DISASTER HEALTH INFORMATION OUTREACH PROJECT City of El Paso Department of Public Health And the Pan American Health Organization/U.S.-Mexico Border Office Virtual Library

PRESENTER  Angela Mora City of El Paso Department of Public Health

OBJECTIVES  Present the Disaster Health Information Outreach Project goals  Introduce the activities and accomplishments of each quarter of the project  Present key collaborators  Show pictures of the workshops at which the key players of the project participated

PROJECT GOAL  To strengthen the local community’s 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 workshops  Network development between First Responders, Community Health Workers, Librarians, the NLM Disaster Medical Information Research Center (MNIRC) to better prepare and inform community during a disaster  Increase access to preparedness information resources through PAHO’s Virtual Library, the National Library of Medicine’s Disaster Information Management Research Center (DIMRC), and Texas-Rio Grande Region  Development of a local bilingual Emergency Preparedness Resources Directory

1 ST QUARTER ACTIVITIES  Recruitment of representatives from the target groups to serve as the project’s planning committee.  Development of workshop agendas and learning objectives by the planning committee of proposed workshops  Issuing of press release announcing new project  Regular meetings with PAHO staff to coordinate staff activities  First time meeting of local librarians, community health workers, and first responders to enhance community preparedness

1 ST QUARTER ACTIVITIES CONT’  Recruitment 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 PAHO’s Virtual Health Library.  Researching additional resources.  Coordinating with Texas Rio Grande Region for inclusion of MIMRC resources into the database.  Assisting with planning meetings and coordination of proposed workshops.

2 ND QUARTER ACTIVITIES  Skills-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 resources  Integration into the emergency preparedness network.  Hands-on training on accessing NLM- DIMRC on-line emergency resources, American Red Cross, 2-1-1, PAHO’s Virtual Library resources, and others.  Exercise based on a disaster scenario  Development of an English/Spanish Community Preparedness Resource Directory and addition of several NLM online resources to the database and PAHO Virtual Library.  Introducing community health workers to the wealth of preparedness resources offered by the NLM.

3 RD QUARTER ACTIVITIES  Librarians and community health workers discussed their roles and experiences in the community  Identified 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 community’s 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.

4 TH QUARTER  This quarter served to wrap-up project activities and prepare the final report for the project.  Workshops evaluation yielded positive results  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.

4 TH QUARTER CONT’  Librarians and community health workers are now a part of the emergency preparedness network, with increased access to information and resources. Emergency Preparedness Network Number of Participants Librarians24 Promotoras25 First Responders5 DSHS2 Other Agencies9 Emergency Preparedness Staff6 PAHO Staff 46 Total75

KEY COLLABORATORS  Texas - Rio Grande Region  El Paso Community College  Jenna Welch & Laura Bush Community Library  El Paso Office of Emergency Management  El Paso Police and Fire Departments  El Paso County Sheriff’s Office,  American Red Cross  Texas Department of Public Safety  Texas Emergency Assistance Registry (STEAR)  NLM Houston Regional Office  Between others

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PHOTO OF PARTICIPANTS