The 2012 Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference will take place April 10-12, 2012 at the Greater Tacoma Convention and Trade Center.  It is the largest and most successful regional emergency preparedness conference in the Pacific Northwest.  Partners in Emergency Preparedness annually hosts nearly 700 people representing business, schools, government, the nonprofit sector, emergency management professionals, and volunteer organizations.

The Partners in Emergency Preparedness Conference attracts top-notch speakers with expertise that includes lessons learned from recent worldwide events like earthquakes, work place violence, current hazards research, contingency planning, school preparedness, techology, media interactions, and public health issues.  speakers and exhibitors provide cutting-edge information on subjects such as business continuity planning, school safety, public health preparedness, homeland security, and public information.

Effective emergency management can only be accomplished through partnerships.  This conference offers you the opportunity to develop those relationships and gain necessary information to fulfill your preparedness needs, to understand the importance of preparedness education and planning, and to meet your future partners in preparedness.  This conference attracts individuals representing government, non-profit sector, private, businesses, schools, volunteers, and emergency management professionals.

For more information, visit the conference web site: https://www.cm.wsu.edu/ehome/piepc/39774/

You can also contact Dana Colwell, Conference Coordinator at: 253-445-4575 or Dana.Colwell@wsu.edu

The Homer Public Library, in collaboation with the Friends of the Homer Public Library and local emergency responders, held a month of activities aimed at increasing the community’s emergency preparedness thanks to a $5000 NN/LM Community Preparedness Day Award.  Events, which were timed to coincide with national Disaster Preparedness Month, kicked off on September 21st with a special Story Time about safety and natural phenomena that occur locally, such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

On September 24th the library hosted a Community Preparedness Day. Area emergency responders gave 15-minutes presentations throughout the day on emergency preparedness issues.  In addition, the public was invited to visit information booths operated by various agencies, including the Alaska Division of Forestry, the Homer Volunteer Fire Department, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management and the Homer Senior Citizens.

One of the biggest draws of the day was the bright orange buckets, used to distribute 75 emergency preparedness kits funded by the award.  These buckets included a first aid kit, an emergency radio, and pamphlets from FEMA and the local veterinary clinic on how to prepare for an emergency.  The bucket itself was a useful water-storage device.  Community members, including the Homer City mayor, flocked to the library to pick up their buckets and then stopped by the booths to fill those bucket with more safety information.

Additionally, on September 28th the library hosted a forum for survivors of the 1964 Good Friday earthquake to tell their stories.  More than a dozen survivors shared compelling stories to an audience of over 30 people, imparting wisdom and perspective about the very real risks faced by Alaskans living on the “ring of fire.”

The Homer Public Library is also purchasing materials on emergency preparedness, survival, self-sufficiency and related topics to better serve this end-of-the-road community.  The activities and material funded by the NN/LM award have improved community awareness about emergency preparedness and placed helpful tools into the hands of Southern Kenai Peninsula residents.

Note: If you organization is interested in holding a Community Preparedness Day event, we are currently offering funding.  Please see the funding announcement – applications are due December 16, 2011.

The purpose of the Disaster Health Information Outreach Project is to design programs for improving disaster medicine and public health information access for health professionals, first responders and others (paid or volunteer) that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response and recovery. Emphasis is on providing information or access to health and medical information in a way useful to the target audiences, and increasing the awareness and utilization of high-quality professional-level online medical and public health information resources on disaster, all-hazards, and emergency topics including resources from the National Library of Medicine. The purpose is also to promote new and creative collaborations on disaster health information needs among and to the mutual benefit of librarians, information specialists, or informationists and the disaster workforce.

Approved projects will be funded up to $15,000.

For more information, see the full funding announcement or contact Gail Kouame at gmarie@uw.edu or 206-221-3449.

Proposals will be accepted until February 1, 2012. However, if you plan to submit a proposal, we need a brief statement of intent no later than January 13, 2012 to help our planning process. Please submit your statement of intent to apply to nnlm@uw.edu.

The goals of Community Preparedness Day are to:

• Encourage, strengthen and/or expand library partnerships with first responders and community emergency management personnel
• Provide access to emergency management information tools and resources for families or other target populations
• Integrate and involve libraries in emergency preparedness, response, and recovery planning
• Promote and publicize the roles libraries, faith, or community organizations can play in emergency preparedness
• Strengthen and expand medical and public library partnerships

Applications from libraries and other organizations are welcome.

Consideration of requests for funding will begin on December 16, 2011. Proposals should be submitted using the Community Preparedness Day Award Application.

For additional information, see the full funding announcement or contact Gail Kouame, NN/LM PNR Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator at gmarie@uw.edu, 1-800-338-7657.

Three of the National Library of Medicine’s free mobile applications are now available for Android devices. They are Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER), Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM), and LactMed.

WISER is a tool to assist emergency responders with hazardous materials (HAZMAT) incidents. It provides a wide range of information on chemical, biological, and radiological agents, including substance identification, physical characteristics, human health and emergency medical treatment information, and containment and suppression assistance.

REMM provides guidance for health care providers, primarily physicians, about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation injury during radiological and nuclear emergencies. It provides just-in-time, evidence-based, usable information with sufficient background and context to make complex issues understandable to those without formal radiation medicine expertise.

LactMed is a database of drugs and other chemicals to which breastfeeding mothers may be exposed. It includes information on the levels of such substances in breast milk and infant blood, and the possible adverse effects in the nursing infant.

The National Library of Medicine offers more than a dozen free, mobile-friendly health information databases. To see them all, go to NLM’s Gallery of Mobile Apps and Sites.

Flickr Commons Image - No known copyright

NN/LM PNR has learned of several upcoming free webinars that may be of interest:

• Tuesday, August 23rd: 11am – 12pm Pacific

Incorporating Ethics into Emergency Planning and Response to Ensure Health Equity

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

This seminar will focus on the incorporation of ethics into emergency planning and response to promote health equity. A local jurisdiction’s approach to the development of an ethics framework will be highlighted, and an example of equitable distribution of vaccine with hospitals and culturally-specific communities will be described.  For more information and to register, visit this link: http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?oeidk=a07e4e3j1ok8114fea7&llr=pf7m85dab&source=govdelivery

• Wednesday, August 31st and Wednesday, September 7th: 10am – 11am Pacific

Health Technology Assessment: 101 and Comparative Effectiveness Research – A 2-part Webinar Series

From the National Library of Medicine’s National Information Center on Health Services Research and Health Care Technology (NICHSR)

We live in an age of abundant choice, especially mystifying in the choice of health care options and technologies. Too often, patients, providers, administrators, insurers, and policy makers are faced with an increasing array of decisions with few tools to help them make informed decisions. Health technology assessment (HTA) and comparative effectiveness research (CER) are two related approaches for helping to make better informed decisions. This two-part webinar series will provide a brief introductory overview of HTA and CER respectively, the methods used in each form of policy analysis, some of the major organizations involved in HTA and CER, how HTA and CER differ, and the role of HTA and CER in the individual as well as the collective healthcare decision-making process.

No registration required.  For more information about the series and how to access the webinars, visit this link: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/nichsr/htawebinars/index.html

• Wednesday, September 14th: 10am – 11:30am Pacific
  

New Strategies for Engaging Consumers in Development and Use of Evidence

From Academy Health

As health care evolves to become more patient-centered, the role of patients and consumers in the evidence generation process is expanding.  This expansion has given rise to a growing set of questions for comparative effectiveness research (CER) projects around how, when, and to what extent to engage patients and consumers in figuring out what works best for whom, and under what conditions. The research community will increasingly be called upon to take into account new perspectives and priorities according to the needs and interest of patients and consumers, but how?

Registration for this session is free, but space is limited.  For more information and to register, visit this link: http://www.academyhealth.org/Training/ResourceDetail.cfm?ItemNumber=7377

All timely and relevant topics – pick one, or two, or all three!

*** “WE HAVE EXTENDED THE PROPOSAL DUE DATE TO SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 - NO LATER THAN 3:00PM EST. IN ADDITION, ELECTRONIC PROPOSALS WILL BE ACCEPTED BY SEPTEMBER 6, 2011 NO LATER THAN 3:00PM EST. ALL ELECTRONIC PROPOSALS MUST BE SENT TO buseyk@mail.nlm.nih.gov.

The National Library of Medicine (NLM) announces a new funding opportunity for small pilot projects to improve access to disaster medicine and public health information for health care professionals, first responders and others that play a role in health-related disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.  NLM is soliciting proposals from partnerships that include at least one library and at least one non-library organization that has disaster-related responsibilities, such as a hospital, volunteer organization, public health department, public safety department, fire/rescue, or other local, regional or state agency.  NLM encourages submission of innovative proposals that enhance mutually beneficial collaboration among libraries and disaster-related agencies.

For example, projects may increase awareness of health information resources, demonstrate how libraries and librarians can assist planners and responders with disaster-related information needs, show ways in which disaster workers can educate librarians about disaster management, and/or include collaboration among partners in developing information resources that support planning and response to public health emergencies.

Contract awards will be offered for a minimum of $15,000 to a maximum of $30,000 for each one-year project.  The deadline for proposals is August 31, 2011.  Proposals are limited to six pages plus supplemental materials such as resumes, letters of support, and a budget.  For more information and instructions about the “Disaster Health Information Outreach and Collaboration Project 2011: (NLM-011-130-KDB), please visit: http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/dimrc/2011disasteroutreachrfq.html.

The solicitation notice is on FedBizOpps.gov at: https:/www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=54495f6f78d46c7c5d6873a8f0825e88&tab=core&_cview=0.

reposted from Public Health Emergency:

The National Library of Medicine has released Chemical Hazards Emergency Medical Management (CHEMM) http://chemm.nlm.nih.gov/ .

Chemical emergencies are high risk events that require first responders to quickly make a series of complex decisions to minimize the risk of injury to their patients and themselves. The tools in CHEMM provide a comprehensive resource to help responders make safer decisions and provide them with the right information when it is needed most.

CHEMM enables first responders and other healthcare providers and planners to plan for, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of mass-casualty incidents involving accidental or terrorist chemical releases.

CHEMM enhances and builds on the successes of the suite of Emergency Medical Management tools that began with the Radiation Emergency Medical Management (REMM; http://www.remm.nlm.gov/) web-based resource, which provides information for health care providers about clinical diagnosis and treatment of radiation and other injuries anticipated following radiological and nuclear emergencies.

CHEMM is a web-based resource that is downloadable in advance so that it is available during an event if the Internet is not accessible. It provides evidence-based information and guidance on a wide variety of topics, including quick chemical identification, acute patient care guidelines, and initial event activities.

CHEMM and REMM are the result of collaborative efforts between the United States Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR) – Office of Preparedness and Emergency Operations (OPEO), the National Library of Medicine – Division of Specialized Information Services (NLM/SIS), as well as many medical, emergency response, toxicology, industrial hygiene, and other experts.

photo by erix! on flickr

Here at NN/LM PNR, our mission is to improve access to quality information for health professionals and health consumers in the Pacific Northwest. We need your help! If you work in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, or Washington and have a great idea for health information outreach or improving library services, we would love to provide the funds to set your project in motion. We’ve announced five new funding opportunities over the past few weeks, bringing our total number of available awards types to nine. To help you (and us!) keep it all straight, we are summarizing the possibilities for you here in one handy blog post. Here are our currently available awards listed in order of application deadline. Our funding page will be continuously updated with the latest information about available awards and descriptions of projects we’ve funded.

Outreach to Under-Connected Health Organizations
Amount:  up to $25,000,  2 awards available
Proposals due: Wednesday, August 10
PNR Contact: Cathy Burroughs, Associate Director

Technology Improvement Awards
Amount: up to $5000, 3 awards available
Proposals due: Friday, August 12
PNR Contact:  Cathy Burroughs, Associate Director

Community Preparedness Day Awards
Amount:  up to $5000, 2 awards available
Proposals due: Friday, August 12
PNR Contact: Gail Kouame, Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator

Express Outreach Awards
Amount: up to $15,000, 4 awards available
Proposals due: Friday, August 26
PNR Contacts: Gail Kouame, Consumer Health Outreach Coordinator or Alison Aldrich, Public Health Outreach Coordinator

Professional Development Awards
Amount: up to $1000, multiple awards available
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis
PNR Contact: Patricia Devine, Network Outreach Coordinator

Electronic Fund Transfer System Awards
Amount: up to $200, multiple awards available
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis
PNR Contact: Patricia Devine, Network Outreach Coordinator

Exhibit Awards
Amount: up to $500, multiple awards available
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis
PNR Contact: Patricia Devine, Network Outreach Coordinator

Training Awards
Amount: up to $500, multiple awards available
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis
PNR Contact: Patricia Devine, Network Outreach Coordinator

Assessment and Planning Awards
Amount: up to $2000, multiple awards available
Proposals are accepted on an ongoing basis
PNR Contact: Patricia Devine, Network Outreach Coordinator

Everett, WA:

Part 1: Friday, July 8, 2011 9:00 am – 4:00 pm
Part 2: Friday, August 19, 2011 9:00am – 4:00 pm

Location: Everett Public Library
2702 Hoyt Ave., Everett, WA  98201

This training is part of a coordinated regional approach to raising awareness about disaster planning for collecting institutions throughout the Western United States.  It is free to participants who will develop an institutional disaster plan for their collections as an outcome.  More than one person per institution is welcome to attend.  Pre-registration is required.

Workshop instructor:

Gary Menges, Preservation Administrator, University of Washington Libraries

Outcomes:

Protecting Cultural Collections workshops are presented in 2 parts to help participants produce the following outcomes for institutional disaster preparedness.  Attendees will:

• Complete a disaster plan by the end of Part 2
• Learn how to train staff to implement your plan effectively
• Set pre- and post-disaster action priorities for your collections
• Learn how to use practical decision-making skills during an emergency
• Experience salvage procedures for books, documents, and non-print media

The workshop’s two parts are scheduled several weeks apart.  Participants will prepare short assignments prior to the first session.  Between the sessions, they will undertake additional assignments, resulting in a completed disaster plan at the end of Part 2.  Upon completion, the institution will be invited to join the informal network of WESTPAS trained personnel to receive 24/7 emergency assistance within the region.

Who Should Attend?

Administrators and staff responsible for decision-making in all types of libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, city and county record offices.  By registering for the workshop, institutions commit to supporting their attendees(s) in completing a disaster plan that focuses on collections.  The institution is encouraged to send two attendees to be able to work together on the disaster preparedness activities.

Cost

There is no charge to the institution.  Funding has been provided by the National Endowment for Humanities.

Registration

Pre-registration is required.  Register online at: http://tiny.cc/ZePOL. Advance the calendar to July and click July 8th Everett.  If you find you need further registration assistance, please contact Kathy Krause:  krause@plsinfo.org.

Further information about the workshop will be sent in a separate email message once you’ve registered.  For questions related to the workshop, please contact Gary Menges: menges@u.washington.edu.