Health officials announce special H1N1 television simulcast

On Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m., the local Fort Wayne television stations will simulcast H1N1: Community on Alert, an hour-long special devoted to the flu pandemic.

The Fort Wayne-Allen County Department of Health and its community partners announced the live broadcast today. The program will be produced by WFWA PBS 39 and air simultaneously on WANE-TV NewsChannel 15, WPTA 21Alive, WISE 33, FOX Fort Wayne, Access One Comcast 55, Verizon 25 and Newstalk 1190 WOWO.

“We know people have a lot of questions about this new flu virus and the vaccine which has recently been approved,” said Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County Health Commissioner. “That’s why we are extremely grateful to our broadcast partners for giving us this opportunity to share this important public health information with such a broad audience.”

Community on Alert will feature interview segments with experts who will address various aspects of the H1N1 flu virus, including symptoms, vaccine availability, school and work issues, and when to stay home. Special segments will focus on families affected by the H1N1 flu virus and the priority groups for early vaccination. Viewers will also be able to call in during the broadcast to ask questions of health professionals.

Besides Dr. McMahan, other participants in the broadcast include:

• Scott Mann, MD, Medical Director for Three Rivers Ambulance Authority and the Medical Director of Emergency Services for Dupont Hospital

• Betty Brown, Chief Quality and Patient Safety Officer for Parkview Health

• Mary Hess RN, Health Services Specialist for Fort Wayne Community Schools
  
  
• Tom Duszynski, Director of Field Epidemiology for the Indiana State Department of Health

• Ric Robles, Hispanic Liaison Officer for the Fort Wayne Police Department

• Tiffany Bailey, Director of the 2-1-1 Call Center for United Way of Allen County

To make the broadcast accessible to all members of the community, the health department is working with the Multicultural Council of Fort Wayne and the Fort Wayne Police Department’s Hispanic Liaison office to set up viewing sites at locations throughout the city. Each site will provide language interpreters or other special assistance as needed.

A list of those sites is included with this release.

WHAT: H1N1: Community on Alert

WHEN: 7 to 8 p.m. (Eastern), Monday, Oct. 5, 2009

WHERE: Simulcast on WFWA PBS 39, WANE-TV News Channel 15, WPTA 21Alive, WISE 33, FOX Fort Wayne, Access One Comcast 55, Verizon 25, and Newstalk 1190 WOWO.

For more information on flu prevention efforts, visit www.fighttheflu.org or dial 2-1-1 United Way of Allen County.