Archive for the ‘Drills/exercises’ Category
CDC: Disaster Preparedness for Expectant and New Parents as Maria storms in…….
Tuesday, September 19th, 2017Preparedness for Expectant and New Parents
Disasters, such as wildfires(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/emergency/wildfires.htm), hurricanes(https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/hurricanes/index.html), and floods(https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/floods/index.html), can be unpredictable and devastating. In honor of National Preparedness Month, learn general tips to get prepared before a disaster and what to do in case of a disaster to help keep you and your family safe and healthy.
Get Prepared for an Emergency or Disaster
Disasters can be scary and stressful, especially if you’re expecting or have a baby. You can take the following steps now to help you prepare for an emergency and better cope if an emergency happens.
- Talk to your doctor or other healthcare provider about—
- What steps you should take in any emergency.
- Where you will get prenatal care if your doctor’s office is closed.
- Where you will deliver your baby if your hospital is closed.
- Learn the signs of signs of preterm labor(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pretermbirth.htm#warning_signs) (labor before 37 weeks of pregnancy) and prepare emergency birth kit supplies.
- Learn about your community’s warning signals (such as tornado sirens) and check with your state emergency management agency to find out how to get emergency alerts and about the best places to take shelter during different types of emergencies.
- Make a family communication plan for how you and your family will contact one another and what steps you will take in different types of situations.
- Prepare an emergency kit that includes a 3-day supply of food and water, health supplies (including any medicines you may be taking), personal and baby care items, safety supplies, electronics (flashlight, radio, cell phone with charger, and extra batteries), and important documents, such as emergency telephone numbers.
- Plan ahead for where your baby will sleep if you have to evacuate your home. Your baby is safest sleeping on his or her back on a surface that is separate from others and does not have pillows, blankets, or toys. Learn more about these and other actions at Parents and Caregivers(https://www.cdc.gov/sids/Parents-Caregivers.htm#prevention) .
Once you are out of immediate danger, continue your prenatal care even if it is not with your primary doctor.
What to Do During and Just After Disaster
Expectant Parents
Pregnant women have special medical needs. If you’re pregnant or think you may be pregnant, you and your partner can take the following steps to help you stay safe and healthy in the event of a disaster.
- If you have any signs of preterm labor(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/maternalinfanthealth/pretermbirth.htm#warning_signs) (labor before 37 weeks of pregnancy), call your healthcare provider or 911, or go to the hospital immediately if it is safe to leave.
- If you have to evacuate, be prepared to leave quickly and have your emergency kit ready to go.
- If staying at a shelter or in temporary housing, tell the staff as soon as possible that you are pregnant and if you have any health problems.
- Once you are out of immediate danger, continue your prenatal care, even if it is not with your primary doctor. Tell the doctor or other healthcare provider if you have any health problems and if you take any medications (both over-the-counter and prescription).
- If you have your prenatal vitamins or prescription medicines with you, take them as directed. If you don’t have your prenatal vitamins or prescription medicines with you, ask staff at the shelter for help getting them.
- Protect yourself from infections by washing your hands often and staying away from people who are sick.
- During disasters, harmful chemicals(https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/chemicals.html) from businesses and other places may be released into the environment. Listen to announcements from emergency officials about chemical safety and actions you may need to take to protect yourself. If you have questions about exposure to harmful chemicals during pregnancy, call MotherToBaby at 1-866-626-6847. To reach the nationwide poison control center, call 1-800-222-1222.
- To help with physical stress, drink plenty of water and rest as often as you can. To help relieve emotional stress, talk to a healthcare provider, friend, or family member about your concerns and feelings.
Your baby is safest sleeping on his or her back on a surface that is separate from others and does not have pillows, blankets, or toys.
Parents of Infants
A disaster can make it difficult to access necessary supplies and health care. Parents and caregivers of infants can take the following steps to help keep their families safe and healthy in the event of a disaster.
- If you have to evacuate, be prepared to leave quickly and have your emergency kit that includes infant care supplies, such as baby food and a portable crib, ready to go.
- If you breastfeed your baby, continue to do so. Clean water may not be available for mixing formula or washing bottles. If you have questions about exposure to harmful chemicals while breastfeeding, call MotherToBaby at 1-866-626-6847. To reach the nationwide poison control center, call 1-800-222-1222.
- If you are away from your home during a disaster, take these actions to help your baby sleep safely(https://www.cdc.gov/sids/Parents-Caregivers.htm#prevention) .
- As soon as it is safe to do so, get a postpartum checkup if you are due for a visit, even if it is not with your usual doctor. If you’re not ready to get pregnant, you can ask for several months’ supply of the pill, patch, or ring or consider using a birth control method(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/contraception/index.htm) that will prevent pregnancy for several months.
- As soon as it is safe to do so, see a doctor or other healthcare provider for well-baby checkups or if you’re concerned about a health problem, even if it is not with your baby’s usual doctor.
- If you have your prescription medicines with you, take them as directed. If you don’t have your medicines with you, ask staff at the shelter for help getting them.
- If your baby is currently taking prescription or over-the-counter medicines, and you have them, continue giving them as directed.
- To help relieve emotional stress, talk to a healthcare provider, friend, or family member about your concerns and feelings.
More Information
- Emergency Preparedness and Response: Pregnant Women and Newborns(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/emergency/index.html)
- Information for Pregnant Women
- Caring for Your Family in a Disaster
- Parents and Parents-to-be(https://www.cdc.gov/childrenindisasters/parents.html)
- For health professionals: Emergency Preparedness and Response: Online Training Course(https://www.cdc.gov/reproductivehealth/emergency/training-course/index.html)
- To locate family: FEMA’s National Emergency Family Registry and Locator System
Honolulu, Hawaii: 14-day personal disaster kit advised
Saturday, July 22nd, 2017Honolulu-14_DAYS_OF_FOOD_AND_WATER_LOOK_LIKE: Document
Learn – Educate yourself on disasters that can affect you and your Family.
Plan – Create and exercise a Family Disaster Plan. Locate a secondary meeting place and designate an off island contact.
Individual, Family and Business Disaster Planning – Disaster planning is everyone’s business. Carefully review this information and take the time today to discuss preparedness planning with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
Video: Learn – Educate yourself on disasters that can affect you and your Family.
Plan – Create and exercise a Family Disaster Plan. Locate a secondary meeting place and designate an off island contact.
Individual, Family and Business Disaster Planning – Disaster planning is everyone’s business. Carefully review this information and take the time today to discuss preparedness planning with family, friends, neighbors and co-workers.
Develop a 14-Day Disaster Supplies Kit
Your disaster supplies kit should contain enough of the following items to last for 14-days minimum:
Water – One gallon of water per person per day for 14 days for drinking and sanitation
Food – Non-perishable food that does not require cooking. Survival foods such as Peanut Butter, Protein Shakes, Dried Fruits, Nuts
Eating Utensils – Plates, mess kits, forks and chop sticks. Don’t forget a non-electric can opener for canned foods
Radio – Battery-powered or hand crank radio with NOAA Weather alert
Light – Flashlight and or a portable fluorescent light
Spare batteries – Check annually
First Aid – Get a good kit and consider enrolling in a certified first aid course
Whistle – Important for signaling for help. A whistle carries much farther than the human voice and uses less energy than yelling
Dust Mask – Helps to filter contaminated air
Sanitation – Moist towelettes, heavy duty garbage bags, hand sanitizer gel, toilet paper, baking soda/kitty litter to absorb orders, gloves and plastic ties for personal sanitation
Tools – Wrench or pliers to turn off utilities, duct tape
Maps – Local area maps
Prescription – Special medications, glasses and medical devices
Pets – Pet food and extra water for your pet
Miscellaneous – Infant Formula, diapers, incontinent supplies, feminine products
Department of Emergency Management City and County of Honolulu Kirk Caldwell, Mayor 650 South King Street ♦ Honolulu, HI 96813 (808) 723-8960 ♦ Fax (808) 524-3439 www.oahuDEM.org email : dem@honolulu.gov
The US State Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) last week conducted an unprecedented inter-agency drill to test the ability to airlift clusters of infected patients to hospitals with special biocontainment units.
Thursday, April 20th, 2017“……The State Department and Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday they led an unprecedented inter-agency drill last week to test their preparedness to deal with a new outbreak of Ebola or another deadly, highly infectious disease. In the drill, 11 simulated patients were flown in specially designed bio-containment containers on a pair of 747s and three smaller Gulfstream jets from Sierra Leone to Washington’s Dulles International Airport.
From Dulles, the purported patients then went to five medical facilities across the U.S – Bellevue Hospital in New York City, Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, the University of Minnesota Medical Center in Minneapolis, the Denver Health Medical Center in Denver and the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. The patients were played by non-infected volunteers…..”
French Disaster Plans: Dealing With the Paris Terror Attacks (Red, Yellow, and White Plans)
Monday, March 27th, 2017In the event of a disaster in France, two complementary plans are activated: the Red Plan and the White Plan.
The Red Plan concerns what is happening in the field. It is based on the principle of extracting and grouping the injured. The injured are grouped in the field hospital, the triage and care center where the treatment that is strictly necessary is given, to ensure survival, calm the pain, and be able to transport the victims without making their condition worse. The field hospital is placed under the authority of the medical response coordinating physician.
The Alpha Red Plan, such as that activated on the night of November 13, is designed to deal with multisite events.
The Yellow Plan is a variant of the Red Plan adapted to nuclear, radiological, biological, and chemical risks. At the same time, the hospitals must be prepared to deal with an influx of victims: this is the responsibility of the White Plan.
On November 13, the emergency services counted 479 victims: operations on chronic cases therefore had to be put on hold in order to deal with the urgent cases.
The White Plan includes setting up a unit tasked with communication with the media, informing families, programming the release of beds, calling in reinforcements, etc. In line with the Social Security Modernization Act of 2004, the White Plan was extended to cover all establishments around the hospital, including clinics
HiRO: Health Integrated Rescue Operations & Disaster Drones
Sunday, January 15th, 2017“….One HiRO (Health Integrated Rescue Operations) package is designed to provide help for a severely injured victim, another is intended for up to 100 people with significant to minor injuries……Drone experts from…Hinds Community College, with advice from the researchers, designed and built the disaster drones, which are equipped to fly in bad weather. “These drones have impressive lift and distance capability, and can carry a variety of sensors, including infrared devices, to help locate victims in the dark,” says Dennis Lott, director of Hinds CC’s unmanned aerial vehicle program.
Lott notes that any progress toward EMS response drone technology remains limited by Federal Aviation Administration ‘Part 107’ regulations that currently restrict most privately owned drones to a maximum weight of 55 pounds, an altitude ceiling of 400 feet, and line-of-sight operations, that is, within visible range………”
Futuristic: Drones in Disaster Response
Sunday, January 15th, 2017“….A tourist bus has tipped over and slipped into a gully…….you call 911.
Soon….a flashing light appears overhead, accompanied by a buzzing sound. You look skyward ……an EMS response drone drops from the heavens deux ex machina. The 3-feet-tall, 6-feet-diameter octo-copter has been automatically guided to your location using your smartphone’s GPS coordinates.
It lands nearby, carrying a kit stuffed with meds, gauze and bandages, a chest seal, clotting sponges, scissors, and tourniquets. As you rummage through it, a video screen inside lights up and a face appears. “I’m an emergency care physician. I’m here to help.”….”
The University of Cincinnati Public Safety Director last year established training for an “active shooter” scenario like the one that unfolded Monday morning at The Ohio State University. Then he and his team started training faculty, staff and students on what to do in the event an attacker arrives on campus intent to kill or harm.
Tuesday, November 29th, 2016“…..However, campus police chiefs and other officials all said authorities would be remiss if their universities did not continually train and educate faculty, staff and students on what to do — and what not to do — in an active shooter scenario…..”
DARPA Deploys 1,000 Detectors at the National Mall as part of an exercise designed to help track radioactive material threats in urban areas.
Tuesday, November 15th, 2016- “…Hundreds of volunteers participated in the program and wielded a backpack that contained radiation detectors while walking around the urban area as they attempted to locate an “abducted physicist” as part of the simulation….”
NYC program sends unarmed firefighters and EMTs into ‘active shooter’ situations
Tuesday, October 4th, 2016
“…..But the program has fueled concern among the unarmed first responders, who could be exposed to mass murderers or terrorists using assault weapons or explosives.
“It’s a f–king disaster,” a worried firefighter said. “We’re relying on these cops to give us the all-clear to head in and administer aid. What happens if there’s more than one shooter? We’re not ready for this.”
Another FDNY member dubbed it “the sitting ducks squad.”
Teams consisting of three firefighters, two EMTs and an EMS officer will wear bullet-resistant vests and helmets. Four cops specially trained for emergencies will guard them — two in the front and two in the rear.
It’s a drastic change from past practices. Usually, cops pull out victims, and medics wait in safe areas to give first aid.
Under the new plan, FDNY members would not go into a “hot zone” where a shooter or terrorist is still active. But they could enter a “warm zone”–with no imminent danger but still under threat — if escorted by the NYPD.
The only medical treatment given victims on the spot would be to stop heavy bleeding with a clotting agent or a tourniquet, or to clear the airways. The injured would be put on tarps and dragged out to safety as quickly as possible…..”