the world. Even people with direct hits to their homes came into the office. People needed to get back to normal.” Reiffe states that she knew that the OEM had their work cut out for them with the displacement of individuals, families and businesses that were affected but, thanks to Partners in Preparedness, Sherman & Sterling was essentially self-sufficient and not a drag on OEM’s stretched resources.

Shearman & Sterling set an example by taking key steps prior to an emergency by becoming a Partner in Preparedness and providing a more resilient organization for their staff and to the community of New York City. Reiffe points out that business continuity has graduated from just the practice of IT system redundancy to all systems and practices of keeping a business operational in an emergency. A big part of that, she says, is the personal preparedness of staff. “In an emergency, someone who is prepared has a better chance to help the firm,” says Reiffe.  She is raising the preparedness awareness level of individuals at her firm one person at a time.

The Partners in Preparedness program was selected as one of the promising examples of the Whole Community Approach to Emergency Management in 2013. Please go to this website for more information about Partners in Preparedness and the Whole Community Program.  View article….

As a result of focus groups and usability testing, MAR has restructured our website (http://nnlm.gov/mar/) to provide entry points for the populations we serve:  libraries, unaffiliated health professionals, K-12 professionals, and organizations providing consumer health information.  We’ve heard your voices and have redesigned our site to focus on you!

New Subject Categories

We added 4 new tabs/categories directing you to content designed specifically to meet your needs:

• Libraries arranged by type of library:

• Academic Libraries:        http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/academic.html
• Hospital Libraries:           http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/hospital.html
• Public Libraries:               http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/public.html
• School Libraries:              http://nnlm.gov/mar/educators/

• Health Professionals

For health professionals unaffiliated with a medical library, public health professionals, mental health professionals, minority health professionals, and those working at Critical Access Hospitals:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/hp/

• K-12 Professionals

For K-12 health and science educators, as well as those providing after-school programming in a K-12 school, community-based or faith-Based Organization:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/educators/

• Consumer Health

For libraries, community-based and faith-based organizations providing consumer health information:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/consumer/

More Highlights

• We added pages for Grant & Proposal Writing, as well as Planning & Evaluation Methods:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/planning.html

• We created a new Outreach Toolkit to support your own outreach initiatives:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/toolkit.html

• We added selected NLM resources to each page to get you started with resources to meet your needs

• We added your primary MAR contact person on each page—so you’ll know who can answer your questions or concerns

So visit our redesigned website and let us know what you think!

http://nnlm.gov/mar/

We have some very exciting news  – the new update for WISER (the Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders) has just been released in the Apple App Store. So, for those of you who interact with the people who help with public safety & public health, or who wear those hats yourself, I’d encourage you to get the latest update. This update sees an expansion in our user profiles (First Responder, Hazmat, EMT, & the new Hospital Provider & Preparedness Planner profiles), the integration of our Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) tool, & the inclusion of the ERG 2012 data from the Department of Transportation (DOT). Please see the details below… & let people know – word of mouth recommendations from trusted people like you are our best form of getting the word out.

The National Library of Medicine WISER for iOS 3.1, a universal app for Apple iOS devices, is now available.  Here’s a look at what’s new in this release:

• WISER now fully integrates content from the Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) website.  This integration includes:

o    New hospital provider and preparedness planner profiles

o    Acute care guidelines for 6 known mass casualty agents/agent classes

o    The addition of a wealth of CHEMM reference material

o    The new CHEMM Intelligent Syndrome Tool (CHEMM-IST), a help identify tool designed

• Emergency Response Guidebook data is now updated to the ERG 2012; WISER for the iPhone includes a custom ERG 2012 tool

WISER for iOS 3.1 can be downloaded and installed directly from the Apple App Store:  http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/wiser-for-ios/id375185381?mt=8

Coming Soon

Look for these exciting additions in the coming months:

• WISER for Android 1.1, which includes the same CHEMM integration and ERG 2012 updates detailed above
• Updates to our Windows and WebWISER platforms to include CHEMM integration, ERG 2012 data, and more

WISER for Android 3.1, which adds Help Identify Chemical and protective distance mapping to this popular platform

Many libraries and organizations in our region were impacted by Hurricane Sandy:  The Federal Emergency Management Agency issues a press release last week detailing the deadline for applications for disaster assistance. From the press release:

“Survivors of Hurricane Sandy have two weeks to register for possible disaster assistance and to return applications for low-interest disaster loans to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

The deadline for both is March 29, 2013.

FEMA urges everyone who sustained losses from Hurricane Sandy to register, including those who have insurance. Insurance may not cover all losses.

The 13 designated counties are: Bronx, Kings, Nassau, New York, Orange, Putnam, Queens, Richmond, Rockland, Suffolk, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester.”

More information can be found on FEMA’s website.

As a result of focus groups and usability testing, MAR has restructured our website (http://nnlm.gov/mar/) to provide entry points for the populations we serve:  libraries, unaffiliated health professionals, K-12 professionals, and organizations providing consumer health information.  We’ve heard your voices and have redesigned our site to focus on you!

New Subject Categories

We added 4 new tabs/categories directing you to content designed specifically to meet your needs:

• Libraries arranged by type of library:

• Academic Libraries:       http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/academic.html
• Hospital Libraries:           http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/hospital.html
• Public Libraries:               http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/public.html
• School Libraries:              http://nnlm.gov/mar/educators/

• Health Professionals

For health professionals unaffiliated with a medical library, public health professionals, mental health professionals, minority health professionals, and those working at Critical Access Hospitals:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/hp/

• K-12 Professionals

For K-12 health and science educators, as well as those providing after-school programming in a K-12 school, community-based or faith-Based Organization:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/educators/

• Consumer Health

For libraries, community-based and faith-based organizations providing consumer health information:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/consumer/

More Highlights

• We added pages for Grant & Proposal Writing, as well as Planning & Evaluation Methods:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/funding/planning.html

• We created a new Outreach Toolkit to support your own outreach initiatives:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/libraries/toolkit.html

• We added selected NLM resources to each page to get you started with resources to meet your needs

• We added your primary MAR contact person on each page—so you’ll know who can answer your questions or concerns

So visit our redesigned website and let us know what you think!

http://nnlm.gov/mar/

The University of Rochester, Finger Lakes Regional Resource Center would like to invite you to register for their annual Healthcare Emergency Management Conference scheduled on April 25, 2013 in Batavia, NY.  The conference focus is Trauma Management for Rural EMS and Community Hospitals. See attached flyer for more information or you can access online registration here:  http://www.cvent.com/d/kcq4jh/1Q

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New York Emergency Management Summit 2013

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Hilton New York

1335 Avenue of the Americas

New York, New York, 10019

Tel: 212-586-7000

Time:

Registration / Breakfast: 8 -9:00 AM

Program: 9:00 AM -2:40 PM

To view the current agenda:

http://www.emergencymgmt.com/events/NY-EM-Summit-2013.html?p=home

Register today:

http://forms.erepublic.com/em-event-registration-step1-default?contentID=189232171&r=EV-2391

Registration is free for public professionals and non-profit organizations!

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SAVE THE DATES: May 29 and 30, 2013

2013 Long Island/NYC Emergency Management Conference

Long Island Marriott Uniondale

Welcome to the Long Island/New York City Emergency Management Conference 2013. Our theme, “Assessing the Past – Paving the Road to Recovery” will explore the lessons learned from events of the past year with a focus on weather impacts from Superstorm Sandy. The conference is attended annually by approximately 650 emergency managers primarily from the tri-state area. We welcome your attendance at this year’s event!

When:  April 8, 2013

Where:  Eatontown, NJ

Registration/Details:  http://lss.njstatelib.org/news/2013/feb/08/ports_in_a_storm_the_library_as_disaster_recovery_center

Sponsored by the New Jersey State Library, the Middle Atlantic Region of the NN/LM, Library Link NJ, and the New Jersey Library Association.

March 4, 2013, 1:00-2:00 PM, ET

To register: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/243090410

This presentation will explain the structure of the National Biosurveillance Integration Center (NBIC) and its federal interagency biosurveillance network, the NBIC Strategic Plan, the impact of NBIC, and the innovative pilot programs to develop new sources of biosurveillance information.

The webinar is hosted by the International Society for Disease Surveillance.

For information about this Dept. of Homeland Security center:  http://www.dhs.gov/national-biosurveillance-integration-center.

February 26 / 1 – 2 pm ET

CDC’s Crisis and Emergency Risk Communication (CERC) manual was first published in 2002 to provide an experience and skills-based approach to health communications during emergencies.  In 2012, the manual was updated and revised, including a new chapter on social media.  This presentation will review the main principles of CERC, highlight the updates to the material, and explore ways in which health educators in a variety of roles can use CERC principles in their work.

Register for the Webinar: https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/664800055