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| The Communicator | |||
| June 1, 2007 | |||
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HHS Rolls Out Pandemic Flu Blog
This week marks the launch of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog, a five-week blog summit on pandemic preparedness. The blog is being held in collaboration with the HHS Pandemic Influenza Leadership Forum in D.C. on June 13, and has the same objective as the Leadership Forum: HHS will be drawing on the blog to inform the agenda for the Leadership Forum. Additionally, participating in the blog is an excellent way to become familiar with current issues related to pandemic preparedness.
What: The Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog is a five-week-long blog summit about pandemic preparedness. Participant bloggers include some of the nation’s most influential business, healthcare, faith-based and community leaders. This online event is part of an ongoing campaign to help Americans prepare for a potential pandemic and engage U.S. leaders in the importance of preparing and helping others prepare. Join the conversation at http://blog.pandemicflu.gov. Who: Approximately 16 influential leaders within the health, community, business and faith-based sectors—as well as leading authorities on pandemic flu—will blog throughout the five-week summit. Participant bloggers include Pierre Omidyar (eBay and Omidyar Network), Greg Dworkin (Flu Wiki) and David Eisner (Corporation for National and Community Service). The Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog is open to the public and media, and comments will be welcomed and encouraged by all who visit the blog. Why: It is not possible to predict with certainty when the next flu pandemic will occur or how severe it will be, but the time to plan is now. The threat of an influenza pandemic is real, and preparing now can save lives later.
How: The pandemic-focused blog summit gives national leaders an opportunity to join a critical and ongoing conversation about the potential impact of a pandemic on individuals, families, communities and workplaces. Over the course of the five-week summit, participating bloggers will be asked specific questions related to the threat of a pandemic in the U.S. Participants will discuss the challenges they face, and collaborate on ideas for what can be done to help their employees, constituents, customers, congregations and clients prepare. Ideas and dialogue generated during the blog summit will contribute to HHS’ upcoming Pandemic Influenza Leadership Forum, an event which will bring together approximately 80 U.S. leaders at a meeting in Washington, D.C. The blog summit was chosen as an innovative and efficient forum for bringing leaders together for an extended discussion regarding the pandemic preparedness movement. HHS is one of the first government agencies to utilize the participatory nature of the Internet to create a dialogue around a specific issue or campaign. This effort to engage individuals in an online conversation is the one of many steps HHS will be taking to carry out its preparedness efforts.
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| © 2008 IlluminAge Communication Partners | ||
Electronic newsletter design and publication by IlluminAge Communication Partners |
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to help Americans become more prepared for pandemic influenza. The National Council on Aging will be participating in the blog’s discussion both before and after the Leadership Forum. 