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The Government Doesn’t Think It’s Prepared

In a recent speech delivered to the Department Health and Human Services, Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that they were far short of their goal of vaccinating all priority groups with the Swine Flu Vaccine. Sebelius does not want to see a repeat of the disaster as was seen with Hurricane Katrina, and wants to review the federal government’s disaster plans. Sebelius is concerned about the government’s preparedness level:

“We don’t know what’s coming — the next public health emergency we face could be much worse.”

As a result, Sebelius has asked the assistant secretary for preparedness and response, Dr. Nicki Lurie to review the department’s stockpiling of supplies such as medical masks and ventilators, as well as more vaccine development and contracts.

If the government is concerned about its own preparedness level and is announcing that it may not be able to assist everyone should a pandemic occur, then you should be making your own plans and preparations to protect yourself and the ones you love. You should stock up on your own medical masks and ventilators, as well as other medical supplies. It’s clear that those who wait for the government to respond will end up wishing that they had prepared ahead of time. 

Source:

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE5B03OM20091201

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An Emergency Heads-Up

Remember the days in college when the biggest headache was always the dorm fire drill? The RAs always seemed to delight in pulling the fire alarm at 3:00 in the morning. These days, you can apparently get interrupted at any time via text message. Western Illinois University checked out its emergency alert system recently:

“People who receive test calls, e-mails or texts do not need to take any action. When messages are received, simply listen to or read the test message and then hang up and delete the message. Test messages will be sent to phone numbers and e-mail addresses in the WEAS emergency contact database.”

Remembering how we all were back in the day, it’s likely that most students will look at it and shrug, and then delete the message before focusing back on whatever they were doing. This is unfortunate, because college should have been a time to network and plan for emergency situations, especially when you have a close-knit group of likeminded friends. You basically have two options in a major emergency situation: join the herd and go where they tell you and then hope that someone will show up with a sandwich and a bottle of water for you, or be prepared so you can help others.

Here’s another tip: If you live in a college town but don’t attend classes there, you might still be able to sign up to receive emergency alerts from the campus system. You’ll often receive those before the media finds out about an emergency, so you can be a step ahead of everyone else.

Source:

http://www.qctimes.com/news/local/e7e4adaa-de7b-11de-ab76-001cc4c002e0.html

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Humor Swine Flu (H1N1 or Influenza A)

The Lighter Side of H1N1

With all the serious discussion about H1N1 Swine Flu, sometimes it’s just nice to see a lighter side to the topic!

Check out this H1N1 Halloween Pumpkin from Chris Streeter on Flickr! http://www.flickr.com/photos/chrisstreeter/ / CC BY-ND 2.0
 
A little bit of comedy to the more serious topic of the H1N1 Swine Flu
A lighter side to the usually more serious topic of the H1N1 Swine Flu
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Charities/Groups we support Emergency Responders Fire Preparedness/Safety Uncategorized

What it takes to be a search dog

Just recently, I have taken in a new foster dog that might make it as a search dog.  Mack is a 10 month old GSD/black lab mix that was just too much of a handful for his current owner.  Due to his constant digging and barking, they moved him to the back yard when he was about 5 months old and he had very little play or structure since then.  He’s currently 76lbs and definitely has his own idea on how the world works.  The majority of dogs get a new name when they go into a program to help give them a new lease on life, we named him Mack because he was so big and pushy…as in ‘Mack Truck’.

So what did I see in Mack to make me think he might make it as a search dog?  First, when he got out of the car, in a strange location, he walked right up to me and said hi.  He showed a little bit of leeriness, which is perfectly fine but no barking at me in fear or avoidance.   I picked up one of the many frisbees that I have and guess what, he wanted to play with me!  This is fantastic!  He was not overall dependent on his owner for courage, meaning his desire for his toy was greater than him being afraid of me, or of the location he was in.  He also would play tug with me, which is the best thing that could have possibly happened.

Next, we loaded him back up in the car, drove to a different location and got him back out.  We then pulled out two tennis balls and started throwing them in tall grass.  All he wanted to do was run after them and hunt for them in the tall grass, not giving up until he found one.  This is also a great sign!

So based on those couple of tests and his overall temperament we decided that if he didn’t make it as a disaster dog, he would be okay as a wilderness search dog.  So I loaded him the truck, with my 3 other dogs, and took him home!

The next day, I took him out to the rubble pile to see how he did.  Wouldn’t you know, he surprised me and chased a frisbee up onto all different aspects of the pile!  I don’t think he realized he had four feet but that didn’t keep him from running up there to get the toy.

We actually have a scoring system for how the dogs react and a specific directions, but I won’t bore you with those.  If you really would like to see them they are located at www.disasterdog.org.

In the last week, we’ve been working on him barking for a toy, which he now will do without a problem.  He even will bark at me for the toy, which is laying at my feet!  He also has some food guarding issues which we are working through.  However, I do think all the components are there and with some work, they will come shining through.

Dunder and Mack are playing well, I’ll be taking them both out to the rubble pile to train and work on skills.

Wags,

Robin

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Disastrous State of Disaster Planning

Are states prepared to deal with major catastrophes? This issue is tackled by James Carafano in his Washington Examiner Column. He writes:

Few states have even begun to address their requirements for catastrophic planning. Most lack the expertise and resources to undertake large-scale disaster planning. Most focus available resources on “everyday” disaster response: Vermont must plan for snowstorms, Hawaii for volcanic eruptions and California for earthquakes. They’re far less motivated to think about the wider menu of disasters, from biological plagues to dirty bombs.

Are things any better at the federal level? Carafano continues:

Even the federal effort has ground to a halt. The cats don’t like being herded. To make the job easier, the Department of Homeland Security tried grouping the 15 scenarios into a group of eight “scenario sets,” but other federal agencies still complained there were too many planning requirements.

In response to the disastrous state of disaster planning, the Obama White House has put the whole effort on hold while it “rethinks” the presidential directives requiring the agencies to do anything. That’s not good news.

If your emergency preparedness plan is to wait for your local and federal government to come and rescue you, this report on the state of things should change your thinking. Preparedness is your individual and family responsibility, and you should buy the kits you need and take the right steps to ensure you and your family’s safety.

Source:
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/columns/Preparation-means-planning-ahead-of-time-8655242-79171502.html

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Lasting Impact of Power Failures

Losing power when you least expect it and when you’re unprepared can have a lasting effect. Two small towns in Massachusetts celebrated the anniversary of an ice storm that left them without power for an extended period. The Worcester Telegram and Gazette reports:

Residents of Lunenburg and Fitchburg are still talking about what happened to them after losing power for up to two weeks; area artists have created paintings and other objets d’art at the Rollstone Studios; the Fitchburg Senior Center held an Icebreaker Party; and yesterday, protesters picketed Unitil headquarters; and the Lunenburg Firefighters Association held a community event at the fire station, giving away free emergency starter kits.

“I was friendly with my neighbors before, but now we are friends,” Mr. [Jay] Rinaldi added.

He was without power for 11 days and had to cancel classes he taught in Boston. And he not only used his fireplace to keep his house warm, but also cooked pizza over that fire.

If you’re renting an apartment, you may not have the luxury of a woodstove or fireplace in your apartment. What will you do for heat and food? Homeowners also have to think through how they will get enough food, water and heat to stay alive. Do you have the supplies you need for a 2 week power failure?

Source:
http://www.telegram.com/article/20091213/NEWS/912130420/0/NEWS03

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A Sad Reminder about House Fires

House fires can be devastating to families. Even if no deaths occur, you can be emotionally traumatized by the loss of precious items burned in the fire. The following story reported by the Olympian is another sad reminder of the need to be prepared for fires:

Jerry Gilliland’s home on Walnut Loop on Olympia’s west side was destroyed Thursday night, most likely after a candle in the living room fell from a wall sconce, he said.

Gilliland lived at the home with his wife, daughter and son-in-law, as well as two granddaughters, ages 8 and 6. All six family members made it out of the home after a smoke detector alerted them to the blaze a little after 7 p.m., but the family’s beagle, Ivy, died, Gilliland said.

Gilliland was back at his home Friday afternoon, trying to salvage any belongings that hadn’t been destroyed. He said he was able to save precious little, including jewelry and family photos from the home, where he has lived since 1987.

You can learn from this story by doing what you can now to prevent future loss because of a fire. For example, put all valuable documents, jewelry and other items in a fire and water proof safe. Store the safe with your home survival kit so that you can evacuate with them both.

Source:
http://www.theolympian.com/southsound/story/1068278.html

Categories
Swine Flu (H1N1 or Influenza A)

Swine Flu Vaccine Shortage has Congress Fuming!

As reported in a recent ABC News Story, Congress is investigating the current shortage in swine flu vaccine availability and they’re not pleased to say the least!

Specifically, members of Congress are upset at Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius who promised back in September:

“We are confident that vaccine is going to be far more widely available. There is enough vaccine and will be to vaccinate every American who wants to be vaccinated and we are pushing it out as quickly as we can.”

That statement is particularly upsetting to pregnant women and young children across the country that waited several hours for a swine flu vaccine, and then being told there was none available for them. To add to the confusion was the complexity added by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention when they created two lists of people who would receive the vaccine first, which included a “high-priority” and “most-at-risk” group).

While starting off slow, the swine flu is now running rampant throughout the United States, as ABC Reports… ‘According to figures released by the CDC last week, since April an estimated 22 million people in the U.S. have become ill from the H1N1 virus, 98,000 people have been hospitalized, and 3,900 people have died, including 540 children.’

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Seasonal Flu Swine Flu (H1N1 or Influenza A) Technology

Google Cures the Flu, Well Almost…

Well Google can’t exactly cure the flu (yet!), but it can get you a lot closer to a favorable outcome. They recently launched the very useful Flu Shot Finder application that is integrated with Google Maps.

As its name suggests, the Flu Shot Finder helps you identify local places where you can get a flu shot.

One of the best features is that it shows you what type of flu shot is available at each individual location:

  • seasonal flu shot
  • H1N1 (swine) flu shot
  • both types of flu shots

Another great feature is that they show which locations are “Temporarily Out of Stock”.

However, even if a location looks like it’s not out of stock, it’s best to call ahead of time to determine hours and availability. In fact, it’s also worth calling the locations that are out of stock,  since there’s no guarantee the information being provided to Google is real-time and a location may have restocked their supply of flu shots already.

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Emergency Responders General Preparedness Personal Stories Uncategorized

The Best Gift of the Evening

My daughter is one of those kids for whom it is always difficult to buy a gift. I say “kid,” but she is 23 years old, a Flair Bartender (think Tom Cruise in “Cocktail”) and a Paramedic. She has been self-supporting for years and as a single working woman, has the luxury of being able to buy, what she wants cash when she wants it. When her birthday came around this year, she told me she wanted a toolbox (with Sears Craftsman tools) and a 72-hour Go-Pak.

Now before you think that this is a set-up, you must realize that I am the author of “The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Disaster Preparedness” (www.TheCompleteIdiotsGuide2DisasterPrep.com) and my youngest child has had a 72-hour Go-Pak since he was 5 years old. My daughter’s interest was not in just any Go-Pak, but in the best one that I had reviewed while I wrote the book. As an author and researcher, I also never write product endorsements, only factual reports.

As soon as my daughter opened her gifts, the Go-Pak had everyone’s attention. The backpack was opened and everything in the Go-Pak passed around by her firefighter colleagues. The Go-Pak she received was the 1800Prepare/Guardian adult 3-day disaster kit. This kit comes in a substantial bright red backpack. The Go-Pak comes “out of the box” with everything except your important documents, prescription medications and spare clothing. I do recommend adding 2 additional chem-lite sticks and a USB data drive for photos and medical records. The 1800Prepare website (www.1800prepare.com) has a complete inventory of the items in this Go-Pak. For me, the coolest item in the kit was the “Tube Tent.” This tent does not require poles and can be used as a tarp, tent or even a rain poncho should the poncho included in the Go-Pak be lost or damaged.

My daughter got her toolbox (with tools) too. Although she loves to tinker and her firefighter friends plan to borrow her tools often (at least so they said at her party), the best gift of the evening was her 72 hour Go-Pak. Every firefighter at the party asked me where they could get one like it and plan on giving them for gifts this year.

For years, I have encouraged everyone to give 72 hour Go-Paks to every family member as a gift. I am proud to say that as the result of this one gift, one major city’s fire/rescue service will begin giving this most important gift of preparedness.