disaster response

See the following -

FOSS Disaster Relief Projects Can Help In The Wake Of Hurricane Sandy

Sam Dean | OStatic | October 31, 2012

People in several states in the Eastern United States are still reeling from the effects of Hurricane Sandy, and there are many kinds of disaster relief efforts going on...As evidenced in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, technology--including open source technology--can help organize disaster relief efforts and coordinate people. Here are just a few examples of tools that can make a difference. Read More »

Global Geospatial Group To Promote Equitable Data Access

Gozde Zorlu | SciDev.Net | August 18, 2011

A high-level global group promoting geospatial information could help developing countries gain better access to data to help tackle issues such as climate change, conservation and disaster management. Read More »

Google launches Open Data Platform to share data about Natural Disasters

CNA Staff Writer | Taipei Times | July 11, 2013

Google Inc launched an open data platform yesterday to share information on natural disasters in Taiwan [and elsewhere] such as typhoons and floods, with the aim of building the country into a model area for the cloud computing-based system. Read More »

Google Public Alerts For Taiwan Highlights Need For Open Source Data About Disasters

Catherine Shu | TechCrunch | July 11, 2013

Taiwan is bracing for Typhoon Soulik, which is scheduled to hit the island country late Friday. The arrival of the storm–now classified as a super typhoon–coincides with Google’s launch of Public Alerts for Taiwan yesterday. [...] Read More »

GSMA Announces Launch of Disaster Response Innovation Fund

Press Release | GSMA | September 7, 2017

The GSMA today announced the launch of its Disaster Response Innovation Fund to spur development of mobile technology solutions to assist and empower people and communities affected by humanitarian emergencies, and to strengthen disaster prevention, preparedness and response. The Fund is backed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by the GSMA and its members...

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GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health releases report on deaths due to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and outlines steps to protect the most vulnerable communities from disasters

Press Release | GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health | August 28, 2018

In an independent report published today, researchers at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (GW Milken Institute SPH) estimated there were 2,975 excess deaths in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria from September 2017 through the end of February 2018. The researchers also identified gaps in the death certification and public communication processes and went on to make recommendations that will help prepare Puerto Rico for future hurricanes and other natural disasters.

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Happy Holidays From Ushahidi!

Juliana Rotich | Ushahidi | December 21, 2012

First, just in time for the holidays, we have the free Ushahidi iOS app now available for download in the itunes store. Dale Zak put a lot of time and love into the app, releasing the SDK and integrating the fantastic work of The OpenGeoSMS team. Why OpenGeoSMS? So you can collect reports when the internet is not available, for example during a disaster situation or have intermittent connectivity. Read More »

HCA Healthcare Can't Hide From Hurricanes With 45 Hospitals In Florida, So It Preps Like It's The Apocalypse

Blake Farmer | Nashville Public Radio | September 3, 2019

As Hurricane Dorian threatened the Florida coast, top officials at HCA spent Labor Day weekend wringing their hands, pulling all-nighters in a Nashville command center. It almost didn't matter where the storm hits; HCA Healthcare's hospitals were going to be affected. With dozens of hospitals on Florida's east and west coasts, the for-profit hospital chain is exposed every time a hurricane threatens the Sunshine State. Late last week, the nation's largest hospital company granted WPLN rare access to observe storm preparations as Dorian bore down on the Florida coast. The mood was serious. Chatter was limited. The only sound competing with speakers was the hum of fingers on laptops taking furious notes.

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HHS Announces First External Class Of The HHS Innovation Fellows Program

Press Release | Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) | November 13, 2012

Today, Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius announced the first class of the HHS External Innovation Fellows.  Selected from an applicant pool of more than 100 innovators, the six External Fellows will spend the next six to 12 months working on projects focused on solving critical health care problems. Read More »

HIE Critical To Care Continuity In Natural Disasters

Dan Bowman | FierceHealthIT | November 2, 2012

As some hospitals in the New York metropolitan area were forced to evacuate patients and send them to nearby facilities in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, health information exchange proved to be a vital tool in making those transitions as smooth as possible. Read More »

HIEs: Help in Disasters?

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee | Healthcare Info Security | November 2, 2012

How big of a role did health information exchanges play in providing access to records during Superstorm Sandy, and what lessons can be learned? Federal officials will address these questions, says HIE expert Lee Stevens. Read More »

High-Quality Science Benefits All

Alexander Brown | ICT Update | June 27, 2013

Open access publishing can help researchers in the developing world to participate more actively in the scientific community. Alexander Brown from Springer shares his experience. Read More »

HIMSS19: Open Source Software for Disaster Preparedness and Response

Although not officially listed as a track at the HIMSS19 conference, there are a series of very important presentations on the use of open source software for disaster preparedness and response. This is a critical topic that we have covered extensively in Open Health News. As we detailed in this article, there was a major failure in being able to provide victims of Hurricane Harvey, as well as Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria with access to their medical records. Few emergency medical responders could access their records either. The two success stories that came out of the hurricanes were two open source electronic health record (EHR) systems, OpenEMR and the VA's open source VistA EHR.

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Hospitals Face Hurricane Sandy Power Outages, Failed Generators

Karen Cheung-Larivee | FierceHealthcare | October 30, 2012

Even with preparation, back-up systems failed at NYU Langone Medical Center last night, forcing the evacuation of all 215 patients to nearby hospitals, including Sloan Kettering and Mount Sinai, The New York Times reported. There were large-scale power failures in critical areas, including the emergency department, the transplant unit and labor and delivery.
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How AI, Twitter And Digital Volunteers Are Transforming Humanitarian Disaster Response

Katie Collins | Wired | September 30, 2013

On 24 September a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck south-west Pakistan, killing at least 300 people. The following day Patrick Meier at the [QCRI] received a call from the UN [OCHA] asking him to help deal with the digital fallout -- the thousands of tweets, photos and videos that were being posted on the web containing potentially valuable information about the disaster. Read More »