“As we take this opportunity to observe the July 4th holiday with loved ones and friends, we are reminded of all we have to be thankful for and why it is so critical that we do all we can to protect our families and communities. I encourage all Americans to take a few simple steps to ensure that if and when your community is impacted by an emergency or disaster, you are prepared.
“Most importantly, develop a family disaster plan - have the discussion now about what you will do if your community is impacted, where you will go, how you will communicate with your loved ones. I also encourage you to take a CPR or first aid course, transforming you from a survivor to an asset to your family and community in the case of emergencies. And, in the case of an emergency, after you have determined the safety of you and your family, check on a neighbor and make sure others are safe.
“We are all a part of our nation’s emergency response team, and the small steps we can each take now will go a long way in shaping our successful response to the next disaster. For more information on how to make sure you and your family are prepared please visit www.ready.gov.”
I think that emphasizing the public’s role as part of the overall disaster response “team” is a good approach. It offers both positive (’you are part of the solution’) as well as negative (’you don’t want to be part of the problem’) messaging.
The Obama Administration will be holding a H1N1 Flu Preparedness Summit on Thursday at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Education Secretary Arne Duncan, and Homeland Security Advisor John Brennan will host the all-day parley to further prepare the nation for the possibility of a more severe outbreak of H1N1 flu.
“Scientists and public health experts forecast that the impact of H1N1 may well worsen in the fall - when the regular flu season hits, or even earlier, when schools start to open - which is only five or six weeks away in some cases,” Secretary Sebelius said. “The goal of the Summit is to launch a national influenza campaign by bringing federal, state and local officials, emergency managers, educators and others together with the nation’s public health experts to build on and tailor states’ existing pandemic plans, share lessons learned and best practices during the spring and summer H1N1 wave, and discuss preparedness priorities.”
I think getting everyone in the room and around the table is a great idea in advance of the Fall. I hope and expect that there will be a good deal of focus on some of the citizen-related issues and questions that we have been discussing on the blog, such as school closings, work place sick leave and other community mitigation policies and procedures.
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In a New York Times op-ed today, “Defend America One Laptop At A Time,” Harvard Law Professor (and former director of the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel) Jack Goldsmith argues that the everyday computer user can play a key part in the nation’s cyber security initiative. Cyber security is seen as an increasingly vital piece of the the U.S.’s homeland security portfolio, and I have been focusing on finding ways that citizens (in addition to government and private industry) can contribute. Goldsmith, who is currently working on a book on cyber security, says the public’s computers are a vulnerable front for potential attackers. As he writes:
“Our digital security problems start with ordinary computer users who do not take security seriously. Their computers can be infiltrated and used as vehicles for attacks on military or corporate systems. They are also often the first place that adversaries go to steal credentials or identify targets as a prelude to larger attacks.
President Obama has recognized the need to educate the public about computer security. The government should jump-start this education by mandating minimum computer security standards and by requiring Internet service providers to deny or delay Internet access to computers that fall below these standards, or that are sending spam or suspicious multiple computer probes into the network.”
This is a subject I will be continuing to follow, and I’ll be interviewing Goldsmith to discuss it further sometime soon.
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FEMA Administrator met with New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Ed Skyler and Office of Emergency Management head Joseph Bruno to discuss New York’s emergency preparedness efforts and to bolster the relationship between the City and the federal agency.
I spoke with Fugate after the meeting on the steps of New York’s City Hall and recorded two YouTube videos with him. In the first, he urges New Yorkers to prepare for emergencies saying, “if you haven’t gotten ready, you need to get ready” (including learning CPR and First Aid). Fugate points out that while the Big Apple may have the most resources of any city to respond to a disaster, if those New Yorkers who can prepare do so it frees responders to help the most vulnerable members of the public.
In front of City Hall, Craig Fugate urges New Yorkers to prepare for disasters.
In the second video, Fugate discusses his meeting with City officials. He notes that New York typifies the all-hazards approach to disaster management and emphasizes that FEMA’s role is to complement and assist local and state efforts.
Craig Fugate reports on his discussions with New York City officials.
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If you don’t have an emergency preparedness plan for yourself, your family, and even your community, now is a good time to make one. That’s the message public health officials are sending as cases of the novel H1N1 influenza virus continue to rise nationally and globally.
“If you don’t have a plan, you need one now,” said Roger Pollok, special projects manager for Emergency Preparedness at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District in Texas. “The stakes are a little different now.”
The CIDRAP article notes further that in the initial H1N1 outbreak public health officials focused primarily on disease prevention:
“The message was, ‘People, y’all need to take precautions,’” Pollok said.
These precautions include covering coughs with tissue, cleaning hands frequently and thoroughly with soap or alcohol-based sanitizers, sanitizing surfaces such as shopping cart handles, and staying away from others when ill. Pollok said these are healthy habits people always need to maintain.
But now many health departments are now also working on reinforcing messages on personal and community preparedness. Being informed is the first step, health officials say.
Pandemicflu.gov and various health departments offer checklists on what individuals and families can do to get ready for a pandemic. They include:
· Learn about pandemic H1N1 influenza, its symptoms, how it spreads, and how to prevent infections.
· Stock up on water and non-perishable food. Although the recommendations vary from days’ to months’ worth, most experts agree it’s important to have extra key supplies on hand.
· Ensure you have a supply of your prescription medicines.
· Keep other emergency and health supplies handy such as flashlights, manual can openers, face masks, and painkillers.
· Make a list of people who are willing to help and can be contacted in case of emergencies.
· Make plans for potential disruptions at work, curtailed social gatherings, and school closures (for example, is it possible to work from home if you are unable to go into work?).
Other useful skills for pandemic preparedness include learning how to care for the sick at home, rehydration therapy, and isolation measures, said, Joy Alexiou, public information officer for the Santa Clara Department of Public Health in California.
“Get things in order. Have the supplies in hand so you are not surprised when you go to the store and it’s not there,” said Alexiou, noting that in the first days of the HINI outbreak, some stores ran out of hand sanitizer.
Because infections can spread quickly among children and in school settings, constantly reminding kids about necessary health precautions is also important. Hundreds of schools around the world have closed to help contain the spread of infection. Pollok said his department is planning a back-to-school campaign with information about the flu.
Public health officials also encourage a broad approach when it comes to emergency planning-individuals should not only be ready for a pandemic, but other disasters that may affect their area, such as floods, hurricanes or earthquakes. “When you develop a plan, make sure it’s all-hazards,” Pollok said.
*In response to questions from interviewer Dave McIntyre, Ripley said a fundamental problem is that the way we inform citizens of hurricane threats is “flawed. It’s not a good warning system” noting that the Saffir-Simpson scale (categories 1-5) doesn’t address storm surge, only wind. That’s in large part because storm surge can be variable throughout the same area. “If this is a warning system designed for the public. it should be designed for the public. It should include storm surge…Emergency warnings are written for emergency officials. They’re written for scientists.” Ripley added: “They’re looking for perfection” because of storm surge variability, but “the public doesn’t need perfection.” (She noted that the World Health Organization’s pandemic alert system had a similar public understanding problem since it is based on geographic spread not the severity of the illness.)
*In the interview, Ripley also pointed out that new FEMA head Craig Fugate commented recently in a speech said that media puts too much attention (almost reward) ‘hurricane holdouts’ who have to be rescued rather than focusing on those ‘more responsible’ citizens who do whatever they need to do to evacuate (sometimes at great effort and expense) and therefore relieve the burden on first responders and taxpayers.
Though public and media attention on the H1N1/Swine Flu outbreak has waned, there is a clearly need to examine its lessons for future citizen preparedness and response — whether that be for a reoccurrence of a more deadly H1N1 flu in the Fall or another national emergency situation. So, I thought I would contact some experts as well as ask for reader input to see what we should be learning from the H1N1 situation when it comes to informing, engaging and preparing citizens for future emergencies. Below are some of the responses; I will be posting another collection in a week or two. If you would like to contribute a “lesson” for Part 2, please either write a Comment at the bottom of this post or email me at jsolomon@incaseofemergencyblog.com.
LESSONS OF H1N1 FLU OUTBREAK FOR CITIZEN PREPAREDNESS
* Jeff Levi, Executive Director, Trust For America’s Health (www.healthyamericans.org):
During the outbreak, there was clear and consistent communication from President Obama on down — led by the public health professionals — which was effective in calming the American people. However, the social and economic consequences of community mitigation guidance have not been as carefully thought through as had been hoped. The value of some mitigation strategies implemented, such as face masks in Mexico, were overstated. While reopening the schools was driven in part by the fact that the virus turned out to be less virulent, the full impact of the challenges of finding alternative child care had not been planned for, even though the CDC had been warned about this.
At present, the nation does not have in place the social and economic policies that support public health recommendations. During the H1N1 outbreak there were numerous media reports of people with influenza-like illnesses not staying home from work, because they had no sick leave and feared losing their jobs or had concerns about the costs in seeking early medical attention. There must be consideration of these work and school policies in a future public health emergency.
There is also a need to consider that the “worried well” did at times stress emergency departments and private practices who were not as prepared as they need to be. Though there were examples of some health departments which did a good job of warning people to stay away from emergency rooms if they did not exhibit symptoms of H1N1.
* Jan Lane, Senior Policy Advisor, George Washington University Homeland Security Policy Institute (www.gwumc.edu/hspi):
Our experience with H1N1 over the past few months provided a number of important lessons, and gave us the opportunity to test a number of areas of pandemic preparedness planning.
Overall, government communications with the general public were handled well, and did much to maintain the public’s trust. However, we still have work to do when it comes to planning at the community level — for example, decisions regarding school closures, and workplace sick leave policies.
Over the coming months, as we face the potential for a more virulent strain to emerge in the Fall, we have a unique opportunity to actively engage the public in community problem solving. While the federal government health authorities can provide general guidance, community needs vary and we can’t always apply a one-size-fits-all response. Local health departments, local emergency managers, schools and businesses would be wise to include members of the general public at their planning tables, as they review lessons learned so far and plan for the future. What do citizens believe they need if we are faced with a more deadly form of the flu? What are their expectations? If they are briefed and understand the issues and limitations of medical surge capabilities of their local health care facilities, can they help reduce the number of patients that could overwhelm emergency rooms?
Real community engagement is an asset to federal, state and local governments as they prepare for what may come next. It requires a re-thinking of roles and responsibilities and the courage to let the public be part of the solution instead of being viewed as a group that needs to be ‘handled’ during a major public health emergency.”
One of the major lessons learned here, but it isn’t learned yet because we still have to work on it, is how to handle illnesses in schools and school closings in the setting of an H1N1 outbreak. Most of the schools that were affected had low income students in them with parents, both of whom work, and there weren’t really any good alternatives for parents other than to take the children to an alternate site like a community center or a library. What we really need to do looking into the future is to figure out how to give parents, particularly double income parents, alternatives that are going to work for them to keep their children isolated. That’s a major challenge that we are going to have be looking at in the fall.
A worker disinfects a classroom at Byron P. Steele High School in Cibolo, Texas where all public schools and parks were closed during the H1n1 outbreak. (Associated Press photo)
I wanted to highlight a new list of social media offerings from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) which are on its website here. They include the Department’s here. They include the Department’s two-week-old blog; Facebook, Flickr, YouTube and Twitter sites for various DHS agencies; and even the iTunes offerings from the Transportation Security Administration. And, DHS is asking for user feedback on its social media initiatives:
“Below is the list of tools and sites that the Department and our components use to provide up-to-date information, straight from the source. If a site is not on this list, it is not presently being used by the Department of Homeland Security. If you think something is missing, or if you have any questions, contact us.”
From FEMA’s YouTube page: Administrator Craig Fugate’s “message to the public on the hurricane season”.
To avoid being struck by lightning, the National Weather Service recommends that you:
*Get into a fully enclosed building or hardtop vehicle at the first rumble of thunder;
*Stay indoors for 30 minutes after the last thunder clap;
*Monitor the weather forecast when you’re planning to be outdoors;
*Have a plan for getting to safety in case a thunderstorm moves in;
*Do not use a corded phone during a thunderstorm unless it’s an emergency; cell phones are safe to use;
*Keep away from plumbing, electrical equipment and wiring during a thunderstorm.
For more information, check out the National Weather Service’s Lightning Safety webpage here.
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