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ReadyMoms Are Taking The Message National!

by: SusanC

Tue Oct 23, 2007 at 18:53:55 PM EDT


( - promoted by DemFromCT)

ReadyMoms.org - Family Preparedness Solutions

A grassroots initiative to promote pandemic and all hazards preparedness, at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting & Exposition in Washington, D.C. November 3-7, 2007.


HANDOUT


Part 2 of this diary is here.  The text and charts from the posters can be found here
SusanC :: ReadyMoms Are Taking The Message National!
First of all, a disclaimer: When used in the context of ReadyMoms.org, the word 'mom' or 'moms' includes all moms dads grandparents stepparents and anyone else who fulfills the parenting role in any way shape or form.  ;-D


The work of "Readymom" in promoting community preparedness for pandemics and all hazards has been a source of inspiration for many.  For those of you not familiar with the amazing things she has been doing, here's the story of how it all got started.  Then their next big triumph, at the 4th of July fair, sharing a tent with the Red Cross.  Read about this amazing day here, and how others got inspired and empowered to run events on their own, very successfully I must add!


Now a group of us are taking the opportunity of the American Public Health Association's 135th Annual Meeting and Exposition in Washington, D.C. November 3-7, 2007 to take this to the national level.  We will be presenting information on individual and family preparednes, including a display of preps similar to these. 


The organizers are estimating attendance at 13,000.  This virtual expo gives an idea of the size of the event.  We are at booth #362, at the upper left.  Notice who are the people across from us!  HHS, National Nurse Emergency Preparedness Initiative, NYC Dept of Health!


Right now we have a small core group who are working like mad, and we would appreciate any assistance that any of you feel like offering.  We need people to man the booth, to answer questions, to give out publicity fliers so that people KNOW where to find us, and generally to be runners for all and any logistical necessities and contingencies.  If you live in the area - or if you don't live in the area but feel like finding your way there! LOL - please consider giving us a hand.  We are especially in need of help on the weekdays, but any offers of help is greatly appreciated! 


In addition, we appreciate the diversity of talent and knowledge (and even opinion!) that collectively we bring to the evolution of flublogia.  This diversity is our strength, and it has produced some of the greatest work created by the 'hive mind' on this and other forums.  In the context of working on a team project, it will be important for us to use that diversity to our best advantage, while retaining sufficient focus on the  task at hand. 


These and other logistical details are probably best discussed offline.  ACM has offered to coordinate volunteers so please email her at averageconcernedmom at hotmail dot com if you can help or would like more information.


AS I said, we are running like mad and more than a little stressed, sometimes, ;-D but mostly it is very exciting.  I, and the others I'm sure, will keep everyone posted on what happens as and when we find the time!
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ReadyMoms Are Taking The Message National! | 142 comments
and here's the link
to our 'official' website http://www.readymoms...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
I'm looking forward to it...
And I want to thank SusanC and Readymom for putting this together on such short notice! I haven't had this much email since...er, uhm...well, suffice it to say, I've never had this much email!!!! ;-)
[ Parent ]
wonderful collaborative effort!!
the reaction on the ground will be most illuminating.
thank you
the reaction on the ground will be most illuminating.

In more ways than one, probably..  lol

We'll keep everybody posted, as much as we can.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
This is absolutely
wonderful! Kudos to all of you. I am so impressed!

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
[ Parent ]
Walking the talk or "how fast can innovation spread?"
Just one quote from earlier days (Aug 1st, 2007!), when Reese wrote about ReadyMom's encouragement: I was so nervous and so way out of my comfort zone. But as she keeps telling me, "you know this stuff and can do this." I think I'm comfortable now after today!

And somewhere else, the importance of setting up just the very first follow-up meeting, so that people will later go on on their own.

Simple details of what works, shared.  How fast can innovation spread?

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

thanks....
Now the BIG hurdle.

What we really, really. really need is HELP. We figure that we need about 4-5 volunteers a day. Susan and I are the only two FULL timers on this. And even Susan can't be there full time (manning the booth) 'cause she has some conference events she wants to attend. That leaves me and the folks who can come and go part time --- facing 13,000 conference attendees.

If you are willing to give this a go, PLEASE help us! So far we have (I belive, last time I checked) possibly 4 volunteer/assistants). -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

I bet you're posting this on other boards too, right?
Facts:
- Nov 3-7
- That's 5 days (Saturday til Wednesday)
- Starting 10 days from now

Think positive:
- It won't be local to most people, so your neighbors won't know of your preps.
- If many many people are ready to volunteer, then most of the time you'll be partying with other volunteers.
- Dads and grannies can go too, and maybe it could become a family trip somehow?

ACM has offered to coordinate volunteers so please email her at averageconcernedmom at hotmail dot com if you can help or would like more information.

In other words: I wish I could go!

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
thank you everyone for your response
Just want to say that I HAVE NO INTERNET ACCESS TODAY!!

The WORST  thing that can possibly happen.  Right now, I'm doing this from my neighbour's house.  It's probably a DSL splitter problem which I will fix asap.  Hope it is nothing worse than that, fingers crossed.

One thing, for those of you who may want to come and help out but having challenges with accommodation, there is the possibility of very basic option available to a few people.  I will leave details for offline discussion.  Please get in touch with ACM to discuss this!

Again much thanks.  And please send us your prayers, especially right now for my internet connection to get FIXED!!!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

susan, it's a real *#& (aka annoying) that you don't have internet, because You have mail! :-)


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
To all of you guys who are working on this . . .
thank you for all the hard work, the time, the investment, and thank you for your passion.

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
Hard work? ....
What hard work .... this is a piece of cake ...... more wine, please! LOL! -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -
If I haven't made it plain before
let me say it in bold.  THANK YOU!

If you ever get anything going here in the Tampa Bay area, I'll try and swing some help.  Right now I'm home tied due to business and kids and finances.

If it is OK with you all, I'm going to try and share your website with some people I know.

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has. -- Margaret Mead

great idea, KathyinFL: booth internship!
See, this is the idea: you phone friends near the booth's area, and they go to help.  First day they listen, learn, and lend a hand. Second day they are ready to talk to people with an elder close by.  Third day they are ready to have their own conversations.

;-)

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
Actual exposition hall hours
Readymom probably knows this, but the actual hours that the APHA exposition hall is open (where the booth will be) is

No hours on Saturday
Sunday 2PM to 5:30 PM
Monday 9:30AM to 5:30 PM
Tuesday 9:30AM to 5:30 PM
Wednesday 8:00 AM to 12:30 PM

There will also be dozens of presentations or posters that involve pandemic flu in the scientific sessions, too--many more than last year.  (I'm doubt that being an exhibitor will get you into these, but security checks ID's more carefully for the exhibit hall than for the scientific sessions usually). Unfortunately registration is pretty expensive (over $600 for non-member, on-site, full meeting registration, though daily registration is an option.)

Laurie Garrett is an opening session keynote speaker, just before the opening of the Expo hall.

  You can search the schedule on the APHA website at http://apha.confex.c...

(I got 122 hits for the word "pandemic"--some of which are for HIV or obesity pandemics)--70 hits for "pandemic and influenza" and 47 hits for "pandemic and flu")

You can also pull up an abstract of each presentation, poster, or session.  What you won't get is the room number and time, unless you're registered.  But you can check the program of someone who's registered when you get there.

I'll try to help out at the booth when I can but am usually over-committed at this meeting.

Thanks for everyone's efforts!

 

PS - consider PRESENTING at next year's APHA meeting
Deadlines for abstracts for consideration are due in February for the 2008 meeting:

2008 October 25-29,
San Diego, CA (136th Meeting)
Theme: Public Health Without Borders

[ Parent ]
thanks for that too
We are taking this one step at a time.  Baby steps at that too!  But thanks anyway for the thought.  ;-)



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
thank you
I'll try to help out at the booth when I can but am usually over-committed at this meeting.

We can at least meet up and talk!  It will be great!




All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
the search engine takes us to very interesting abstracts! thanks!
just tried "pandemic" and looked at a few abstracts, and it looks very interesting

http://apha.confex.c...

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
APHA's pandemic flu song contest
In August, APHA sponsored a pandemic flu song contest (http://www.getreadyf...) to use on their www.getreadyforflu.org website.  Unfortunately, not only did you have to write a song, but also perform it, record it (digitally) and post it on a website by Sept. 4th to be considered.  I wrote the words to a Pandemic Flu song, but was unable to get it performed--I can't sing--recorded, and posted by the deadline, so my song will not be considered.  It's possible that the Capitol Steps, a musical group doing parody songs (mostly political) may perform the winning entry at the meeting in November. 

However, rather than letting the song go to waste (and we'll probably use it in our local readiness campaign), I thought I'd post it here for the Flu Wiki folks.  (If you're not from the U.S., you may not know the tune, but it's an old Civil War song)

The Battle Hymn of the Pandemic

(Sung to "The Battle Hymm of the Republic" aka "Glory, Hallalujah")

  There are hurricanes and terrorists, there's hail, and sleet and rain,
  There are long-term power outages, and bombs inflicting pain,
  There are earthquakes and tornadoes, wildfires, flooding on the plain,
  But what scares us most is FLU!

Chorus:
Let's prepare for a pandemic,
Deadly flu that's epidemic
Lack of readiness's systemic.
What scares us most is FLU!

  A pandemic can occur in waves that last two months or more,
  To prepare you'd want to have the things you'll need all safely stored.
  Some say two week's worth's adequate, but we know we'd want MORE
  To get us though the FLU.

  Drinking water, medications, and non-perishable food
  Are certainly panflu supplies that you'd want to include.
  Add toiletries, and radios, and fuel or firewood
  To get prepared for FLU.

Chorus:
  Friends, we must prepare for PAN FLU
  If we ever hope to get through
  Though we wish the threat were NOT true
  We must prepare for FLU

  By sending students home from school we'll blunt the outbreak's peak,
  We'll practice social distancing, by phone we'll mostly speak
  We'll work with friends and neighbors and the strong will help the weak
  And care for those with flu.

  And six to seven months from then we hope we'll have vaccine
  We'll do our best to cope with what will happen in between
  We know we'll do our best when we all work as we're a team
  To fight against the FLU

Chorus:
  Let's prepare for a pandemic,
  Deadly flu that's epidemic
  Let's make readiness systemic
  So we're prepared for FLU.

That's wonderful! You packed in so many facts, and it rhymes too!
It should be in a PSA, with slides or cartoons as illustrations. 

There could be a contest, with teams competing to perform it the most  dramatically or artistically or melodiously or ...?  Middle school or high school kids could do it, or scouts or Red Cross volunteers.  Maybe at a health expo.  Christmas carollers in a mall?  :-D  Wow, I'm staggered!

"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it."  Flannery O'Connor

[ Parent ]
how to upload video to youtube
Warning: I have NOT tried any of these!

main help seems to be this: http://www.google.co...

general knowledge about youtube: http://en.wikipedia....

step by step guide: http://www.dvdvideos...
is the same as http://www.allformp3...

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
that's QUITE catchy!
Good job CO Health Director!

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.
[ Parent ]
very cool!!
it sticks with you!
[ Parent ]
the tune
http://en.wikipedia....

http://youtube.com/r...

and could we have it as a hip-hop thing, too?

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
Other links
Some of the You Tube links are for a different gospel song named "Glory glory hallelujah" but it's different than the Battle Hymn of the Republic.

For the simplest version (karoake) see
http://youtube.com/w...

For the Jibjab parody, which only has the verses but not the chorus, see "that's what we call the news." http://www.jibjab.co...

(Which will also help explain why we don't learn much about pandemic flu on the news)

[ Parent ]
CO health director, oops and thank you!


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
just to say we're with you, moms! :-)
or, in old yeller's terms ... BUMP! :-)

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
48 Hours and counting .....
Thank you! I was just coming on to post an update. We're in 'count-down' mode. (where's a sick to the stomach smiley face??)

Last min. jitters are setting in for me. I know SusanC is already checked into the hotel. I have to finish packing, get my van packed with the display and have a prior obligation to take my teenage DD to a country concert, tonight.

There has been SO MUCH to do! Posters to design, measurements to take, so we can fit everything into a 10'x10' exhibit booth, logistics of how to transport the display from the van to the booth due to union rules about what you are allowed to personally carry in (no more than 8 pieces on a cart that weigh no more than 250 lbs!), fliers to design, print and pack up, business cards to design & print, sign up sheets to design and print, handout samples to print and arrange in binders,arrangement of the display in that 10'x10' area, where are folks staying when they get down there?, How will they get to the conference center?, Where will they park? How much $$ does it cost to park? .... and the list goes on and on and on!

I have two chalk lines drawn in my garage. One represents the cart we have to use (according to union rules at the conference center). This one I used to make sure we can pack up the display and fit it onto the regulated 3'x4' cart.

The second set of chalk lines represents the 10'x10' area. This is where I set up the display, to make sure that we fit! We can't have anything on the outer 'walls' of the booth higher than 4' (so we don't obscure the view of the exhibit hall). (did I say there were LOTS of rules??)

Anyway ... we're almost there. Please keep us in mind over the next week. If you pray, please do so. If you don't just wish us well! All good thoughts are much welcomed, at this nervous point!  Hopefully, we'll make some 'new friends' and help promote the Awareness & Preparation message that is so desperately needed!  -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

ReadyMom
I will be praying for you :)  You will do an excellent job!  You should be so proud of yourself....small town mom makes it big :)  Good luck

Kate

[ Parent ]
Docs
I can't do much from three states away, but if you need help formatting content for fliers or biz cards ASAP, say so :-).

Thank you for all you do!  You are making a difference.

[ Parent ]
another update
First of all, a big THANK YOU to everyone for your well wishes!  It feels great to be doing this, knowing so many of you care about all this! 

Second, apologies for basically disappearing off the radar for the past week.  As readymom said, we are all just maxed out.  I got an average of between 0 about 5 hours sleep every night for the past week, and literally everything (from my end) had to be triaged according to whether it was earth-shattering or life-threateningly important.  Anything that did not fulfill those criteria had no place on my To-Do list, until last night when I got here!

Fortunately, barring the logistics of setting-up, which is a totally different can of worms than ANY of us realized, I think we probably covered as much as we can possibly cover, touch wood.  I'm sure if we all knew how complicated this would be, we would probably not have done it, not with so little time and so few of us anyway!  So that may have been a blessing in disguise, that we were so CLUELESS!  LOL

The rush for me was doing the posters.  Well, not so much doing them as aligning my/our thoughts, ideas, intentions while at the same time adapting them to the audience (which, seeing as NONE of us have been to APHA meetings before, is pretty much by guesswork!)

After various ideas for booth layout etc got bounced back and forth for a few days, we finally got the number and size of posters sorted out.

Since I was printing them out myself on my home printer (using photoprinting software on photo-paper - I must I am very pleased with the result) I had to make sure they were all done before I left for the airport.  There were a few tough and some interesting issues and choices to make (tough mostly because much of what we know are only based on guesswork), such that I was printing them out right up to the last minute!

A friend of mine who is a professional asked me how I was 'mocking up' the posters, and I said, I'm 'mocking' them up on my bedroom wall!  LOL  I used masking tape to mark out the spaces.  It was actually a pretty good strategy, as the visuals helped me keep things more coherent, than I would have been able to do looking at the computer screen.

Anyway, I will be posting them on Sunday.

Gotta go, doing FINAL logistics for tomorrow.

Wish us luck!  ;-D



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

Wow...GOOD LUCK! & thanks. n/t

[ Parent ]
don't keep your fingers crossed - we'll do that for you! :-)


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
WOW! What a rush!!
SusanC, Readymom and I got things set up today, and WOW! We had about a half dozen people at the booth BEFORE the expo even opens tomorrow...these were other exhibitors who were keenly interested in the disply that Readymom has put together, and in as much information as we could give them in between setting things up and trying to coordinate what we are going to be doing the next couple of days!
It's just after 8pm here, and I just got to my hotel room about an hour ago, and I am beat!

I have a feeling we're gonna be REALLY busy for the next 4 days! This is gonna be fun. I think.

Very cool-very exciting! Go get 'em! n/t

[ Parent ]
I am so excited
for you. Please give us a blow by blow report.

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
[ Parent ]
here's MY first blow-by-blow report
which is not a very good one. 

I CANNOT BELIEVE that they used forklifts running on PETROL (yes, or gasoline) INSIDE the exhibit hall!

Me being of the the ultra-sensitive constitution, and having already gotten a couple of good (not!) doses of serious exposures in the past 2 days, was just flat out overcome by it!

I am SO glad that Readymom and BB were there and they just covered everything while I sat on the floor and 'tried' to coordinate activities from that less-likely-to-faint angle.  Anyhow, soon as it became clear that things that were supposed to turn up WILL turn up, I high-tailed it out of there, so find the horizontal position (bed) and fresh air (open window) that I needed back at my hotel.

I'm better now, and I reckon it really was only cos of the forklifts and not anything else.  Which means that from tomorrow onwards, touch wood again, chances are the excitement and adrenalin will be enough for my system to overcome whatever sluggishness there might be left.

Again much thanks to RM and BB, don't know what I would have done without them.  (Probably not undertaken this event??  LOL)



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
Thanks Susan
I 'm glad you are feeling better. Diesel fumes do the same thing to me. Make me sick as can be. Keep us informed!

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
[ Parent ]
Update from ReadyMom-
Safely in DC, and tired as all get go!  Yes, Made it in good time and found SusanC and BroncoBill waiting at the expo hall for me, shortly after noon.

When I got there, we got an education in union rules and teamsters for unloading my van at the loading dock of the DC Convention Center. As I mentioned to BB, 'no wonder Jimmy Hoffa is missing'. LOL!  (Only, at the time it wasn't quite funny. Bill went with one of the loading personnell to 'check in'. That left me tending the van full of display bins. About 20+ min. later he comes back and we continue to stand there. Come to find out that during our 'checking in' -- it became lunch time and we'd have to wait about 1 1/2 hrs. for the workers to return to uloading vehicles! Thining this is QUITE UNFAIR since we were there in plenty of time, we pulled over a very kind worker who said they would find someone to help us. Get everything unloaded (which was then put on a scale to make sure we weren't over our max. 250 lbs, no less!! -- we were UNDER!!!) We proceeded to make way to the booth.

This is where I found SusanC not feeling well, at all, due to the toxins in the air from the mini-fork lifts that were buzzing throughout the exhibi hall, from the union regulated loading dock to the booths.  She stayed long enough to go over a few details. One of which included the fact that we only had 2 tables delivered. There was also supposed to be: a third table,a 10'x10' rug, 2 chairs and a wastebasket. Apparently they lost that order and since they had no record of getting it from us, they weren't about to deliver one now!!! Thankfully, I had brought along with me the copies of the fax orders, so proof in hand, Bill & I went back to the service desk, showed our proof and got our missing items delivered. (Whew)

I took SusanC back to her hotel to recouperate,continued on to check in with my host family where I was staying,parked my van in the spot it's going to stay for the next 5 days (parking is next to nil in DC, during this conference) and experienced the DC Metro on my own (I'm usually w/ hubby & kids when I'm on that) and made my way back to the convention center.

BIll and I set up the booth. As he said, folks were already very curious about our display. Workers, passing by were stopping, looking, reading our display signs, and making comments like "I could have used that when my power went out' or 'look at that alternate sanitation (toilet seat on a bucket!),'look at ....'. We had only been 1/2 way set up when that happened. We had just completed set up, when some fellow exhibitors stopped by and loved our display. THey asked if we were Mommons! Apparently it was the Emergency Food Pantry poster that prompted the question :). We explained what we were all about and they asked for our fliers! Expo doesn't start till 2pm tomorrow, and we were already handing out fliers!!

Real test will be when the expo starts tomorrow. We'll see what kind of response we get then! If today is an indicator it could be good. But then again, we're talking about dealing with the PH folks, so, time will tell!

Bill and & already decided that we may be doing some shopping. The Hespirin publishing company is there and they have the actual 'When THere is no Doctor' and 'When There is no Dentist' publications available for sale. Dr: $22, Dentist: $14.  Funny seeing the actual books, when I've only been seeing on line versions and quotes! Wonder what else we'll find there ....?

Met BB for the first time, this afternoon. Really nice guy. Got along great right off the bat. I've already met SusanC and ACM & LibbyAlex a few weeks ago. I already posted how great we all got along. LibbyALex is hosting me for the next few days, and we've been talking non-stop! All new friends!

So, end of first day. Real test is tomorrow. Keynote speakers: Laurie Garrett-Senior Fellow for Global Health at the Council on Foreign Relations Laurie Garrett is the best-selling author of The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance  and Julie Louise Gerberding, MD, MPH; Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(See: http://www.apha.org/... )

A couple of us are going to try to go! Well, all I can say to start of is 'what an experience I think we're all in for!

Stay tuned ..... -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

Readymom
it sounds like you all are going to be a great hit! Hopefully everything will be smooth sailing from now on.

Life is not so short but that there is always time enough for courtesy. Ralph Waldo Emerson
[ Parent ]
great work!
What a great job you're doing, Readymom!  Thanks to SusanC and BB and LibbyAlex, also.  You are out there doing the real field work!

nothing left to do but :) :) :)
[ Parent ]
copies of fax orders (now, that's a prepper) + "mommons" (a nice new rush word to describe prepper moms)
thanks for the updates, BB, SC, RM - it's not just the 3 of you, is it?

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
ah, it's libbyalex too - so that's 4 people in all?


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
More than 4...maybe
There may be more...it all depends on their schedules. We're doing sort of a 'round-robin', since we can't all be here for the entire conference and expo :-(
[ Parent ]
2 and almost all of a third (ACM)
and most of another (BB), and a bit of libbyalex and a couple of others.

Is that one way of characterizing it?  LOL At least just for being there for the full 4 days, of course, not counting other contributions!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
almost all of me LOL
I'm going to come as much as my pieced-together child care arrangements will allow... always remembering it is November and kids get sick in November. 

When I am there, I promise all parts of me will be there.

Looking forward to seeing you all soon!


GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

[ Parent ]
you should emphasize that
Expo doesn't start till 2pm tomorrow, and we were already handing out fliers!!

when you have the PH people.

[ Parent ]
Actually, it starts TODAY (Sunday) at 2pm
From noon 'til 2, the Opening General Session of APHA will include Dr. Julie Gerberding, Dir. of CDC, and Laurie Garrett, Council on Foreign Relations, as the Keynote Speakers.

Just a quick note: people walking past the booth absolutely LOVE the 5-gallon bucket/portable toilet idea that Readymom brought in!!

[ Parent ]
re toilet - i've been asked if it's the humanure one :-)
http://www.jenkinspu...

(ok this should be an aside comment)

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
Very similar
This is the 5-gallon bucket with the seat sitting on top of it. I suppose it could be used as a humanure type of loo...
[ Parent ]
Y'all are awesome!
I'm so proud of y'all, and thankful as well!  I hope you have a great time.  I've seen Laurie Garrett in interviews and she is always compelling; I bet she will be quite interesting.  Hoping all goes smoothly from this point on and wishing so much that I could cruise right up to your booth and give all of you big hugs!  Thank you, thank you for this enormous effort on your parts. 
Ooops!
Sorry about the typo. It was late! Mommons s/b Mormons! I tired to edit and couln't figure out how! [blush]

First thing Sunday morning and I'm just checking the boards, to be up to date before greeting the lions! So, one more death ..... :( . -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

lugon is right Mommons are mom preppers ;-p
good luck, all.
[ Parent ]
posters are up!!
I have just posted a new diary here http://www.newfluwik... with the text of the 'Talking Points' I wrote for the posters.  You can also download and view the posters, links in that diary.

Apologies for the terse note, I'm rushing like mad!  It's going to be great!!
 



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

Will Nurses work during a Pandemic? A view from allnurses.com
I asked a simple question at the all nurses forum and received a very eye opening set of responses...
Seems our front line responders will not be at their posts without adequate protection. They are well aware of the coming pandemic. Thanks to Indigo Girl for pushing this agenda.

http://allnurses.com...

RM - if the nurses are represented there maybe you could bring this to their attention.

Tell the truth

nurses
the national nurses emergency preparedness initiative NNEPI), is across from us!

ACM says she already talked to them. 



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
don't forget this from Old Yeller
[ Parent ]
and see also
http://www.fluwikie....

Health Care Worker Safety During a Pandemic

[ Parent ]
I'm behind...
... the scenes only as childcare arrangements totally disintegrated. So I am responsible for the care and feeding of ReadyMom. I'm also doing cheerleading.
hope someone posts as top how today went....
not that we're pushy or anything... ;-P
[ Parent ]
silence is golden
I bet the lack of posting is a VERY GOOD thing. They must be very busy.

I can hear the ice crackin' and floor shakin' from here.

Tell the truth

we're exhausted, all of us
we'll (or at least I will) post later.  ;-) Thanks!

Short version?  Good day, but never as good as one would like, many lessons, some to incorporate and act on for tomorrow (hence MORE WORK!!!).





All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
another short version
The challenge is getting the traffic.  Those who stop, we get really good responses from them.

OK, I can't even type.  I really need time out, soak in a warm bath, etc etc. 



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
Exhausted doesn't begin to describe it!
I thin kit was a great day, and a great experience.

I feel like I found a little voice.  I'm nowhere in ReadyMom's  league -- she is a force of nature!  But I held my own when she irresponsibly disappeared to eat or use the bathroom.  (-;

We met many, many people, and made some great connections.  I can't even remember them all now, but just for instance, one woman who is heavily involved with pandemic planning for a poor, ESL population that lives in apartment buildings.  She asked, "How can they possibly prepare?  How will closing the schools help them, when they are anyhow all packed into apartment buildings, 3 families each?"

I could not possibly pretend that I had any answers for her, but I referred her to places where those questions were being discussed (or could be -- here!)  and mentioned that even though people may be packed into apartment building,s 6 children to a room -- that's STILL far fewer contacts than they would experience in a school setting (600 students plus) and she had to agree....

There's a lot more but I have to put the kids to bed....


GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

[ Parent ]
Too Tired!
This will be a quick update.I'm having a melt down. Too tired. Not enough to eat and high energy. Plus the clocks got turned back, so it's later that now, than it was this time, last night! I've already been in small tears once. And it's only just begun. This is VERY intense, very high energy. Very long and tiring!

I was please with the folks who did stop by the booth. They were very interested. LOVED the display. Loved the idea that we were grass roots. When I first arrived at the booth (about 11:00 am) Bill had already set up the last couple of things and was meeting ACM at the entrance to give her her exhibit pass. Arriving at the booth at the same time as myself was a gentleman who browsed, as I took off my coat and started to pull out the posters we need to put up.

As I began to talk with him, I noticed that it *looked* like his shirt said Home La ***(crease in shirt can't read the rest!) so I keep talking. Finally I see: Home Land Security Department of Personal Preparedness'! Oh-my-gosh! So, trying to keep my thoughts straight, I thought 'I need to do this right'. He was VERY impressed. LOVED the disply. I explained to him that we are offering awareness, education and suggestions for Home Prepping WITHOUT panic and fear. He looked through all our binders, had me pull up the EHP.org site, took our flier and wants more info/contact while we're all there! He's already asked if he can take our flier back with him and share it with his office! He was VERY VERY impressed.

I think that alone made my day, and .... again ... the Expo hadn't even opened yet! Susan is concerned that there are 13,000 people in attendance and we haven't touched the surface, yet. She's brainstorming how to get more to our booth! In the meantime, we are getting what I think is a good response from those that are coming and stopping by. And, of course, we couldn't have had a better start. I'd be happy if we had one encounter like that each day. Susan, I'm sure would like al 13,000!! LOL!

As said above, it's been a long, tiring day. So, consider this your SUNDAY UPDATE! -k

www.EmergencyHomePreparation.org -- A 'card-catalog' style of prepping information.   -

having been at many large events like this one
traffic is variable. So many different things are happening at once, and not everyone goes to the exhibit halls (many that do are just cruising for freebies and handouts).

So, encounters like that are absolutely worthwhile! You'll have a few each day, and more tomorrow than today.

Thanks for the update!!! Get some rest if you can!!

[ Parent ]
I know it's too late this time...
but maybe in the future you could have some different respirators available to demonstrate fit testing.  I am always attracted to booths where demonstrations of something are taking place.  I think it's important that people understand that they are capable of fit testing their PPE, whether they are professionals or not. 

Millions for defense, but not one cent for tribute!
[ Parent ]
also a good way to highlight
the lack of PPEs for kids.

http://www.newfluwik...

[ Parent ]
No, I don't want 13,000 LOL
but as always, I'm constantly sorting for ways to improve our effectiveness as well as efficiency ie get more bang for the buck.  We can't JUST rely on running ourselves to the ground like this! 

One challenge for me especially, which I suspect the others may not have learned yet (although I could be wrong!) has to do with knowing how important it is the to conserve energy and only focus on the most critical aspects and drop everything else.  The problem with such intense focus on efficiency, at least potentially, is that interpersonal communications require a lot more nuance than just giving and receiving data, so the potential for miscommunication is constantly there.  I said to BB tonight how I hate not having time to sit around and chat a bit more, as we all either have things to do or family to go back to etc.

My thoughts on the expo today: I'm unable to make accurate observations about APHA people specifically, yet.  The significant lessons that came out of today have to do with basic marketing - and Goju can tell me if I've hit the right spots:

  1. location - nothing we can do about it, we got the second last booth that was still not sold, at the very back.  It took me so long walking in, carrying my heavy bag, that I didn't even want to try and walk back out for anything other than end of the day!

  2. positioning - it became clear that we hadn't put something that immediately defines who we are and what we do, and HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE ELSE.  I'm working on some solutions to rectify that (and the following issue) tomorrow.

  3. exposure - nobody is going to come looking for us at the very back if they don't know we exist - tomorrow we plan on having some of us standing at the doors to meeting rooms giving out fliers, plus we will PUT a MAP on the flier,
    ie give them a visual prompt, of where to find us.  That's what I'm going to do after posting this.  My other job tonight is to go over the program in detail to determine which/where are the best spots and times to do that!

  4. whether there is general market interest for your type of product/services - which I would rate as moderate, and probably a lot LOWER than a general public.

  5. whether your 'package' or presentation is enough to get people to stop and look - which is fair to good, when compared to other booths adjacent to ours

  6. whether your 'sales team' are able to engage your customers long enough for them to actually 'buy' ie take some ideas away - that I would rate pretty high.  Generally for those who stop to look, we have been able to engage in pleasant and productive conversations, giving them information to take away, and getting some good feedback.

  7. whether people come back for more - we had a couple of people do that, that I observe, maybe more that I don't kow about, not bad for a first afternoon at the back of the hall

  8. whether people refer other people - also a couple, which I was quite pleased about.

  9. The other thing to keep in mind, is the issue of leverage.  Like who are the people we talk to, and what powers do they have?  Is this MORE effective than talking to the people you normally have access to ie your local official? 

    On this aspect, I may be the LEAST able to get some personal satisfaction out of this expo, since I'm the one who have been almost exclusively talking to the Feds and at national professional bodies and have had NOTHING to do with local communities in person (seeing as I don't live there, duh!).  But if ever our experience is useful to others, then let me suggest y'all pause and consider the significance (real and symbolic) of ReadyMom talking to the DHS guy at the APHA annual expo - the lesson that

    • putting yourself in front of tptb, ie those with significant ability to make BIG AND LASTING differences, is an achievable goal,
    • ditto for making yourself credible in their eyes,
    • ditto for having enough knowledge but also enough respect for THEM, such that they come away BOTH impressed and persuaded AND feeling unthreatened! 

    Those are my (somewhat dispassionate) thoughts, trying to conserve energy and focus on only the important things, which for the purpose of this post is to share this particular analysis of mine.

    We'll see what happens tomorrow.  I am DETERMINED to go to bed before midnight!



    All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
My quick update
I had a blast today...I got there at about 7:15am...a bit early, but I got an awesome parking spot! I met with a ton of very interesting (and interested) folks, found out ACM was nothing like I had pictured her, and met another member of FluWiki who was there for the convention from her part of the country. I spoke with a woman from the EPA who was extremely interested in what we were doing and who loved the booth...she said it was very refreshing to see something that people had put together rather than all the computer-generated graphics that permeated the expo!
I got the chance to spend about an hour 'touring' the show, checking out the other booths (I only covered about 1/2 of the floor), but saw a lot of other booths displaying PanFlu Prepping as their lead-in. One even offered "the cure for Bird Flu"---homeoathic medicine and veganism, claiming that it's humanity's fault for all the diseases in the world. (They were from my home-state of California...what'd you expect?!)

As I got towards the end of my walk-about, I found a booth that was near and dear to my heart---As I have sleep apnea, I ran across an alternative to CPAP and gathered as much info as I could carry! I've got a lot of reading to do in the next few days when I get home...

Towards the end of the day, a dapper gentleman strolled over, and I noticed on his badge that he came from the same region that I used live in...we chatted about what we were doing there, and he mentioned that his office is looking at how in the world it would be possible to evacuate the SF Bay Area if it were ever necessary. Now remember...that area has over 15 million residents within a 100-mile radius---from Santa Cruz northward to Santa Rosa, and eastward towards Sacramento. With only 3 major routes out of that area, he said that his team has run into more walls than ever in trying to figure this out! Personal home preparedness is about the only option they've been able to come up with.

All in all, I felt it was a fairly productive first day...we really only had 3 hours for the show, from 2-5pm, so tomorrow I think we'll be seeing a lot more people, and hopefully talking to most of them!

'night all...

Bronco Bill, thanks for going to the expo.
My son also has sleep apnea, and like everyone else who has this disease or has a family member with this disease, we would be very interested in hearing their ideas.  Thanks for your time.

"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
History Lover - What I took away from that display
Was that there has been an alternative to CPAP for several years. It's a dental appliance that a person wears while sleeping. It keeps the upper and lower jaws closed, and pulls the lower jaw forward to increase the air passgeway opening whilst a person lies on their back.
Apparently, many insurance companies are realizing now that CPAP isn't always an effective treatment, for a myriad of reasons...
[ Parent ]
Thanks BB. I'll look into that. n/t


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
all it takes is one
All it takes is getting to the one right person and it could make all the difference... you just never know who that one person is. You might have met them today.

Tell the truth
I guess we all know that by now ;-)

All it takes is getting to the one right person and it could make all the difference.

However, I also know the scale of the job, such that with all the will in the world, the most motivated person can only do so much.  Hence, your statement is simultaneously true and untrue.  ;-D 

All it takes is one person, to make all the difference, in that ONE aspect that that person is in a position to act, LIMITED by that person's ability, will, circumstances, and, political and other reality.  PLUS, as I tried to show on the chart on this diary, http://www.newfluwik... the realities and implications in a pandemic are too complex to be solved by any single step or single entity.  btw The chart which I made, if you look carefully, consists not of random arrows, but actual cause and effect relationships, except that there are so many, in a pandemic, that we cannot even find ONE spot to put any single issue!  ie A single issue can be simultaneously related to numerous ones in numerous ways.  Notice I put a few (only a few!) examples of issues that I haven't put in!

So for me, it's about taking ALL opportunities, and not JUST because we want to hit the big numbers, but because we DO need varieties of people, as many as possible, in small and big ways, to get involved and interested.

Today there was a woman who said something that I guess would have been typical from a member of the public speaking to officials, except this time it is the other way round.  After some lengthy conversation with BB, she started to suggest all the different OTHER things we can do, like talking to schools etc, and I find myself smiling and saying yes, we know that, I know that, we are doing the best we can.  I know it's not enough, but it's the best we can do with what we've got.

It took several hours, while I was in the downtime this evening (see?  there are additional benefits to NOT thinking, which is that the REAL thinking comes out!  LOL) that it occurred to me this was such a surreal situation, and it I were tptb, they probably hear that ALL the time, and thinking we're all maxed out, but unlike us, they can't say it without getting into more trouble.

Lessons are generally unexpected, aren't they?  Otherwise they wouldn't be lessons at all!  ;-D



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
also read my quote
on David Nabarro.  If even Nabarro says they are only "trying to ensure they don't make too many errors", I have even more respect both for the scale of the challenge and the integrity of the guy. 



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
sorry typo
AS IF I were tptb!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
and I forgot
to finish the story,  LOL  See how tired I am?

As this woman was speaking, I was thinking, no, YOU don't need ME to do these things you are suggesting, 'I" need YOU, to go and do them!  Cos there is only one of me, and I'm working more than full-time!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
points
all true SC... location has a lot to do with it.
I always found one of the most effective things to do is hit all the other booths. Check them out and tell them what you do.

second... the first day or so, the VIPs send their scouts out to see if there's anything of interest for them to check further. You may see another person from the same organization coming over so you should be sharing who you talk to. The most important ones may come by before the show opens.

Third - a lot happens after show hours. Network and try to go to where the folks are Hanging at night. Nothing like a relaxed talk about the end of the world over a beer.

Fourth - the conference meetings are where most of the action happens. Go hang out outside the conference rooms and schooze... hand out info if you can.

and like i said... all you need to do is get to the one right person and you can change the world.

Tell the truth

I've looked at the program
and identified a couple of possibilities.  \

But now, to bed.  I am too tired to do any more writing of fliers, which has to get done before 8am, so I'm going to get up very early, to make sure it gets done.  Good night



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
I'm so proud of you guys I can't sleep :-)
I started wondering, if a handful of people went to an event like that, already infected with pandemic flu, how many people would come away with the bug?

Hopefully you can 'infect' a big bunch of people with the enthusiasm to prep :-)

And thanks for the updates. Above and beyond the call of duty when you're so busy.

one thing we "observers" can do is try and get the press etc to look into this, can we?


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
Susan, BB, ReadyMom
I'm devastated but I had a feeling this would happen, one of my kids is sick today, so I can't come. I left notes for your guys but am thinking you might check here first and I do not DARE call anybody in case you are sleeping.

I will call BB later and see if I can arrange a drop off at the front of the Convention Center -- I am so worried about you guys not EATING, I need to make a care package for you all.  (I do have the car after all, and there's no reason a sick kid can't ride in a car seat instead of sitting at home watching TV...)

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

ACM, try sending a text message? (it could be silent enough if they are so tired)


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
it's ok, don't worry
And we WILL eat, I promise.  So don't worry about dropping us care packages either, even though we appreciate the thought.

Here is one reason why:

It's a longer walk to the street than to the various places inside the convention center where we can get food.  LOL

Remember, we are parents.  Hence we are infinitely flexible and innovative, and we will survive.  We always do.

Take care!




All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
community resilience (aka flexibility and cooperation) and prepping (aka stocking up) are not either/or! LOL


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
I hope your little one feels better soon, ACM. n/t


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
I hope your little one feels better soon, ACM. n/t


"I am opposed to any form of tyranny over the mind of man."  Thomas Jefferson
[ Parent ]
my impressions
Briefly, my overall impression of rank and file public health people is, very nice, very sweet, remind me a lot of elementary school teachers.

There were far more women than men passing by, but I feel like I actually SPOKE to half men and half women at the booth.

I did not get an overwhelming sense that pandemic flu was anything most bypassers felt was a threat or something they should be worried about; something that would be severe.  But it was more like, "huh, yeah, I should probably look into that a little more."  Some of those people stopped by and took a flyer, got a few ideas.

I'd say though, that about 1 out of 20 (just guessing) people who stopped by were actively engaged in planning for their populations in some way for a pandemic, and they seemed very much in the need of ideas -- how can people do this?  How can we communicate the need to prepare and the fact that people CAN do this?  It seems to me that the people who had professional responsibilities were extremely grateful to have access to the resources (flu sites, handouts, Citizen's Guide, ideas) that we had ready for them. 

Many people had heard of Flu WIki although if they were frequent posters, they didn't tell me!  (Except one person, and it was sure nice meeting this person!)

I do think the connections to the people who are aware of the threat, and the need to prepare, and are actively looking for solutions or ideas, are good ones to make.  Not in place of other ones, but in addition to -- because if they find our information useful, they will share with their networks, and so on.

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

1 out of 20 who passed by
To clarify -- I felt like about 1/20 (i.e. a small percentage) of people who PASSED BY had a professional interest in preparing household for pandemic flu.  Not 1/20 of those who stopped at out booth!

Just wanted to make that clear!

I am positive that every person who walked by us who had a professional interest in the topic (which granted should have been all of them, but ... anyhow) they were the people who actually stopped and had long discussions with us, brainstorming, reading the posters, etc.

The other group that stopped, it was more of a general awareness issue, look st these ideas, see these resources... and we left them I think with a lot to think about and plenty of websites to check out -- with Citizen-Driven information.

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

[ Parent ]
I'm going to up the ante today
I don't have time to write elsewhere so I'll write it here.  We started off being more conservative yesterday.  I DIDN'T get a sense that they were aware, personally, of the high CFR and stuff like that.  I intend to highlight that today, with every person who talks to us!!

We'll see...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
the question is whatehter the conference itself
or posters, presentations, etc will cover that.

I know this is hard to beleive, most many PH folks know all about the CFR and shrug and say "but it will change".

What startles them isn't the CFR, it is the "that's not a scientific certainty, just a hope based on 1918... and 1918 is not worst case".

[ Parent ]
for example

[ Parent ]
not that they are not aware
but that they are not AWARE, ie it is NOT in their active consciousness!

Gotta run.  You guys have to trust my judgment.  LOL



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
just sharing insight and experience
not questioning judgment.  ;-)

It'll be interesting to see how today goes.

[ Parent ]
we are giving these out today
http://www.newfluwik...

can someone post it?  On this diary and the other one, especially the other one, cos that is the link that got sent to a lot of people.  Thanks!!!!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
will do n/t

[ Parent ]
wahooba
Susan, THAT is a really great flyer!

I am very sad not to be there today but am looking forward to handing out that flyer tomorrow!

GetPandemicReady.org - non commerical website with practical ways for families to prepare.

[ Parent ]
i've linked to the file from a comment - or what do you mean by "post it"? a wikipage? copy the full content
http://newfluwiki2.c...

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
the flyer
ReadyMoms.org

a grassroots volunteer initiative

We are parents concerned about the potential impact of the next pandemic on children, families, and communities.

We are especially concerned about the following:

  • If a 1918-like pandemic happens today, communities will suffer 20 years of normal child deaths (aged 1-19) in the space of one season.
  • The current H5N1 avian influenza virus is causing human infections with an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 60%.
  • This CFR rises to 75% for those aged 10-19.
  • H5N1 has to become 30 times (NOT 30%) weaker to match the 2% CFR of the 1918 pandemic.
  • A WHO working group report in 2006 tells us that "the present high lethality could be maintained during a pandemic" caused by H5N1.

We believe parents have a right to be given this information, and be supported to make the decisions that are best for their family.

We believe that failure to assist families to make informed choices will result in severe social disharmony as bereaved parents take their wrath against officials who have failed them.

We believe it is possible to protect our families with adequate implementation of the social distancing measures as specifically recommended by the CDC, especially early and proactive school closure.

We believe these same measures will also make it safe for essential workers to go to work.

We understand that implementation of these measures will require communities to make some tough choices between the cost to the economy and saving lives. 

We believe that such choices cannot and should not be made FOR families and communities, only BY them.

We fully agree with the following sentiments expressed by this participant at the CDC Community Mitigation Stakeholders' Meeting (Atlanta, December 2006).

"The question of how much this will cost is the wrong question. The correct question is WHAT IS THE PRICE WE ARE WILLING TO PAY?  I would sacrifice everything I own to save one of my kids - EVERTHING. And I would consider it the best bargain of my life.
Why would we not do the same as a community or society?"

To support and complement official actions, we are doing our best to offer suggestions and solutions that will assist families and communities to prepare adequately.

Come and visit our display of preparedness items and ideas.  We are situated conveniently close to the poster sessions (booth #362)


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
actually, that's good.
why don't you just post it then, over at the other diary, EXACTLY as you have posted it here.  Thank you!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
i had done it already ;-) (i think)


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
it's ok
I'll do it, right now.  I'll put it as the top diary!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
UPDATE
There appears to be more people today in the exhibit hall.  Even though we are situated at the very back, we are very close to the poster sessions, a piece of information that I put on the flier!

We have been printing this flier out at the booth as fast as we can, and giving them out as people walk by.  We have another (yellow) flier which we made before, with a lot of preparedness info. I give out the white one (the one I posted this morning) and at the same time tell them we are moms/parents who are putting practical information together to help individual and family preparedness.  Then I hand them the yellow one and say that is the practical information that you can use and share with others, but since they got the white one first (I make sure the yellow goes UNDER the white one) they are already reading it while I talk about preparedness.

I say to them there is a lot of useful information that a lot of people have developed, stuff that moms know (like what kind of milk keeps longer) that professionals may not be experts at (I don't use that word, just paraphrasing here!), and that we want to share that with professionals.

I don't have to talk about CFR and all that stuff, but it is right there!

Our biggest problem is the printer has run out of ink.  BB is going to go make copies, but ONLY AFTER the afternoon sessions have started, to make sure he is here during the lunch 'rush-hour'.

We are getting people talking to us from state and local PH departments, universities, UPMC, GAO, etc etc.  Not surprisingly a couple of people recognize me from the IOM meetings (I don't recognize them, of course!).

They ALL say, Good job, thank you for doing this.

So, yes, ReadyMoms are GO!  For sure!




All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

we have a few people
AT LEAST 2, that I saw, taking pictures of our booth, so that they can share with their department or whatever!!

And I go, YES!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
gotta go!
One person said "I'm telling my friends they gotta go and check out the moms' booth!"

The Moms' Booth!

Now THAT is good positioning (in marketing terms!!)



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
You Readymoms rock! Keep up the great work!

new update
According to RM's estimate, we've had 5 or 6 people taking pictures of our booth. 




All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
that's pretty amazing
will you have your own pics?
[ Parent ]
I do
since yesterday.  but I haven't had time to figure out how to upload anything from my camera yet.

The only reason why I'm logging on now is cos I can't stay on my feet for that long.  Have to sit down for a bit.  ;-)



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
sorry to ask again: you're live blogging, are you?
which means you might hand your keyboard to your local audience and suggest they say "hi!" to us! ;-)

We say "hi" to them also. :-)

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
UPDATE: MONDAY, From Readymom
UPDATE: MONDAY

Feeling better than last night, today was another busy one. My day started with a quick breakfast brought to me on a tray, at Libby's place. What a nice pampered treat!! Tonight I'm staying with SusanC, at her hotel, till departure on Wednesday. We've been talking through yawns, the past couple of hours and are really ready to go to bed,but this update was needed to be posted.

Again another fruitful day, with contacts being made with many DOHs from a varitety of locations. I spoke w a Congressional Resea.rcher who is very interested in what we're doing and is taking our info back to his offcie. He said that what we are doing is well w/in the realms of consideration for funding. Another visitor to the booth, was a member of the Dept. of Biological Security. I was talking & talking and couldn't read her badge, so had no idea, till I asked whom she was with! (oiy!) But, good news is she was also impressed and is taking our info back to her dept. and wants them to see what we are dong. Met another man who worked w/ feds, previously and wrote grants. He wants us to send him files, handouts etc. and he'll help offer some info for funding.

I just can't remember all of the folks that we've met. We are collecting business cards and have sign up sheets for those who don't have them. I'm sure that Susan has posted more at FW. Pay a visit to see more.

Today, I talked till I began to get raspy. Our booth is very busy. We even get folks stopping w/ cameras and taking photos. They LOVE that this is a grass roots effort and can't believe that we are doing it on our own dollar! Some wanted to know if we had the display 'in a box' so they can do something like this. Or if they could have photos for power points!!

YES, we are getting to some of these folks. I think that we are chipping away bit by bit.

Oh, we even have had a couple of people stop by who were familiar with FluWiki and one person knew who we were! Strange to be known but not known (screen name vs. real name).

Another long day, tomorrow! I'm sure I'm missing something. What an experience!!! -k



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

best wishes from
all of us!
[ Parent ]
this is the REAL SusanC here ;-)
to add to what RM said, today was very different from yesterday.  For one thing, there were lots of people passing through the whole day on their way to and from the poster sessions!

  I think the new flier really worked (but I'm not sure whether that is easily transferable to other contexts) because it places us accurately in people's minds right away.  The other thing is, I suspect that it helps to keep detractors away, cos it's pretty hard to come over and harass a bunch of moms doing things out of the goodness of their hearts, right? 

A few examples, I spoke to a flu epidemiologist who of course know a lot, she's read John Barry and all the rest of it as well, but when I showed her the 'if H5N1 becomes weaker' poster, she bent down and looked at it and checked the figures very closely and agreed that I was right!  I think it was very powerful revelation even for someone for whom this is THEIR line of expertise. 

Someone else worked in another area of PH that involved community engagement, and he really appreciated my telling him about 'hive mind' and how to facilitate the aggregation of non-traditional knowledge. 

There were various people from cdc, PH people from different states,  a number of MPH students, a policy person (from a state health department, I think) who is in the middle of writing up grant proposals for community engagement, so we spent some time talking about the stuff that I put on the posters.  She already knew about the keystone project but not the Redefining readiness, and I gave her more details of references that she can use to support community engagement.  She wrote all that down. 

I also had various conversations with this person and others about how to get HCW to come to work, and I stressed the importance of recognizing people's reality, that nurses are also moms with kids, and will have conflicting interests in a pandemic.  I gave out the link to allnurses.com to at least 3 of 4 people, and I said it is so important to listen to nurses talk about this in their own words.  Which is exactly what the redefining readiness study found too.

My theme today gradually consolidated around the issue of empowerment, that we don't tell people what they need to do, but give ideas to help them think.

I'm ready to move tomorrow towards more overtly talking about the points on the new flier today.  I have a sense that this is one opportunity to overcome the biggest problem for the majority here, (witness the hhs blog) that of TELLING THE PUBLIC.

The biggest limitation really is our stamina and ability to keep up with the number of people.  For practical purposes, the number of people who visited our booth and talked to us was severely limited by both space and our ability to talk to them.  So if there were 2 of us, we would each be talking to one person, and then once someone leaves, almost immediately we get someone else.  It was just an unending stream of people.

It's just too intense and tiring.  None of us have been eating 'proper' meals.  I think BB managed to get a burger or something, but RM and I have been living on cereal bars, nuts, and fortune cookies (yes, they were freebies from one of the booths!) but at least today I made sure I drank (almost) 2 bottles of water, whereas yesterday I didn't even finish one!  Someone from FW offered to bring us some ENsure tomorrow, and I said yes to that, just cos it is so much easier to get liquid nutrient down than to eat real food.  We joked about getting an IV so we don't have to worry about it!  LOL 

This probably gives you a sense of how intense it was! 



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
I did get one person
who was adamant that we were 'making a mistake' by using pandemic to get people prepared.  He's from California, and thinks that everybody should prepare for earthquakes, and that we should be doing earthquakes instead.

Initially I said, well, it's not mutually exclusive, and preparing for pandemics prepare for other things too.  But he was not happy with that, and kept saying that he's a scientist and just there is nothing to this pandemic stuff, and again that we are doing ourselves a 'disservice' by framing preparedness around pandemics. 

So then I said, well, I don't care what people prepared for, they could do that for earthquakes, for pandemics, as long as they get prepared.  He was STILL not satisfied, and again said basically that we really shouldn't be getting people to prepare for pandemics, so finally I said, we are not the only people, others including hhs cdc etc are telling people to prepare for pandemics too.  At which point he was rather deflated and left.

I guess he DID think he could come over and harass a bunch of moms who don't know better, maybe?



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
video
GREAT job.  THANK YOU!

You know what the poet said:

Woah!

Maybe you can ask SOMEONE ELSE to take video (perhaps even with a not-too-bad cell phone!) and we'll help put it up on youtube!

We want to make the experience of telling others REAL for many among ourselves and beyond ourselves.  I say this because, finally, it's US (YOU) who is telling the people.  My hunch is others will join in later, and that includes most pols etc.  (Such is life, shrug, go on.)

NOTE TO SELF - just so that I don't forget: RM mentions "booth-in-a-box".  It could very well be in a CD or DVD, and I've even found that it's posible to add translated text here (an example here).  To create such a CD ... you'll need at least a week's worth of rest (I'll give you 12 hours for that, LOL) and then we can just create a "lessons learned" diary and see what we can come up with.  Or if someone creates such a thread/diary we can start working in parallel while we wait for you.

You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.

[ Parent ]
it's actually so much more than "telling", but you know what i mean


You arm yourself to the teeth just in case.  You don't leave the gun near the baby's hand.
[ Parent ]
Finally, pics
It's taken this long, for me to get round to doing this!

Here are a few pics. 

This is the whole booth.  As you can see, 10' x 10' is really very little space.

I may post more tomorrow, I'm too tired to edit the rest of the pics.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

just for fun
to give everybody an idea of how big this Expo is, if you look at the picture of the hall, and look all the way down the aisle, at the very end you see a tiny white upside-down triangle.

THAT is the door, the entrance to the Expo.  So I'm not kidding when I say it's a LONG walk in and out!  LOL



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
SusanC---Look above the Poster Sessions
See the mezzanine up there? A great photo could be taken to show the shear size of the hall and how many booths there really are. I noticed it yesterday late afternoon as I was leaving...
[ Parent ]
oh yeah,
will do in a minute.  I'm sitting in the food court doing this, so when I walk out of here, I'm going over there to do that! 




All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
wrong pic
cos I changed the file name!

This is the right one, with reference to this comment, and where the door is.





All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
Ordinary Individuals Doing Extraordinary Things
What you folks are doing is truly incredible, not just for the impact you are having by spreading the word, but almost more importantly, both there and here, for showing people what can be done by individuals working together.

The sense of creeping futility that fills our lives when it comes to the large and complicated problems of our day can rob us of hope.  It can rob us of the will to act.

No hope, no will.  No will, no progress.

But even the smallest hope of even the possiblity of progress can open up the gates and unleash endless waves of determination and creativity, if only that hope can be seen. 

You folks are lifting that hope up like a big old flag and waving it around for all you are worth.  It sounds like its getting seen there.  I know its getting seen here.

And just as this is all true for getting out the message on planning and preparedness, it is also true for responding to a pandemic.  It is now and will be then, up to us. 

Good on you.  Good on you.  Good on you. 

ITW(Joel J)
Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear - not absence of fear.
- Mark Twain
 

yo, and amen
longest journey starts with smallest steps.
[ Parent ]
Doors will open.
Wow. The words "funding" and "grant" are encouraging, along with the positive responses from key people and lots of others in general. 

You are going to be able to multiply this work, and there will be hands to help you do it.  Thanks for making this happen.

[ Parent ]
VIDEO
Yes by all means get someone to video your presentation for YouTube.
You must be very honed by now and should be able to breeze through the presentation. Even a cell phone cam would be great.

Tell the truth
you kidding, right? lol
We barely have time to eat, go to the bathroom, etc.  I haven't even checked out the other booths yet, let alone take part in any of the meetings!

I'm sorry, I draw the line at anything ELSE that involves being on my feet, and that definitely includes video!  LOL



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
Video later
A video can be made later but is definitely a great idea.
[ Parent ]
also check this out
Everything that anyone does has additional consequences/benefits.  Check out my latest effort, Question for ASPR

Which is happening THURSDAY, the day after we pack up the booth! 

Now d'you understand why I never get enough SLEEP?  Or REST?

I have back-to-back meetings all the way through to Nov 15th, I think.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

the link to the ASPR question diary
has been sent to ASPR, so PLEASE, if you have been feeling the urge to participate, express your support for this issue by posting on that diary!  Thank you!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
and somebody please cross-post
to pfi and other forums.  I'm already late for the Expo, and I've been up since 5am.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
the ASPR diary
and the request for opinions/support, I mean.  Thanks!!!!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
let me repeat
this is IMPORTANT.  THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.

And it needs to be done ASAP.  Like NOW, cos we only have 2 DAYS to collect signatures and/or opinions!!!

Please post.  Even if you just write: I agree!  On that diary!!

Thank you.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
would somebody like to start a signature drive maybe?
for this issue?  I just don't have the time. 

The PAHPA is the MOST IMPORTANT piece of legislation that will allow NEW and/or additional money to be made available for grants on pandemic preparedness in the next few years.  Personal preparedness is included in the Act.  How these programs are written up will affect how decisions are made at your local and state level.  Once those decisions are made, it will be a lot harder to unmake them!

So this is likely to be the window of opportunity to affect that process, to get your voices heard, and most importantly, to MAKE WHAT YOU WANT TO HAPPEN, HAPPEN.  (ie it's NOT enough to just be HEARD!!  Things need to be DONE!)

If you start a signature drive, for it to be EFFECTIVE, it needs to be DIRECTLY RELATED SPECIFICALLY to the question as I posted it. Otherwise I can't use it, to put it ON THE RECORD at the meeting.

Apologies for the caps.  No time to do fancy html.  lol.



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

[ Parent ]
AMAZING - YOU ALL ARE AMAZING!!! n/t

& you'll be singing this...when?
Now that would bring some attention...before you're carted off! We'll need a video though!

**by: CO health director** see above on this diary >>
by: CO health director @ Sat Oct 27, 2007 at 16:05:57 PM EDT

APHA's pandemic flu song contest

________________________________________________________________

The Battle Hymn of the Pandemic

(Sung to "The Battle Hymm of the Republic" aka "Glory, Hallalujah")

  There are hurricanes and terrorists, there's hail, and sleet and rain,
  There are long-term power outages, and bombs inflicting pain,
  There are earthquakes and tornadoes, wildfires, flooding on the plain,
  But what scares us most is FLU!

Chorus:
Let's prepare for a pandemic,
Deadly flu that's epidemic
Lack of readiness's systemic.
What scares us most is FLU!

  A pandemic can occur in waves that last two months or more,
  To prepare you'd want to have the things you'll need all safely stored.
  Some say two week's worth's adequate, but we know we'd want MORE
  To get us though the FLU.

  Drinking water, medications, and non-perishable food
  Are certainly panflu supplies that you'd want to include.
  Add toiletries, and radios, and fuel or firewood
  To get prepared for FLU.

Chorus:
  Friends, we must prepare for PAN FLU
  If we ever hope to get through
  Though we wish the threat were NOT true
  We must prepare for FLU

  By sending students home from school we'll blunt the outbreak's peak,
  We'll practice social distancing, by phone we'll mostly speak
  We'll work with friends and neighbors and the strong will help the weak
  And care for those with flu.

  And six to seven months from then we hope we'll have vaccine
  We'll do our best to cope with what will happen in between
  We know we'll do our best when we all work as we're a team
  To fight against the FLU

Chorus:
  Let's prepare for a pandemic,
  Deadly flu that's epidemic
  Let's make readiness systemic
  So we're prepared for FLU.
by: CO health director @ Sat Oct 27, 2007 at 16:05:57 PM EDT

It will make you sick
http://www.youtube.c...

Tell the truth
[ Parent ]
WOW and Thanks
ReadyMoms - you have demonstrated the power of grass roots advocacy and shown that YOU CAN DO IT!!

The newest Citizens Guide has been posted today on FluWiki - please feel free to use it and to add to it.

Peter Carpenter

thanks
I have been telling so many people about the Citizens' guide, and they are just so delighted that all this has been happening and now all they have to do is to download it!!!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
I just posted part 2
cos this is loading too slowly, also cos we are sort of moving to another phase, of revelations.  At least for me.

http://www.newfluwik...



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...

also I'm going to post new pics
on part 2, later tonight.  No way this diary can put up with more pics and still load at reasonable speed!!



All 'safety concerns' are hypothetical.  If not, they'd be called side effects...
[ Parent ]
ReadyMoms Are Taking The Message National! | 142 comments
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