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H1N1 Flu Guide Helping Community and Faith-based Organizations across the Country

November 18, 2009 at 4:00 PM ET by Joshua Dubois
Summary: 
Across the country, communities are actively using the new H1N1 Flu Guide for Community and Faith-based Organizations.

To help keep communities healthy during the flu season, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Center for Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships (Partnerships Center) led by Alexia Kelley and with support from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, released an H1N1 Flu guide specifically targeted to help community and faith-based organizations.  Flu season is in full swing, and communities are finding innovative ways to spread awareness through community outreach programs.  Here are just a few examples.

  • Johnson County in Kansas recently posted an entry on its county blog about the release of the new HHS H1N1 Flu guide alongside helpful links of how local organizations can prepare for flu and other emergencies and disasters.
  • To help combat flu in their area, the Health Department of Lexington-Fayette County in Kentucky created flu outreach response teams, also known as “Lex Flu Crews.” Armed with flu knowledge and prevention handout materials, the “Flu Crews” have reached out to over 800 businesses and 300 faith-based organizations by hosting meetings and flu-education sessions to help prevent the spread of both seasonal and H1N1 flu.
  • In San Francisco, Emily Hughes of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) is having trouble holding on to copies, saying, “The guides are flying out of our office.”
  • Also in California, Community Action Partnerships of San Bernardino County tell us that the guide has been crucial to helping local organizations during flu season.

The H1N1 Flu guide, which is also available in Spanish online, provides specific action steps that community and faith-based organizations can take to help keep communities healthy during flu season, including:

  • Communicating important information about flu;
  • Supporting vaccination efforts;
  • Linking vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations to vital information and resources; and
  • Expanding and adjusting organizational activities to help people stay healthy.

We encourage folks to check out the guide, and let us know how we can support local organizations that are helping to keep communities healthy.

Joshua DuBois is the Director of the White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships