VDHHospital PIO Presentation

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VDH/Hospital PIOPresentation
Larry Hill Regional Public Information
Officer Virginia Department of Health December
2006
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Pandemic--Now or Later
1918 Spanish flu pandemic 500,000 U.S. deaths
and 50 million worldwide. Killed healthy
adults.
1957 Asian flu pandemic 70,000 US deaths.
Killed elderly.
1968 Hong Kong flu pandemic 34,000 US
deaths Elderly hardest hit.
1976 Swine flu scare 40 million US people
vaccinated amid warnings.
1977 Russian flu scare Flu virus spread
worldwide Infected children and young adults.
1997 Avian flu scare Outbreak hospitalized 18
people in Hong Kong. Infection before only in
birds.
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HistoryHospital PIO Forum

• March 2006 VDH/Sentara/EVMS/CHKD
• May 19, 2006 First Regional VDH/Hospital meeting
• July 20, 2006 2nd meeting
• October 26, 2006 Committee meeting
• November 9, 2006 3rd meeting
• December 6, 2006 Year end meeting

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ObjectivesHospital PIO Forum

• Collaboration
• Available data now and then
• Planned responses to media
• Consistent messages during pandemic
• Pace story
• Increased understanding of roles during pandemic
  (health dept., hospitals, etc.)

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Roles During Pandemic

• Health Department will be the resource for all
  information specific to pandemic (symptoms,
  preventions, precautions, counts of cases, death
  tolls, etc. )
• Hospitals will be the resource for impact of
  pandemic on their internal operations (staff
  issues, planning efforts taken, in-house
  situations).

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Where We Are

• Regular meetings with hospital and VDH PIOs
• Opened dialogue among hospital PIOs
• VDH meetings with The Virginian Pilot
• Working with Military partners
• Communications roster contacts for all hospitals
  and VDH pios
• Beginning formation of hospital consortium

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Hospital Consortium Overview

• What is it?
• Its purpose.
• Whos involved?

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Hospital PIO ForumWhere Were Going

• Continue educating media (focus on TV)
• Continue hospital PIO meetings
• VDH developing key messages (data, counts,
  surveillance information,etc.)
• VDH refining communication plan for media (key
  message delivery, timing of educational stories,
  planting seed of over commitment for the health
  care providers)
• Develop speakers bureau for routine stories
• Continue to update members roster

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• Wed like your input
• questions, ideas?