Public Health Preparedness
in the Media
Belen Moran
State Health Risk Communicator
Ethnic Media Family Weekend
Athens, Georgia
February 23, 2008
Importance of ethnic/minority media:
 Help navigate and understand U.S. culture and
regulations.
 Assist generations to communicate better.
 Keep culture alive.
 Profile success stories.
Why cover health:
 Everybody gets sick.
 Brings ad revenue.
 Help your community be safe.
 Help your community prepare for disasters.
Prevention: Life or Death
 Minorities are less exposed to disaster warnings
and evacuation information.
 Minorities are more likely to encounter cultural and
language barriers during a disaster.
 Minorities experience higher mortality and injury.
 Minorities often work in recuperation efforts where
they can face health risks.
PH can help you cover
preparedness stories:
 Provide subject matter experts.
 Provide radio and TV Public Service
Announcements.
 Provide information that can be put in
sidebars, graphics.
Preparedness mantra
 All response is local.
 YOYO (You are On Your Own)
Goals of GA’s Disaster Plan
 Every resident knows how to protect
him/herself.
 Every resident knows what to do if a family
member gets ill.
 Systems in place to assure access to care
for large numbers of patients.
 Essential services continue.
 Economic disruption is limited.
Keep your community safe
 Information helps deal with disasters
better.
 Know what type of disasters are more likely
to occur in your area, home.
 People that take preparedness actions deal
with disasters much more effectively when
they do occur.
Recommendations
 Powerful communities know how to prepare
and plan for an emergency.
 Develop partnerships and outreach efforts:
with cities, churches, Red Cross, etc.
 Keep them informed (flu season, West Nile
Virus, possible Pandemic Influenza)
Resources:
1)Emergency Preparedness for Racially and Ethnically Diverse Communities
National Emergency Management Summit
New Orleans, LA, March 5, 2007
Drexel University Center for Health Quality
2) Centers for Disease Control and Prevention www.cdc.gov
3) www.ready.ga.gov
www.ready.gov
4) U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
The Office of Minority Health
http://www.omhrc.gov/
Questions/Comments
Belen Moran
State Health Risk Communicator
E-mail: bgmoran@dhr.state.ga.us
Office Phone: (404) 657-3288
Resources for covering public health stories Handout
Belen Moran, Georgia Department of Human Resources
Ethnic Media Family Weekend
February 23-24, 2008
 PREPAREDNESS WEB SITES
www.ready.ga.gov
www.ready.gov
 HEALTH
The Office of Minority Health, US DEPT. OF
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
http://www.omhrc.gov/
Georgia Division of Public Health
http://health.state.ga.us/
National Public Health Information
Coalition www.nphic.org
Georgia Hospitals
DISTRICT
RISK COMM/PIO
PHONE
E.MAIL
District 1-1, Rome, Northwest
Logan Boss
706-295-6649
hlboss@dhr.state.ga.us
District 1-2, Dalton, North GA
Jennifer Moorer
706-272-21245, x 346
jamoorer@dhr.state.ga.us
District 2, Gainsville, North
Dave Palmer
770-531-5679
dbpalmer@dhr.state.ga.us
678-784-1076
srhaynes@dhr.state.ga.us
District 3-1 Cobb-Douglas
District 3-2 Fulton
April Majors
404-730-1282
april.majors@fultoncountyga.gov
District 3-3 Clayton
Veronda Griffin
678.610.7259
vsgriffin@dhr.state.ga.us
District 3-4, Lawrenceville, E. Metro
Vernon Goins
678-442-6909
vggoins@dhr.state.ga.us
District 3-5 DeKalb
Vickie Elisa
404-294-3700
dielisa@dhr.state.ga.us
District 4 LaGrange
Hayla Hall
706-845-4035
hlhall@dhr.state.ga.us
District 5-1 Dublin, South Central
Laurice Bentley
478-274-7600
albentley@dhr.state.ga.us
District 5-2 Macon
Jennifer Jones
478-751-6626
jcjones3@dhr.state.ga.us
District 6 Augusta
Emmitt (Larry) Walker
706-729-2194
elwalker@dhr.state.ga.us
District 7 Columbus
Pam Fair
706-321-6265
cajohnson6@dhr.state.ga.us
District 8-1 Valdosta, South
Courtney Sheeley
229-333-5370
cdsheeley@dhr.state.ga.us
District 8-2 Albany, Southwest
Carolyn Maschke
229-430-1969
cwmaschke@dhr.state.ga.us
District 9-1 Coastal (Sav./Bruns.)
Ginger Heidel (SAV)
912-644-5217
gwheidel@dhr.state.ga.us
District 9-2 Waycross, Southeast
Roger Naylor
912-338-5231
rwnaylor@dhr.state.ga.us
District 10 Athens, Northeast
EC Kevin Wells
706-425-3310
kbwells@dhr.state.ga.us
DHR Director Office of Comm.
Dena Smith
404-656-4937
djsmith2@dhr.state.ga.us
State Health Risk Comm.
Belen Moran
404-657-3288
bgmoran@dhr.state.ga.us
State Public Health PIO
Taka Wiley
404-657-1385
tlwiley@dhr.state.ga.us
Maria-Belen Moran
State Health Risk Communicator
Georgia Division of Public Health
belenmoran@gmail.com

Maria-Belen Moran is the State Health Risk Communicator
for the Georgia Division of Public Health (GDPH). She is in
charge of developing communication plans and messages
on preparedness, prevention and mitigation of man-made or
natural public health emergencies. She also serves as the
State Coordinator for 18 Public Health Risk
Communicators/Public Information Officers in Georgia. In
addition she is an active participant in many
interdisciplinary teams that work on Bioterrorism and
Pandemic Influenza detection and preparedness. As of
October 2007 she is part of the Drought Joint Information
Center established by the Georgia Emergency Management
Agency (GEMA) after Georgia's Governor declared a State of
Emergency due to the water crisis in several counties.
Before joining GDPH Moran was a news and assignment
editor, writer and producer for different media
organizations such as Atlanta based Mundo Hispanico (a
Cox Newspaper), Associated Press, Reuters, CNN en
Español , Andina de Radiodifusion Canal 9, and El Comercio
newspaper. Moran was born in Lima, Peru but grew up in
South America, the United States and Europe. She is fluent
in English, Spanish and French.
Maria-Belen Moran is the State Health Risk Communicator for the Georgia
Division of Public Health (GDPH). She is in charge of developing
communication plans and messages on preparedness, prevention and
mitigation of man-made or natural public health emergencies. She also
serves as the State Coordinator for 18 Public Health Risk
Communicators/Public Information Officers in Georgia. In addition she is
an active participant in many interdisciplinary teams that work on
Bioterrorism and Pandemic Influenza detection and preparedness. As of
October 2007 she is part of the Drought Joint Information Center
established by the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA) after
Georgia's Governor declared a State of Emergency due to the water crisis
in several counties. Before joining GDPH Moran was a news and
assignment editor, writer and producer for different media organizations
such as Atlanta based Mundo Hispanico (a Cox Newspaper), Associated
Press, Reuters, CNN en Español , Andina de Radiodifusion Canal 9, and El
Comercio newspaper. Moran was born in Lima, Peru but grew up in South
America, the United States and Europe. She is fluent in English, Spanish
and French.