National Preparedness Month: Make and Practice Your Plan

National Preparedness Month: Make and Practice Your Plan

The first weekly theme this National Preparedness Month is Make and Practice Your Plan.

Ready.gov provides tips for putting together your family/household plan (https://www.ready.gov/make-a-plan). Don’t forget to plan for your pets, property, and critical documents. Commuters should also have a plan in case a disaster occurs while they are traveling between work and home.

At the National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Preparedness Month also means that responders and healthcare workers should review and update their plans. Responders can start by packing their Digital Go Bag (https://sis.nlm.nih.gov/dis_courses/digital_go_bag/index.html) Save valuable time with tools on your laptop or smart device for responder safety, surveillance and alerts, psychological health, and medical and health information.

Pro tip: internet access may be slow or nonexistent in a disaster. Check the offline functionality of your apps ahead of time by turning on Airplane mode on your device.

Is your organization building or revising its disaster playbook? You will find over 3,000 exercises and plans in the Disaster Lit® database: https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/search?q=plan+OR+exercise

If your plan is up to date, learn how NLM is developing virtual reality tools to plan and run collaborative exercises and training:https://disasterinfo.nlm.nih.gov/virtual-reality 

Lastly, there are two webinars this week of interest:

• Preparedness and Response for Public Health Emergencies, the Mission of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, hosted by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine Southeast Atlantic Region. Speaker: Dr. George Korch, Senior Science Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), US Department of Health and Human Services https://nnlm.gov/class/seaside-webinar-preparedness-and-response-public-health-emergencies-mission-assistant
• How to Save a Life - Administering Naloxone 101, hosted by the National Network of Libraries of Medicine New England Region. Speakers: Bonnie White EdD, MSN, RN, CNE, CCM, Interim Assistant Dean, MCPHS University, Worcester, MA; AND Francis Melaragni, MBA, CMA, Director of Pharmaceutical & Healthcare Business Program, MCPHS, Boston, MAhttps://nnlm.gov/class/how-save-life-administering-naloxone-101/8877

Remember: Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How.