Planning for the health and safety of those attending mass gatherings is an enormous challenge for local officials. Mass gatherings are defined as those attracting more than 1,000 participants and include events like the Olympics, Super Bowl, religious services conducted by the Pope, state funerals, and presidential inaugurations. Public health concerns range from ensuring adequate drinking water, food safety, first aid, and toilet facilities to planning for the extremes of possible major accidents, dangerous weather and even terrorist threats.

 The National Library of Medicine (NLM) has compiled a Web page of links to information on the public health aspects of planning for all kinds of mass gatherings, http://sis.nlm.nih.gov/enviro/massgatherings.html. These resources include a search of PubMed for medical journal article citations as well as documents from government and other sources. Topics include preparedness for large numbers of casualties and management of disease outbreaks. For more information on the Disaster Information Management Research Center at NLM, please visit http://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/. [scb

The Radiation Event Medical Management System (REMM) http://remm.nlm.gov/ is available for download to mobile devices (Blackberry, Windows Mobile, Palm) with selected key files from the full online version. REMM is produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, Office of Planning and Emergency Operations, in cooperation with the National Library of Medicine, Division of Specialized Information Services, with subject matter experts from the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and many US and international consultants. For more see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/pubs/techbull/nd08/nd08_sis_reprint_remm.html [NLM New files for the week of Dec 29, 2008]

WISER 4.2 is now available! You may download it from the WISER web site http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/ , or access the on-line version, WebWISER. http://webwiser.nlm.nih.gov/ WISER is a system designed to assist first responders in hazardous material incidents. WISER provides a wide range of information on hazardous substances, including substance identification support, physical characteristics, human health information, and containment and suppression advice. [NLM-WISER-L]

DisasterAssistance.gov
http://www.disasterassistance.gov/
DisasterAssistance.gov is an easy to use website that consolidates disaster information in one place. Currently, 17 U.S. Government agencies, which sponsor more than 40 forms of disaster assistance, contribute to the website. You can apply for many forms of assistance with a single, online application. Your application information is shared only with those agencies that you identify and is protected by the highest levels of security. Ultimately, DisasterAssistance.gov will speed the application process and allow you to check the progress of your application online. [[DISASTR-OUTREACH-LIB ]

Ready or Not 2008
http://healthyamericans.org/assets/files/bioterror-report-2008.pdf
Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) released the sixth annual Ready or Not? Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism report, which finds that progress made to better protect the country from disease outbreaks, natural disasters, and bioterrorism is now at risk, due to budget cuts and the economic crisis. In addition, the report concludes that major gaps remain in many critical areas of preparedness, including surge capacity, rapid disease detection, and food safety. [MRC National Listserv][scb]

The January 2009 issue of NIH News in Health is now available online. Learn how cold weather can affect medical conditions, find out about the most common uses for complimentary and alternative medicine, and read about the results of two clinical trials studying alternative medicine for the treatment of prostate cancer. [da]

WISER 4.2 is out! Updates include substance’s protective distance data interactive maps for WISER for Windows. Visit http://wiser.nlm.nih.gov/index.html to download the latest version. [da]

In Other Words…Health and Health Literacy Information Resources From the NLM 
By Helen Osborne, M.Ed., OTR/L
On Call Magazine, December 4, 2008

The NLM is part of the U.S. National Institutes of Health. It is the largest medical library in the world and contains numerous databases and electronic resources. A PubMed search, though, can return an overwhelming list of resources. This article highlights ways to narrow searches so users can more quickly find the specific materials they need. http://www.healthliteracy.com/articles.asp and http://www.boston.com/jobs/healthcare/oncall/ [scb]

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/news/odds_apha_blueribbon.html
The National Library of Medicine’s traveling exhibition, Against the Odds: Making a Difference in Global Health http://apps.nlm.nih.gov/againsttheodds/index.cfm , earned a best exhibit blue ribbon at the American Public Health Association (APHA) 2008 meeting. Schools of public health that would like to host the traveling exhibition can contact the Association of Schools of Public Health http://www.asph.org/index.cfm. The Association is coordinating the tour of the exhibit to schools of public health with support from the Partners in Information Access for the Public Health Work Force http://phpartners.org/. [scb]

Start the New Year with new MeSH terms! For 2009, 446 descriptors have been added to enhance your PubMed search results.

The National Library of Medicine’s NLM Technical Bulletin will keep you informed all year long with enhancements, updates and changes. Visit NLM Announces to sign up to receive email alerts from the Bulletin and numerous other listservs. [da]

Apply to the attend the National Libray of Medicine’s BioMedical Informatics Course offered twice a year at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. This weeklong course is fully funded by the NLM. You can read Network member Laura Hickerson’s recap of her experience last summer in the latest issue of the Plains to Peaks Post http://nnlm.gov/mcr/services/comm/newsletter/PTPP_November_2008.pdf Applications are due January 15, 2009 for both sessions. Don’t miss this opportunity! Learn more at http://www.mbl.edu/education/courses/special_topics/med.html [scb]

A new version of the National Library of Medicine’s Drug Information Portal is now available. The portal now covers over 16,000 drugs. Current information regarding consumer health, clinical trials, AIDS-related drug information, MeSH pharmacological actions, PubMed biomedical literature, and physical properties and structure is easily retrieved by searching a drug name. [da]