While the impact and severity of the current swine influenza national public health emergency is difficult to predict it has been interesting to observe and receive information about what is known about swine flu. On Friday, April 24 it was apparent from news reports, blog posts, and twitter updates that there was a growing number of swine flu cases. The concern of CDC officials was also evident.

As paramedic I began to look for information targeted to EMTs and Paramedics. Most early information was written for hospitals and public health officials. Tips were given for lab testing, use of negative pressure rooms, and anti-viral treatment. All things beyond the scope of EMS providers. Specific information targeted to EMS providers was not available.

So far my state, Wisconsin, has not had any reported cases of swine flu. Information from the Wisconsin EMS Officewas issued on Monday morning by email blast. Additional information was sent by email throughout the day. Information was also posted on the State EMS office website.

On Monday I also received information from the two professional organizations – NAEMT and NAEMSE. Most of the early information was copies from CDC releases from Friday, Saturday, or Sunday. A few items specific to EMS began to emerge. On Sunday the Canadian EMS Chiefs Association had a conference call and released flu best practice recommendations. Today, Tuesday, I was alerted to flu guidelines and resourcesfrom the National EMS Management Association.

Had this been a real emergency (it may still develop into a significant public health emergency) I am concerned Regional, State, and National government and non-government EMS organizations are not prepared to rapidly communicate best practices and just-in-time knowledge for significant events. Organizations should have answers for these questions:

1. How does your organization define a significant event that warrants immediate member communication?
2. What is the expectation of your members for leadership and guidance during a significant event?
3. Who is responsible for gathering emerging details, analyzing those details, and then communicating information in a way that is helpful and applicable to EMTs and Paramedics?
4. How will you communicate that information to your audiences?

Email broadcasts and websites are currently being used. Organizations should also have regular relationships with their constituencies established through blogs with an active RSS feed, social network sites, and Twitter. Some news reports have questioned the use of Twitter during the development of the Swine Influenza (H1N1). For me the CDC Twitter account was the most rapid and useful news outlet. With short headlines and links to more details I found the information I needed to put the developing situation into context for EMS providers.

Related posts:

1. National Public Health Week: April 6-12
2. FREE Online Pandemic Influenza Training
3. FREE Online Pandemic Influenza Training Student Comments

Tags: CDC, Communication, Influenza, NAEMSE, NAEMT, Pandemic, Twitter, Wisconsin

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 28th, 2009 at 8:27 pm and is filed under News & Events, Tools, Reviews, & Other Neat Stuff. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.