Eric Holdeman is the Director of the Office of Emergency Management for King County, Washington. The County's website hosts his blog, from which he podcasts on all aspects of disaster preparedness. His blog covers the spectrum of Emergency Management issues: homeland security, public education, 911 services, people and politics, and, of course, pandemic influenza. As we report on Mr. Holdeman's blog, he's dealing with recent flooding caused by record rainfall in the area. This brings to mind the sober reminder that pandemic influenza could interact with weather or other natural or man-made events in ways that are difficult to predict.

Holdeman brought to his readers' attention a joint effort with the University of Washington and Public Health (Seattle and King County) to prepare health workers and people in related fields to get emergency information out to the public quickly and effectively. According to the press release, the project included "an interactive simulation of a flu pandemic." The purpose of the simulation was to prepare public health communicators for the stress of an actual emergency. The effort included "video, audio and online technologies." The resulting course is available online.

In the simulation, participants were asked to play the role of a member of the Public Health department when suspected cases appeared in their area. This work is directly relevant to the pandemicsimulation.com mission.

Holdeman's insights extend beyond the public health preparedness challenge. His blog is wide-ranging and reflects diverse concerns for interdependencies across disciplines and crises. He remarks upon recent legislation affecting preparedness, special needs for schools in the event of pandemic influenza, masks, and a swath of news stories accessible both to the public and to emergency management professionals.