This is a great example of how first responders get information through social media.  No one wants Twitter to replace people calling 911 but in some cases, they turn to Twitter and other social media channels out of desperation.

This is an example of just one of many roles that information specialists and librarians can take on during emergencies.
http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/01/tech/social-media/twitter-fdny/index.html

Effective Monday, December 3, 2012, NLM’s general Twitter feed will be changed from @nlm_newsroom to @nlm_news. The new name will give us a few extra characters for our tweets and also captures more accurately this feed which, although created to serve the needs of the media, has evolved to serve a wider audience, including librarians, historians, patient advocates, health organizations and the public at large.

There should be no perceptible changes in the operation and content of the new feed.  The “nlm_newsroom” handle will continue operating in parallel to the new “nlm_news”, so current followers will not need to resubscribe, however web pages listing @nlm_newsroom should be updated to @nlm_news.

http://pewinternet.us1.list-manage.com/track/click?u=434f5d1199912232d416897e4&id=365c34a841&e=d8fb87c4c3

Social media is being heavily used to provide info on Sandy’s aftermath and recovery.  Here are the main social media channels (a sampling) we’ve identified.  If you know of key additional ones, please share with the list.  Most television and news radio stations also post their info on Twitter and/or Facebook.

Please pass this info along to those in affected areas.  If you are not affected by the storm, this list will give you a good introduction to the uses of social media in a disaster situation.

Twitter

If you are already on Twitter, here are some handles to follow to stay up to date and to find the latest information to share with your community.  If you are not there yet, now might be the time to take a look at how Twitter is being used.  You can follow “lists” which aggregate tweets made by list members, or you can follow “hashtags” which aggregate words within the text of the tweet.

Twitter LISTS to follow:

• NLM_DIMRC Sandy- Follow this list for health information updates: https://twitter.com/NLM_DIMRC/sandy. Compiled by the Disaster Information Management Research Center at National Library of Medicine.
• FEMA Region 2 New York City List- https://twitter.com/femaregion2/nyc-sandy.
• FEMA Regions – Select the FEMA region you want to follow https://twitter.com/CraigatFEMA/fema-regions/members.
• State and Territory Health Departments– take a look at the member list and see which state health departments you want to follow: https://twitter.com/ASTHO/stateterritoryhealthdepts/members. This list of all state health departments that post on Twitter is compiled by the  Association of State and Territorial Health Departments.
• NLM_DIMRC SMEMstars –  follow this list of those active in SMEM (social media and emergency response); they have been very active during Sandy.  https://twitter.com/NLM_DIMRC/smemstars.

Twitter HASHTAGS to follow:

• The primary tags to follow (enter in the search box on the twitter home page) are: #Sandy  and #Frankenstorm.
• Additional tags to follow that will include Sandy information and more: #smem (social media and emergency response) and #VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters).

FACEBOOK – most organizations that use Twitter also have a Facebook page.  Examples include:

FEMA

https://www.facebook.com/FEMA

American Red Cross

https://www.facebook.com/redcross

HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Public Health Emergency

https://www.facebook.com/phegov

Medical Reserve Corps

https://www.facebook.com/medicalreservecorps

New York City Office of Emergency Management

https://www.facebook.com/NYCemergencymanagement

New Jersey Office of Emergency Management

https://www.facebook.com/READYNEWJERSEY

MAPS

People and organizations have created maps using crowd-sourced information for a variety of purposes.  Below are some examples.

Google Crisis Response

http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy and http://google.org/crisismap/2012-sandy-nyc

Info on transit, power outage locations, availability of food, gas, water, ice, etc.

ESRI Hurricane Sandy User Map Gallery:

http://www.esri.com/services/disaster-response/hurricanes/hurricane-sandy-user-gallery

Hurricane Sandy Communication Map

https://sandycommsmap.crowdmap.com/

Identifies places where there is free wi-fi or electricity to charge phones.

Maryland Emergency Management Agency Reporting Map

https://marylandhurricanesandy.crowdmap.com/

New Jersey Office of Emergency Management Alerts and Updates

http://readynj.posterous.com/list-of-pharmacies-hotels-restaurants-and-gas

List of pharmacies, hotels, restaurants and gas stations that are open.

Submitted by Siobhan Champ-Blackwell, MSLIS (Contractor) / Librarian

Aquilent, Inc., suppporting the mission of the National Library of Medicine

Specialized Information Services Division

Disaster Information Management Research Center

6707 Democracy Blvd.  Suite 510

Bethesda, MD 20892-5467

301-496-2742, phone

siobhan.champ-blackwell@nih.gov

https://twitter.com/NLM_DIMRC

As Hurricane Sandy approaches, we can be proactive in sharing resources on health information preparedness and response.  Below are some National Library of Medicine Disaster Information Management Research (NLM DIMRC) Center resources, along with information sources from other key agencies.  Also included are some example tweets you might want to consider sending out.  Follow us on Twitter to stay up to date with news and information!

NLM DIMRC Hurricane Page:  http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/hurricane.html

NLM DIMRC Floods:  http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/floods.html

NLM DIMRC Disaster Apps and Mobile Optimized Web Pages:  http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/disasterapps.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Hurricanes Page:  http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/

Federal Emergency Management Agency Ready.Gov Hurricanes Page:  http://www.ready.gov/hurricanes

Tweets

#Hurricane #Sandy is coming!  Check out the National Library of Medicine page of disaster health information resources go.usa.gov/YVeB

#Hurricane #Sandy effects all of us.  Find information on being prepared so you can respond without worry go.usa.gov/YpWG

Are you responding to #Hurricane #Sandy?   Find information on staying safe as a responder go.usa.gov/YVJT

#Hurricane #Sandy may be epic.  Get prepared so you can respond quickly go.usa.gov/YVeB

Presenter:  Kate Flewelling, Outreach Coordinator, NN/LM MAR

Location:  Free, Online, Asynchronous

Date:  November 12 – December 7, 2012

Registration:  http://nnlm.gov/mar/training/register.html?schedule_id=1921

Description:  This class is intended to develop basic searching techniques and search strategies that will take advantage of the PubMed interface to MEDLINE.  The course will explore various methods for searching the PubMed system.  Topics covered include using MeSH and search qualifiers, limiting search  results, and refining your search. This course will provide an in-depth  view of the system and demonstrate utilizing the features of PubMed to  search effectively.  Participants who complete course requirements will be eligible for 3.5 MLA CE credits.  This class is an approved course for Level I (non-health sciences) Consumer Health Information Specialization.  Questions?  Contact Kate Flewelling at flewkate@pitt.edu.

This article is a good reminder of how important it is that we all change our passwords at least once per year, if not more often.
http://games.yahoo.com/blogs/plugged-in/25-most-popular-passwords-2012-164015152.html.

Passed along from NN/LM PNR:  http://blogs.computerworld.com/mobilewireless/21142/think-big-about-mobile-health-going-beyond-medical-records.

The Science Times section of Tuesday’s New York Times focused on “The Digital Doctor,” and included about a dozen related articles.
http://tinyurl.com/987bwms

A new report from a consortium representing six Gulf States lays out how to make health information exchange among states part of disaster preparedness and response.

The effort, begun in late 2010 and supported by the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT, included representatives from Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana and Texas. Recommendations in the report pertain to other states, as well. A major goal of the initiative is to incorporate disaster planning earlier in health information exchange projects, according to a new ONC blog posting.

Recommendations include:

• Review state disaster response and governance policies, as they may not address the sharing of health information during a disaster.
• Develop standard procedures to share electronic health information across state lines before a disaster occurs.
• Establish a waiver of liability for release of records and to default state privacy and security rules to existing HIPAA standards in a disaster.
• Engage local HIEs, and private and public health information networks such as delivery systems, insurers, and electronic health records vendors, to increase sources from which health information may be exchanged. “Health information sharing during a disaster should not rely solely on the State HIE, but on a more effective network of health information-sharing networks.”
• Consider a phased approach to building interstate HIE capabilities. The report includes a three-phased approach as a roadmap for state HIEs to consider.

The report is available here.