Austin-Travis County EMS 2023 Annual Report

public information office Bringing the story to the community

+80,000 FOLLOWERS over multiple platforms

The Public Information Office (PIO) is a 24/7/365 operation and responds to media inquiries, open records requests, and legal requests and acts as the legal liaison for EMS employees. Its primary function is to serve as a conduit for the release of accurate and timely information from credible and accountable sources to the media, as well as visitors and residents of Travis County. Other Responsibilities Include: • Respond to major/high profile incidents; on-scene department spokesperson Crisis management message mitigation Collaborate with Community Relations and Injury Prevention to increase awareness Design, produce, and deliver department presentations Generate press releases and talking points for executive staff and subject matter experts (SME) Create and delivery of safety messaging Manage and operate all department social media activity • • • • • •

Our Facebook page is a tool to share information with the Austin-Travis County community. We post pictures, videos, stories, and links daily to keep our community and the media informed and engaged. Our Twitter feed, @ATCEMS, is our breaking news, incident reporting, weather, and safety messaging channel and is considered a “must-follow” channel by local media and residents. The ATCEMS YouTube and Vimeo channels are the primary medium for media and department-produced videos, including Public Service Announcements (PSAs), promotional videos, training videos, and news stories. Instagram is structured to tell the story of the work lives of our medics through pictures and videos. Our LinkedIn channel allows us to reach out to prospective applicants and others within our industry by posting about daily activities, medical advances, and procedures. We also share medical success stories as a result of our cutting-edge programs.

INITIATIVES & ACCOMPLISHMENTS • Coordinated and conducted 274 media interviews • Coordinated and tabled at 11 (one in each council district) Emergency Preparedness Pop-up presentations • Broadcasted four academy graduations live on Facebook • Participated in the TxDOT Share the Road Campaign (Motorcycle safety & awareness) • Participated in the TxDOT Click it or Ticket or Worse Campaign (Driver safety & awareness) • Participated in the TxDOT Work Zone Safety Awareness campaign • Presented a general introduction to the ATCEMS Public Information Office at all ATCEMS Cadet Academies

27