Emergency Preparedness Month
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A fire alarm sounds, strobes flash, and for a moment, your heart rate spikes. What happens next is a near programmed response, where a mass of humanity systematically flows towards the nearest exit and assembles in their designated safe rally point, where leadership accounts for each community member, ensuring their safety. In short, since we were children, we have practiced emergency preparedness.
Emergency preparedness has a long history which is woven into the human condition and has been continuously reinforced and reinvented as we encounter new and increasingly hazardous challenges. Government agencies constantly work to identify and prepare for emergencies which range from natural disasters and weather emergencies to terrorist attacks and pandemics. Our national, regional, and local responses to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the intense 2020 hurricane season, and the rapid spread of wildfires provide real world examples of emergency preparedness in action.
While reflecting on current events, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) call on each of us to make a plan, get involved, and educate others. Ready.gov is the home of the September 2020 National Preparedness Month campaign: “Disasters Don’t Wait. Make Your Plan Today.”
As you consider the emergencies you may encounter, you may find yourself torn between several roles. As a healthcare provider, your role in the community will provide valuable, often life-saving, care to those in need, as a family member you are relied upon to provide for and protect those you love, as a member of a community you are called upon to support those in need; you will be pulled in multiple different directions when an emergency occurs. Those called to service by their employment have likely received documentation and training from their employer which describe roles, responsibilities, and action plans for emergency activation in their professional role. A challenging topic, which is often overlooked or under-planned for, is personal planning for larger scale emergencies.
Where would you and your dependents seek shelter should your home become uninhabitable? What resources are available if you are without power for an extended period of time? Who will care for your children, pets, and other dependents if you are called to serve for an extended period of time?
About the author: Kyle R. Scully, Ph.D. is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at UNE COM. Dr. Scully has 8 years of experience as a volunteer firefighter, EMT, and technical rescue specialist, serving communities in RI and PA. His research interests include Prehospital emergency medicine and natural products.
DISASTERS DON'T WAIT
By Kyle Scully, PhD