Our Mission

Our mission is to assist people in developing practical knowledge and resources to care for themselves, their families, and their communities during an influenza (flu) pandemic. We encourage the creation of "communities of care" and support existing communities that sustain the health and well-being of individuals, families and neighborhoods.

Values

Our model for community education about pandemic influenza is an expression of the following values:

It is essential to provide the public with the whole truth all the time, especially in complex and changing situations. Accurate, in-depth presentation of information builds trust, engages participation, and provides resources for communities, families, and individuals to make decisions and act as effectively as possible.

The best response to a pandemic engages communities so that they can bring their skills and strengths to a working relationship with formal agencies and organizations. Information from communities informs the agencies and organizations how best to resource the specific needs of the diverse communities they serve.

We value the ability of communities, families, and individuals to respond to health challenges with knowledge, skills and resources. We support active engagement with the health care system and with one another in ways that promote healthy living and preparedness for challenges such as a pandemic.

Pandemics and other events that are potentially disastrous have the potential to call forth the best of who we are in our willingness to help one another. Acts of kindness and altruism build community cohesion and are predictors of the long term health of communities and the individuals within them.

 

Actions

Conference for the Spring of 2010,

Pandemic Influenza: Public Health Education for Community Resilience, A National Web Conference

 

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Beyond the eBook- What we need is You!

To make this guide practical and useful it needs real communities made up of real people with different levels of knowledge and skills. We need to know how to get this information across in the most accessible way possible. Our next goal is to get grant funding to identify a number of community groups across the country and review this material with you. If your group would like to be one of these groups, let us know at

info@pandemichomecare.com       

 

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Community Collaboration - The guide is best used as a resource for communities developing their plan for pandemic preparedness. We intend to collaborate with communities to create written and visual guides, DVD's, online resources, etc.that best meet the diverse needs of communities. We intend to tailor the information and the way it is presented to the specific needs of the individuals within the community.

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Research - In collaboration with the University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center College of Nursing we are proposing research to determine the specific skills people will need to care for the ill at home and to determine the need for training and information in those skills                      

 

updated 11.14.2009