From Facebook to Twitter to text alerts, Americans are relying more on social media and mobile technology to learn about ongoing disasters, seek help and share information about their well-being after emergencies, according to a survey of more than 1,000 people by the American Red Cross.
The survey, released Aug. 24, found that the vast majority of Americans believe response organizations should monitor social media during disasters. “Social media is becoming an integral part of disaster response …” said Wendy Harman, director of social strategy for the American Red Cross, in a news release. “Through social media, we can listen to, inform and empower people prior to emergencies, providing them with useful information about evacuation routes, shelters and safety tips before disasters strike.”
Among the findings:
- After TV and radio, the Internet is the third most popular way for people to gather emergency information. About 18 percent of respondents said they have used Facebook for that purpose.
- About one-quarter (24 percent) said they’d use social media to let loved ones know they are safe.
- Four of five (80 percent) believe emergency response organizations should monitor social media sites regularly.
- For those who would post a request for help through social media, 35 percent said they would expect help to arrive in less than one hour.
- Women and households with children are more likely to use social media channels to inform others of their safety.
Read more about the survey here: redcross.org/portal/site/en/menuitem.94aae335470e233f6cf911df43181aa0/?vgnextoid=7a82d1efe68f1310VgnVCM10000089f0870aRCRD.
Speaking of Social Media …
Looking for help in harnessing the power of social media? The Department of Homeland Security recently launched an online resource, “The Make America Safer Through Social Media Community on First Responder Communities of Practice,” in which responders can discuss the effective use of social media and other web technologies for public safety during disasters, pose questions and suggest best practices.
That includes sharing experiences about operational procedures their agencies have developed regarding social media and collaborating on projects using the site’s discussion boards, blogs, bookmarks and shared calendars. Members are also compiling a reference library of social media policies, handbooks and standard operating procedures. Recent discussions have included how to develop strategies for monitoring social media during emergencies to improve situational awareness, as well as challenges associated with using social media for communicating with the public before, during and after emergencies.
The site also includes a Virtual Social Media Working Group, which is focusing on common responder issues regarding the use of social media tools, such as privacy, security, authenticity and training, and will engage various experts to work toward resolutions to these issues.
“We look forward to exploring what the future will bring by means of social media tools that will assist us in communicating and serving our friends and partners more effectively,” said Capt. Mark Basnight, spokesman for the Charlotte (N.C.) Fire Department Office of Public Affairs and chair of the Virtual Social Media Working Group, in a news release.
All members are screened before being able to join. To sign up, join the Make America Safer Through Social Media Community at communities.firstresponder.gov.
911 Texting Comes to North Carolina
Verizon Wireless customers in Durham, N.C., can now send text messages to 911 as part of a six-month trial to test the potential of this new technology, according to a city news release.
The Durham Emergency Communications Center will accept 911 text messages through Jan. 31, 2012, making it only the second 911 system in the nation to enable texts. The pilot program is a collaboration between the city, Verizon and Intrado, an emergency communications technology provider. (The first and only other 911 center using text technology is the communications center in Black Hawk County, Iowa.)
“The way people communicate is evolving, and 911 centers across the nation are evaluating how to adapt to the digital age we’re currently living in and offer multiple ways for people to reach out to 911 when they need help,” says James Soukup, director of the Durham Emergency Communications Center. “When asked to participate in this trial, we went into it as an opportunity to help folks who are hearing-impaired and potential victims who can’t afford for someone to hear them make a 911 voice call.”
Officials are urging residents to use the texting option only if calling 911 is not an option because texting has certain drawbacks over calling. For instance, communicating via text can take longer than voice since the dispatcher must read the text and then text back; texts are limited to 160 characters, which might mean that important details are left out; and dispatchers will not be able to access the cell phone location to assist with sending an ambulance or police.
Rural/Metro Uses Free Times Square Billboard in Hiring Effort
Last spring, Reema Makani Boccia, public information officer for Rural/Metro in San Diego, won a drawing at a PR industry event. The prize: a one-day ad placement on a massive electronic billboard in New York City’s Times Square.
Makani Boccia consulted with the marketing department at her corporate office, and they decided to use the billboard to promote Rural/Metro’s efforts to hire paramedics and EMTs to fill jobs throughout the country. The billboard, which ran at the end of July, read: “Make A Difference. Make Rural/Metro Your Career Choice. 20 States. 450 Cities” and included the company’s website. That same day, public information officers from other Rural/Metro organizations used Twitter and Facebook to remind people that the company was hiring and encourage qualified personnel to submit their applications online. “It was very cool,” Makani Boccia says. “I feel really fortunate to work with exceptional people. I tell people all the time all the wonderful things that EMS does.”
California Holds Its First Community Paramedicine Stakeholder Meeting
The International Roundtable on Community Paramedicine (IRCP) held its first stakeholder meeting in California on Aug. 26. Representatives from the California State EMS Authority, local EMS organizations, the San Francisco Paramedic Association, fire departments and insurers got together in San Francisco to discuss a strategy for making community paramedicine a bachelor’s degree program at the state’s universities.
The IRCP is currently putting the finishing touches on its curriculum, which will be offered free of charge to universities, says Niels Tangherlini, a paramedic captain with the San Francisco Fire Department who’s working with the IRCP. “The idea of community paramedicine is taking experienced paramedics and educating them to provide preventive care so that EMS can start changing from a strictly reactive service to one that is able to be proactive, and can start identifying high-risk patients in the community and connecting them to systems of care outside the traditional response pattern,” Tangherlini says.
Next steps are for stakeholders to hold local meetings to identify partners for the pilot program and colleges that want to implement the curriculum. To get involved or for more information, send an e-mail to niels.tangherlini@gmail.com.
Medics on Motorcycles
Austin-Travis County EMS (ATCEMS) has started posting paramedics on motorcycles along congested Interstate Highway 35 during rush hour. The idea is that more nimble BMW motorcycles, which can be driven on or off road, can get to the injured more quickly than an ambulance.
“Some of the most difficult patient access issues we face daily are on IH-35,” says James Shamard, ATCEMS chief of staff. “A collision in the downtown area can quickly create gridlock on IH-35, leaving motorists with nowhere to maneuver when a full-size ambulance tries to pass.”
Since many accidents along the route are fender benders in which no one is hurt, the motorcycle medics can also get to the scene quickly, determine that there are no injuries and avoid having to call an ambulance that’s not needed and only causes more gridlock as it tries to get by, ATCEMS officials add.
Medics will carry medical equipment to provide basic and advanced life support, emergency lighting, radios and an automatic vehicle locator to enable dispatch to see exactly where the incident is when sending an ambulance. Training includes completing a version of the National Motor Officer’s Course that’s used by the Austin Police Department.
CPR Flash Mobs: Who Knew?
The latest way of drawing the public’s attention to the need to know CPR is the flash mob, a group of people who gather suddenly in a public place, put on a brief performance (usually a dance) and then disperse. In a recent CPR flash mob at a mall in Rochester, N.Y., volunteers from the American Heart Association switched on the song “Stayin’ Alive,” pulled mannequins from shopping bags and dropped to their knees to demonstrate compressions. Surprised onlookers applauded. Check out a clip at youtube.com/watch?v=vwc0KXJTuqg.
