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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

January 16, 2007

CONTACTS:
Leah Bucco-White, Communications and Legislative Services, 402-471-9356
Dianna Seiffert, Communications and Legislative Services, 402-471-1695

HHSS Pandemic Flu Brochure Wins National Award

(Note: Sound bites from HHSS Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Joann Schaefer, are available at: http://www.hhss.ne.gov/audio/)

Lincoln - If pandemic flu hit Nebraska tomorrow, would you know what to do? Where to turn? How to protect your family or business? The Nebraska Health and Human Services System (HHSS) has a pandemic flu brochure, "Pandemic Flu – What You Need to Know," that answers some of those basic planning questions.

"This brochure is a crucial educational tool for all Nebraskans," said Dr. Joann Schafer, Chief Medical Officer for HHSS. "There’s a lot of information out there on pandemic planning and it can be overwhelming. The nice thing about our pandemic flu brochure is it’s straight-forward, need-to-know information in an easy-to-read package."

"Pandemic Flu – What You Need to Know" was a winner of the prestigious National Public Health Information Coalition’s excellence in public health communication award.

"Our mission is to get every person and every business in Nebraska prepared for pandemic flu. We know preparing now will save lives later whether it’s pandemic flu that strikes or any other crisis or natural disaster. This brochure helps us do that," Schaefer said.

HHSS distributed more than 83,000 pandemic flu brochures statewide to other state agencies, city and county government, local health departments, health care provider’s offices, schools, businesses, churches, community organizations, plus many more.

You can request copies of the brochure free of charge by calling 402-471-9108 or going to the HHSS’ Pandemic Flu Web site, www.hhss.ne.gov/pandemic.

In addition to the pandemic flu brochure, HHSS also received awards for: two of its newsletters, a print advertising campaign, a mock newscast for a Bioterrorism exercise, an editorial and a media kit.

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