admin note: we just added a poll to this thread today, april 25, 2008, please take a second and vote in the poll so we can have a graphical representation of the responses. thanks
scenario:
h5n1 (the bird flu) mutates to become efficient at transmitting human to human causing a pandemic, with a case fatality rate of 60% and with 80% of the cases in the 0-40 year old age range.
hospitals will be quickly overrun. hospital staff shortages are 50%. the government orders all nurses to work. there is not enough personal protection equipment (n95 masks, gloves, goggles, tamiflu, vax, etc)
home quarantines become common (in the fed plans).
your family is also quarantined in your home. you are running out of food and the government promises you will be "taken care of" if you report to work.
When I'm old enough and financially able I plan to either purchase property in a somewhat remote area in the mid-west or in Canada. If something of this magnitude should occur, I would bring my family to my (hopefully) temporary quarters.
This is something that I always just assumed I'd do if it ever came to that. I really haven't ever given it that much thought.
But now that I have a child and plan to have many more I might not be so apt to go help. I'm sure I still would though b/c I live in a very small community where the number of healthcare workers would probably be very low.
ETA: Not all 800 lbs weren't food, I also purchased a few other items to make the total, IIRC, 803 lbs.
Also, if you plan on remaining in California, the midwest and Canada are awfully far away. You might consider a retreat somewhere in rural California or Oregon, which would be much easier to access during a disaster.
Perpetual Student is right. The UK and US governments have modeled a pandemic as going global in 2 to 4 weeks, and in reality there's no guarantee the general public will have the luxury of that much notice anyway. If it's a major pandemic it would be reasonable to expect areas to be quarantined to prevent the spread of the disease, so long trips cross country might not be possible. The best retreats would be in rural communities and a safe distance from large cities.
I would go to work in a pandemic. Partially because I don't have a SO or kids to worry about and partially because by the time the fragmented and wacky health system in this country figures out there is a pandemic, I'll probably be sick anyway. In my naive outlook, nursing is a calling and would see it as my duty as a nurse or something along those lines.
However, the healthcare system doesn't have a chance of functioning during a pandemic even if one is detected early on. Just think of what loosing linen services would be like, never mind PPE shortages. I'd give the whole thing two weeks before the system completly implodes.
When that happens, I'm grabbing supplies and heading for the hills.
I don't trust the government. Nothing and no one comes before my very young children. (2.5 years and 6 months) I will not abandon my children. No way, no how. That would mean my kids would die. At their ages they obviously can not do anything for themselves. The youngest can't even crawl and doesn't even take a bottle. No mama = no food. How would he survive? I will not sacrifice them.
Prior to having children I would have worked. If my children are of age to be independent (no longer living with me/have their own families) then I would work. I wouldn't be needed for my children's survival. Yeah, they wouldn't be happy if their mom died, but they would still have a chance at survival.
admin note: please note, we just added the poll to this thread (4-25-08), so please take a second and vote in the poll so we can get a graphical idea the responses. thanks
scenario:
h5n1 (the bird flu) mutates to become efficient at transmitting human to human causing a pandemic, with a case fatality rate of 60% and with 80% of the cases in the 0-40 year old age range.
hospitals will be quickly overrun. hospital staff shortages are 50%. the government orders all nurses to work. there is not enough personal protection equipment (n95 masks, gloves, goggles, tamiflu, vax, etc)
home quarantines become common (in the fed plans).
your family is also quarantined in your home. you are running out of food and the government promises you will be "taken care of" if you report to work.
will you go?
i would not separate from my family. they come first.
I agree, family should always come first. I voted that I am undecided....
Same here...I'm currently single so would be much more inclined to go in since I don't have a husband/kids to take care of. I would want to do whatever I can do to help, whatever my situation. However, once I do have a family they will come first so I would not want to leave them for a long period (except possibly if the kids were older) or put them at risk by potentially bringing the bug home to them if there's not enough PPE. Therefore, I would be much less likely, once I have a family, to go to work during a pandemic. Maybe the thing to do is to have a supply of our own PPE--how feasible would that be?
Sure you could supply your own PPE but do you have any idea of the cost? I keep PPE here at the house equivalent to haz-mat Level B protection - strictly emergency get-outa-Dodge use because we are talking a cost of around $120/person for a max. 8 hours of protection before the mask filters become ineffective and need to be changed.
I also keep medical PPE as well. Much better quality than what I am supplied with at work; PPE I would pretty much bet my life on - the stuff we are provided with at work I will not. It is thin, ill-fitting and undersized for someone 6' 2" like me. If it doesn't say Kappler or similar (quality-wise) I don't trust it.
Granted, I have a minor background in haz-mat, one reason I am fussy about my gear. But as an EMS director I supplied my people with much better stuff for encephalitis cases than what we have in the hospital. I wasn't willing to put the lives of my people at risk just to save a few dozens of bux over the course of a year's budget.
ProLogic
121 Posts
When I'm old enough and financially able I plan to either purchase property in a somewhat remote area in the mid-west or in Canada. If something of this magnitude should occur, I would bring my family to my (hopefully) temporary quarters.