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Personal & Family Emergency Preparedness

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Are You Ready?

A Personal Approach to Preparing for Disasters

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“Preparing for a disaster is neither rocket science nor brain surgery. It is making sure that people at the grass-roots level know what to do.”

Ted KoppelAugust 2006

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This Workshop is About YOU!

• Beginning to prepare is tough, but essential

• Your preparations will be specific to your needs

• There’s no right way: it’s personal

Where do I

start?

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What Will You Learn During this Workshop?

• The importance of being prepared• Create a Family Communication Plan• Identify supplies needed to stay safe in

an emergency• Stay safe at home during an emergency • How and when to evacuate home

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Steps to Becoming Prepared

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Resources for You

• Redcross.org• FEMA.gov• Ready Minnesota• Ready.gov

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Let’s Get Started!

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A Case For Preparing

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A Case For Preparing

Topics1. Identify potential disasters 2. Perceiving the threat in order to

prepare3. Benefits of becoming prepared4. Obstacles to becoming prepared

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Natural Disasters In Our Area

• Tornadoes• Winter Storms• Power Outage• Floods• Fires• Infectious Disease

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Intentional Man-made Disasters

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Weapons of Mass DestructionCBRNE Model

• Chemical

• Biological

• Radiological

• Nuclear

• Explosive

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Likelihood and ImpactIm

pac

t

Probability/ Likelihood

NuclearWeapons

ImprovisedRadiological

Device Chemical

Bioterrorism

ExplosiveIncendiary

Natural

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Perceive the Threat in Order to Prepare

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All Disasters Begin Locally

Preparing is your choice

Preparing reduces anxiety

Community preparedness starts with the individual

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Video

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Maintain Continuity of Operations

• Continuity

• Of

• Operations

“COOP”

A term used by emergency planners to describe plans made to continue activities of daily living throughout an emergency.

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Communication Plan

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Communicate with Loved Ones

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Communication Plan

Topics1. Communication barriers during an

emergency

2. Overcome communication obstacles

3. School emergency communication plan

4. Review communication plan regularly

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Communication May Be Interrupted

• Land lines may be physically down

• Cell phone lines may be overwhelmed

• Power outage may impede use of cordless telephone or cell phone

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Overcoming Barriers

Identify a pre-arranged meeting site for family

Identify a pre-arranged contact person living out of area

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School Emergencies

• Schools have emergency communication plans in place

• Know school emergency plans and phone numbers

• Identify how school will communicate quickly in a large scale disaster

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ACTIVITY: My Communication Plan

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• Review communication plan with family

• Keep communication card

• Update plan regularly

• Plan communication drill

Communicate with Loved Ones

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Identify Supplies You Need

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Emergency Supplies

Topics1. Identify personal, essential and specific

supplies needed

2. Collect supplies for two weeks at home

3. Approaches to gathering supplies

4. Obstacles to gathering supplies

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Emergency Supplies for Home

• Essentials to survive safely at home for 2 weeks

• Assumes lack of resources available

• Supplies are personal, specific and essential

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Specific Needs: Family of Four

• Father - 45 years old Colon cancer with colostomy

• Mother - 37 years old takes synthroid

• Son - 8 years old on Ritalin for ADD

• Daughter – 5 years old good health

• Pet dog and bird

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Specific Needs: Senior Couple

• Husband - 78 years old. Takes medication for hypertension and diabetes with retinopathy.

• Wife - 72 years old. Excellent health. Recently broke foot while hiking. Can’t drive.

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Specific Needs:Single-Parent Family

• Mother - 52 years old works as an emergency room nurse, and is part of the county disaster preparedness program

• Daughter - 16 years old new driver, independent, often unreliable on whereabouts

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ACTIVITY: A Day in My Life

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ACTIVITY: Master Emergency Supply List

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Emergency Supplies for Home

• Purchase “one extra” philosophy

• Stockpile philosophy

There’s more than one right way to do it!

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Rotating Supplies

• Keep it Fresh: First in, first out “FIFO”

• Create an inventory for “stockpiles” with outdates

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Obstacles to Becoming Prepared

• Personal priorities

• Financial limitations

• Community preparedness needs

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Stay Safe at Home

Topics1. Reasons to remain at home

2. What is Shelter-in-Place?

3. Safety skills to learn

4. Home safety practices

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Reasons to Remain at Home

• Storm or other natural disaster

• Toxic substance release

• Infectious disease exposure: home quarantine

• Caring for ill family members during an infectious disease outbreak

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“Shelter-in-Place”

• Term used by emergency planners • Occurs following release of chemical, biological

or infectious contaminants• Choose a small, interior room without windows• Instruction to shelter-in-place will come from

emergency or public health officials• Usually occurs over a few hours or a day

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Home Safety Practices

• What to do in a power outage

• Utility and water shut off

• Smoke and carbon monoxide detector

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Safety Skills to Learn

• How to dial 911

• Learn first aid and CPR

• Use of fire extinguisher

• Use of emergency communication technology

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Evacuation Plan

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Evacuation Plan

Topics1. Reasons to evacuate

2. Establish distant meeting sites

3. Assemble important documents

4. Create Go Kit and Car Kit

5. Plan for pets

6. School evacuation plans

7. Importance of practicing evacuation plan

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Reasons to Evacuate

• Hazardous spill or release

• Fire• Explosion• Flood• Other weather

related risk

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Family Evacuation Plan

• Select meeting sites• Know school

evacuation plan• Make a family drill

plan• Notify others of your

plan

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Evacuation Procedure

• Take emergency Go Kit

• Lock your home

• Turn off utilities if time permits

• Make arrangements for pets

• Post a note and/or initiate emergency communication plan

• Go to designated family meeting site

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DocumentsMake sure these items are in a

waterproof container in your Go Kit:• Personal identification• Emergency contacts with phone numbers• Cash & coins• Credit/ATM cards• Extra set of house & car keys• Maps of the area• Copies of important documents

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Go Kit• Personal, specific and essential supplies

for families for 3 days away from home• Portable container, tub or backpack• Ready at all times for immediate evacuation

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Go Kit: Supplies for 3 Days• Radio and Flashlight

• Extra batteries

• First aid kit

• Medications

• Keys/ cash/coins

• Documents

• Contact phone numbers

• Water 1 gallon/person/day

• Food/ Can opener

• Change of clothes/shoes

• Blanket/sleeping bag

• Tools/ special needs

• Personal Hygiene

• Sanitation Supplies

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Car Kit

• A Car Kit should remain in your vehicle at all times for emergencies on the road.

• Keep your gas tank at least half full

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And You’ve Already Begun!

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Psychological First Aid

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Psychological First Aid

Topics1. Reactions to stress

2. Resilience

3. What is Psychological First Aid?

4. Self-care strategies

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How Do You Handle Stress?

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Our Reaction to Stress is Physical

• Headache• Elevated blood

pressure and heart rate

• Elevated blood sugar• GI problems• Fatigue• Sweating• Pain

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Our Reaction to Stress is Emotional

• Anger• Guilt• Fear• Anxiety• Irritability• Hopelessness

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Our Reaction to Stress is Cognitive

• Difficulty concentrating

• Memory problems• Difficulty making

decisions• Confusion

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Our Reaction to Stress is Behavioral

• Keeping excessively busy

• Diet changes

• Isolation

• Substance abuse

• Sleep problems

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Our Reaction to Stress is Spiritual

• Change in spiritual life

• Questioning spiritual beliefs

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Children’s Reactions to Stress Vary

• Dependent on developmental stage, age and previous life experience

• Greatest fears:- Separation from family

- Death or injury of loved ones

- Being left alone

- Disaster or stress event will recur

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Event is More Stressful or Traumatic When……

• Event is unexpected• Many people die, especially children• Event lasts a long time• The cause is unknown• The event is poignant or meaningful• Event impacts a large area

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Resilience• Everyone who experiences a disaster is

touched by it• We have the ability to “bounce back” after

a disaster• Resilience can be fostered• One goal of Psychological First Aid:

support resilience in others

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What is Psychological First Aid?

• A set of skills that provide basic psychological support to others in the aftermath of a traumatic event

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What is Psychological First Aid?

• Provides a framework to help people stay calm and get what they need

• Uses basic communication skills

• Is not psychotherapy

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Take Care of Yourself

• Caring for ill family members can be stressful

• Watch for signs of emotional fatigue

• Identify self care strategies

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Take a Psychological First Aid Course

• Many agencies are providing psychological First Aid courses

• Train-the trainer courses are also available in Minnesota

• Contact Minnesota Department of Health

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Home Health Care in an Emergency

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Home Health Care in an Emergency

Topics1. Healthcare response in a disaster

2. Caring for ill family members at home

3. Preventing disease spread at home

4. Delivering basic first aid

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Hospitals Will Be Overwhelmed

• Hospital surge capacity

• Off Site Care Facilities

• Caring for loved ones at home

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Off-site Care Facilities

• Basic medical care away from hospital

• Not much different than 1918 pandemic influenza

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Caring for Family at Home

• Patients will need to be cared for at home

• Preparation for this is essential

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Caring for Family at Home

• Reduce fever• Signs and

treatment of dehydration

• Prevent spread of infection to others

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Goal: Reduce Fever

• Give fever-reducing medicine

• No aspirin before age 20

• Push fluids by mouth

• Light sponge bath

• Monitor temperature every 4 hours and record

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Signs of Dehydration

Dehydration occurs with:

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Fever

Heat prostration

Lack of fluid intake

Signs of dehydration include:Low urine output

Extreme thirst

Dry mouth

Listlessness

Sunken eyes

Lack of tears

Loss of skin turgor

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Goal: Prevent Dehydration

• Push fluids early • A teaspoon at a time can

add up • Use an electrolyte

solution for vomiting or diarrhea

• Record intake on illness log

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Homemade Electrolyte Solution

• Use in emergencies only: premixed electrolyte solutions are preferable

• Flavor with juice or sugar-free drink powder

• Do not use homemade solutions when treating infants and small children

• Don’t give up: keep pushing fluid if only a teaspoon at a time

Source: American Red Cross

1 quart water

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. table salt

3-4 Tbs. sugar

¼ tsp. salt substitute

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Monitor Illness

Keep an illness log

Record:Temperature Medication: time

and doseFluid intakeObservations and

notes

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When to Call for Help

Call healthcare professional for:

• Fever greater than

• Continuing dehydration despite efforts to give fluids

• Shaking chills

• Worsening of chronic medical condition such as heart or lung disease

105°F for an adult or older child

103°F in children 3 to 24 months

100.4°F in infants less than 3 months

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When to Call for Help

• Dial 911 for:– Shortness of breath– Confusion– Loss of

consciousness– Stiff neck– Seizure– Bluish or mottled

skin color

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Reduce Spread of Disease at Home

• Hand hygiene

• Respiratory etiquette

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Prevent Spread at Home

Hand Hygiene:• Wash hands frequently

• Wash vigorously for 15-20 seconds

• Use warm water and soap

• Rinse and dry thoroughly

• Use alcohol-based hand rubs if hands aren’t visibly soiled

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Prevent Spread at Home

Respiratory Etiquette– Cover cough– Use tissues and dispose

in garbage can– Keep hands away from

eyes, nose and mouth– Consider use of surgical

mask by person who is ill and coughing

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Prevent Spread at Home

• Keep personal items separate

• Disinfect surfaces

• Use hot water to wash clothes and dishes

• Wear disposable gloves when cleaning up body fluids

Source: American Red Cross

Disinfectant:

1 gallon water¼ cup bleach

Mix it up fresh every time you use it.

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Learn Basic First Aid Skills

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First Aid Kit• First Aid Manual• Adhesive Bandages• Sterile Dressings• Triangular Bandage• Roller Gauze• Adhesive Tape

• Antiseptic• Disposable Gloves• Cold Pack• Scissors• Tweezers• CPR Breathing Barrier• Thermal Emergency

Blanket

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Ordinary People can be Lifesavers!

Learn CPR and the use of Automated External Defibrillator (AED)

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Take a Course

• American Red Cross

• American Heart Association

• Local Service Organizations

• Community Education

• Workplace

• Local Public Health Agency

• Hospitals/ Clinics

• Fire Stations

• Dial MN 211 for course referral

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People with Special Needs

Topics• Define Special Needs• People with disabilities and chronic illness• Children have special needs• Language barriers• Where can you find help

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What are Special Needs?

• Incident dependent: Anyone may have special needs

• Essential Functional Needs– Functional independence– Communication– Supervision– Medical– Transportation

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Who May Have Special Needs?• People with disabilities• People with chronic illness• Infants/small children• Senior citizens• Pregnant women• Recent immigrants• People with complex

challenges• May include 50% of

population

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Chronically Ill and Disabled

• People with disabilities and chronic conditions require a higher level of medical services which may be interrupted for a period of time

• Prepare for interruption by collecting an emergency stock of medications and medical supplies

• Discuss plans with physician in advance

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Children have Special Needs, too

Make plans in advance:• Infant formula• Diapers• Special medication• Fever reducers for infant• Necessary equipment for

the chronically ill child

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Language Barriers

• Fewer non-English written resources exist for preparedness

• Language level at times not appropriate to all audiences

• Alternate language materials are provided by American Red Cross, ECHO and others

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Where Can You Find Help?• Agencies that support

people with specific disabilities

• Minnesota Department of Health (MDH)

• ECHO