Communication
Communication / Accessible Information
Practice: Accessible communication regarding preparedness tips for several disaster types for Public Service Announcements (PSAs) and Podcast.
Location: Any local community
Brief Description: CDC has posted PSAs and Podcasts for use to provide
timely messages about personal preparedness during natural disasters and
public health emergencies. CDC Podcast subscriptions and Podcast help
provided.
Contact Information:
Website:
http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/psa/
Communication / Accessible Information
Practice: Accessible communication regarding hurricane preparedness materials.
Location: Cameron County, Texas
Brief Description: Disaster-related preparation information, e.g.,
Evacuation and Special Needs is provided in audio formats, text,
and pre-recorded American Sign Language interpretation for deaf, hard of
hearing, blind or visually impaired.
Contact Information:
Cameron County Emergency Management
Voice and TDD: (956) 547-7000
Website:
http://www.co.cameron.tx.us/emergency/deaflink.htm
Communication / Accessible Information
Practice: Mutually respectful relationships with vulnerable populations
and the organizations that serve them have resulted in a series of
emergency-preparation materials.
Location: King County, Washington
Brief Description: A variety of agency emergency preparation materials in
subjects related to go-to kits, childcare, etc. are available in English,
Cambodian, Chinese, Korean, Russian, Somali, Spanish, and Vietnamese.
Contact Information:
Public Health
401 5th Ave., Suite 1300
Seattle, WA 98104
Voice: (206) 296-4600; TTY Relay: 711
Toll-free: (800) 325-6165
Website:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness/VPAT/tools.aspx
Communication / Accessible Information
Practice: Accessible disaster preparedness communication.
Location: Any county; Northeast Texas Public Health District
Brief Description: 18 emergency preparedness topics (preparedness, first aid, chemical emergences, infectious diseases, earthquakes, food safety, animal hazards, landslides, nuclear events, shelters, terrorism, flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, storms, and other emergency concerns) and formatted for individuals who are deaf/hard of hearing or have visual impairments.
Contact Information:
Harold Higgins, Deputy Director Public health Preparedness
815 N. Broadway Ave.
P.O. Box 2039
Tyler, TX 75710
Voice and TDD: (903) 595-1350
Email:
harold.higgins@talho.org
Website:
http://www.accessibleemergencyinfo.com
Communication / Accessible Information / Disability Etiquette
Practice: Guidelines for better communication with people with disabilities with one-on-one, using print materials, in group setting and using website pages.
Location: Any local community
Brief Description: Communication strategies developed by the Iowa IANET Taskforce.
Contact Information:
Guide:
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/ianet_guide1.asp
Communication / Alerts / Warning
Practice: Notification of an emergency or weather alert by e-mail, cell
phone, or pager from local, regional, and national sources.
Location: Any county in United States
Brief Description: A national community service since 1999, this free
public service issues emergency notices regarding weather, disasters,
health, finance, and homeland security around the clock.
Contact Information:
Via website
Website:
http://www.emergencyemail.org/Default.asp
Emergency Preparedness and Emergency Communication Access Lessons
Learned Since 9/11 and Recommendations
http://www.nvrc.org/MediaLibrary
/DHHCANEmergencyReport.pdf
Prepared by the Northern Virginia Resource Center for Deaf and Hard of
Hearing Persons, this report points out that sirens, shouted warnings,
and other communication tactics used during an emergency often
don’t work for people who are hard of hearing or deaf and lists
recommendations to increase the number and variety of communication
options for this population.
The Impact of 2003 Wildfires on People with Disabilities prepared by
the State Independent Living Council of California
http://nobodyleftbehind2.org/resources/pdf/
impact_of_2003_ca_wildfires_4-30-04.pdf
This report lists recommendations for improving the accessibility of
emergency notifications and evacuation orders, and making
communications at shelters accessible to people with disabilities. The
document also contains general recommendations for improving services
to people with disabilities during a disaster, especially in the areas
of evacuation and sheltering.
Communication / Call Center
Douglas County Emergency Information Center
Practice: The Douglas County Emergency Information Center is a county-wide
call center administered by the local public library to receive
non-emergency calls during a disaster or emergency event and to provide
preparedness information.
Location: Douglas County, Kansas
Brief Description and Contact Information: See best of the best practice sites
Communication / Call Center
Practice: Adaptable model for community call centers to support
home-management and shelter-in-place approaches in mass casualty or public
health emergency event.
Location: Denver, Colorado
Brief Description: To ready for emergencies, Health Emergency Line for the
Public provides public information such as medication locations and
answers to frequently-asked questions for callers using touch-tone phones
during a public emergency.
Contact Information:
Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
540 Gaither Road
Rockville, MD 20850
Voice and TDD: (301) 427-1364
Website:
http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/callcenters/
Communication / Call Center
Practice: Toolkit titled, Hello, how my I help you? - Creating and operating a Public Information Call Center to assist public health departments to handle a surge in phone calls during an emergency.
Location: Any county; King County, Washington
Brief Description: A planning guide, this step-by-step toolkit includes
examples of useful forms. Sample worksheets include Incident Command
System staffing structure, job card, external surge support provider list,
call data comparison chart, site profile chart, room phone line list,
operator log, individual call sheets, referral guide, and post-event
evaluation.
Contact Information:
Seattle - King County Advanced Practice Center
401 5th Ave., Suite 1300
Seattle, WA 98104
Voice and TDD: (206) 296-4600
Website:
http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/health/preparedness/apc.aspx
Managing Calls and Call Centers during a Large-Scale Influenza
Outbreak
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/callcenters.htm
Because community 9-1-1 and healthcare systems may be overwhelmed
during a large-scale influenza outbreak experience, this Centers for
Disease Control-sponsored guide describes an adaptable process
involving collaboration and shared objectives to best use current
resources during times of emergency.
Communication / Disability Etiquette
Practice: Guidelines for better communication with people with disabilities one-on-one, using print materials, in group setting and using website pages.
Location: Any local community
Brief Description: Communication strategies developed by the Iowa IANET Taskforce.
Contact Information:
Website:
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/bh/ianet_guide1.asp
