I was looking the the other Disaster/Pandemic thread that Florida1 started. She mentioned that after the hurricanes, that they had problems getting basic supplies and food stores were often closed for weeks after the storm.
That concerns me. I wonder in case of disasters like hurricanes, earthquakes and pandemics if the nurses who work in the area have problems like that. I'd be worried about leaving my family if there was no heat or electric. After loosing electric in the ice storms in the Carolinas a few years back, my husband bought us a generator. I try to keep enough gas stored so that I could run that and maybe have an extra tank of gas for getting back and forth to work, if things were shut down. I never want to wait in the cold on those gas lines again; or have to risk driving around to find necessities!
What disasters have you been through? What lessons did you learn about what things would make life easier if it happens again to you? What can we learn from your experience, and how can we prepare for so we dont have to go through th esame problems you did?
Where there any sepcial tricks or issues that came up that helped you at work? Any special problems that nurses in disasters face?
I have a confession- my home first aid kit is pretty anemic right now :) DH burned his hand prety badly at work last week. I hadnt checked my kit in awhile, and was shocked to see how low I was on some stuff. I only had one roll banfage and had to make a run to WallyWorld the next day! If the stores were shut or the roads iced in or otherwise impassible that would have been an issue. Maybe not life threatening- but its a small example of how not being well prepared can be a problem.
I'd have been so embarrased to admit to hubby I couldnt take care of it, or come thru when he needed me to.
What do you do to prepare? I'm going to restock my kit, and get some more OTC stuff to keep on hand too. What else should I be thinking about?
indigogirl, all that came through looked like Sanscrit. What happened? And thanks for all the work that you have done. My place actually has a comittee in place to look at what needs to happen in case of a serious event. Thinking about thinking about it, but at least it is on the horizon.
indigogirl, all that came through looked like Sanscrit. What happened? And thanks for all the work that you have done. My place actually has a comittee in place to look at what needs to happen in case of a serious event. Thinking about thinking about it, but at least it is on the horizon.
Whoah! It does look like Sanskrit. Let me try this again. Sorry!
Oh, I see that it is actually a problem with the pdf. No matter what site I try to link to, once you hit the pdf, you get Sanskrit. We will have to wait for them to fix it.
Dept of HHS is now hosting the National Pandemic Flu Leadership Blog.
Everyone is invited to participate. This will only last for five weeks so if you have something to say to our national leaders about pandemic influenza preparation, now is the time to do it. I hope that some of you will take advantage of this opportunity to ask questions. This week's subject is why we need to prepare for pandemic. I see that Secretary Leavitt has posted already.
Here is a preparedness site from the state of Minnesota. Need help preparing your family? Here is how to do it for any type of emergency. Commonsense information that will help you feel like you are ready for almost anything.
Inform public of government pandemic outbreak consequence management
Potential of reduced workforce by 30-40% during peak of each pandemic wave
Prioritizing prophylaxis for essential workforce
Interruption in supply chain for food, fuel, and other essential items
Depleted response resources due to mechanical failure/lack of personnel
Anticipate each wave to last up to 90 days, with multiple outbreak waves
Maintenance of Continuity of Operations (COOP)/Continuity of Government (COG)
Interdependency with external departments/agencies/business partners
Interdependency with local tribal planning and preparation
Labor relations adjustments/variances during pandemic outbreak
Isolation of Incident Command Post (ICP) and/or Emergency Operations Center (EOC)
Higher than normal death rate in community
" The population may be directed to remain in their homes under self-quarantine for up to 90 days per wave of the outbreak to support social distancing." (page 7 of 37)
California is doing more than any other state to prepare for pandemic.
This is really remarkable. They are purchasing 21,000 additional beds to
be set up in auditoriums or other places to treat patients out of the hospital setting. They are buying additional vents. It may still not be enough but it is better than any other state is doing.
Now would they really go to all of this expense if they did not believe that there would be another pandemic?
In recent months, the Department of Health Services has been stockpiling 51 million protective masks in warehouses throughout the state, and has lined up 8 million courses of antiviral medicines. The agency bought 2,400 ventilators, and three fully equipped mobile field hospitals. On Friday, the state issued a purchase order for 21,000 hospital beds -- each with its own stash of linens and pharmaceuticals -- for use at alternate care sites.
And in a move being watched nationwide, a global consulting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers, is writing guidelines for medical providers to be used in an emergency such as a pandemic. They will be finished by the end of this month.
Jeffrey Levi is the executive director of the Trust for America's Health, a public health advocacy group that has lamented the lack of pandemic preparation across the country. He called California's efforts "extraordinary."
"In a major pandemic, no states have the medical capacity they need," Levi said. "But California is among the most -- if not the most -- aggressive in trying to address these issues."
indigo girl
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OSHA's new guidelines for protecting HCW during a pandemic.
http://www.osha.gov/Publications/OSHA_pandemic_health.pdf
(hat tip flutrackers/Niko)