Public Health Preparedness in the Media

1. Public Health Preparedness in the Media Belen Moran State Health Risk Communicator Ethnic Media Family Weekend Athens, Georgia February 23, 2008

2. Importance of ethnic/minority media: Help navigate and understand U.S. culture and regulations. Assist generations to communicate better. Keep culture alive. Profile success stories.

3. Why cover health: Everybody gets sick. Brings ad revenue. Help your community be safe. Help your community prepare for disasters.

5. Prevention: Life or Death Minorities are less exposed to disaster warnings and evacuation information. Minorities are more likely to encounter cultural and language barriers during a disaster. Minorities experience higher mortality and injury. Minorities often work in recuperation efforts where they can face health risks.

6. PH can help you cover preparedness stories: Provide subject matter experts. Provide radio and TV Public Service Announcements. Provide information that can be put in sidebars, graphics.

8. Preparedness mantra All response is local. YOYO (You are On Your Own)

9. Goals of GA’s Disaster Plan Every resident knows how to protect him/herself. Every resident knows what to do if a family member gets ill. Systems in place to assure access to care for large numbers of patients. Essential services continue. Economic disruption is limited.

10. Keep your community safe Information helps deal with disasters better. Know what type of disasters are more likely to occur in your area, home. People that take preparedness actions deal with disasters much more effectively when they do occur.

11. Recommendations Powerful communities know how to prepare and plan for an emergency. Develop partnerships and outreach efforts: with cities, churches, Red Cross, etc. Keep them informed (flu season, West Nile Virus, possible Pandemic Influenza)

12. Resources: 1)Emergency Preparedness for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities National Emergency Management Summit New Orleans, LA, March 5, 2007 Drexel University Center for Health Quality 2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov 3) www.ready.ga.gov www.ready.gov 4) U.S. Department of Health & Human Services The Office of Minority Health http://www.omhrc.gov/

13. Belen Moran State Health Risk Communicator E-mail: bgmoran@dhr.state.ga.us Office Phone: (404) 657-3288 Questions/Comments

14. Resources for covering public health stories HandoutBelen Moran, Georgia Department of Human ResourcesEthnic Media Family WeekendFebruary 23-24, 2008 • PREPAREDNESS WEB SITES www.ready.ga.gov www.ready.gov • HEALTH The Office of Minority Health, US DEPT. OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES http://www.omhrc.gov/ Georgia Division of Public Healthhttp://health.state.ga.us/ National Public Health Information Coalitionwww.nphic.org

15. Georgia Hospitals

16. Maria-Belen MoranState Health Risk CommunicatorGeorgia Division of Public Healthbelenmoran@gmail.com • Maria-Belen Moran is the State Health Risk Communicator for the Georgia Division of Public Health (GDPH). She is in charge of developing communication plans and messages on preparedness, prevention and mitigation of man-made or natural public health emergencies. She also serves as the State Coordinator for 18 Public Health Risk Communicators/Public Information Officers in Georgia. In addition she is an active participant in many interdisciplinary teams that work on Bioterrorism and Pandemic Influenza detection and preparedness. As of October 2007 she is part of the Drought Joint Information Center established by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) after Georgia's Governor declared a State of Emergency due to the water crisis in several counties. Before joining GDPH Moran was a news and assignment editor, writer and producer for different media organizations such as Atlanta based Mundo Hispanico (a Cox Newspaper), Associated Press, Reuters, CNN en Español , Andina de Radiodifusion Canal 9, and El Comercio newspaper. Moran was born in Lima, Peru but grew up in South America, the United States and Europe. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.

17. Maria-Belen Moran is the State Health Risk Communicator for the Georgia Division of Public Health (GDPH). She is in charge of developing communication plans and messages on preparedness, prevention and mitigation of man-made or natural public health emergencies. She also serves as the State Coordinator for 18 Public Health Risk Communicators/Public Information Officers in Georgia. In addition she is an active participant in many interdisciplinary teams that work on Bioterrorism and Pandemic Influenza detection and preparedness. As of October 2007 she is part of the Drought Joint Information Center established by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) after Georgia's Governor declared a State of Emergency due to the water crisis in several counties. Before joining GDPH Moran was a news and assignment editor, writer and producer for different media organizations such as Atlanta based Mundo Hispanico (a Cox Newspaper), Associated Press, Reuters, CNN en Español , Andina de Radiodifusion Canal 9, and El Comercio newspaper. Moran was born in Lima, Peru but grew up in South America, the United States and Europe. She is fluent in English, Spanish and French.