I often ask parents what their child’s school emergency plan is and I am shocked that most parents don’t know if the school has one, never mind what the safety plan actually is.  The same goes for the workplace.  Do you have a safety plan at your place of employment?  If your school or work doesn’t have a plan, volunteer to help set one up.

Does your city have an emergency plan based in scenarios most likely to occur in your area?  If not, go to a city council meeting and bring it to the attention of the mayor and city council.  Coordinate with the police and fire chiefs to help your city develop a realistic plan to help all its citizens.  You will need to take into account the various businesses such as nursing homes and preschools to make sure that everyone is accounted for and assisted to the level they need.

Talk to your neighbors about their plans and what assistance they may need.  Partner with a friend so that if you aren’t home when a situation occurs that she will care for your children and commit to do the same for her children.  You can lessen the impact the disasters will have on you by taking the tine to get involved in planning for the inevitable.

I have to admit, when I first heard about the bird flu, I thought, “Why do I need to worry about a flu that people have on the other side of the world? How could a flu like that be a problem to me and my family?” But as I started to watch more coverage on the news, I realized that, just like any other emergency, I should really be prepared for it. I started my preparation by researching the flu and learning what I could about it.

The bird flu (Avian Influenza or H5N1) became a threat to humans when it became apparent that cases of the flu were being transferred from birds to humans. (Humans can potentially become affected with the bird flu by coming in contact with infected birds.) If you are not immunized against the bird flu, it is extremely hard to survive it. Also, experts have declared that it could very easily become a pandemic. This means, if the virus were to gain the capacity to spread easily from person to person, a worldwide outbreak of disease could begin. So, how do we prepare for that possibility?

The immunization that is available to protect humans from the bird flu is not easy to get your hands on. The few companies that make it have been making it as fast as they can, but are still not able to make it fast enough for the demand that is on them. So, the best way we can prepare ourselves for this emergency is by doing some of the same things you do to protect yourself from any other contagious disease.

Rule number one, wash your hands! We all learn it in kindergarten, but it’s so important to thwarting disease. Also, make sure you take proper food safety precautions. Never eat uncooked or undercooked poultry, and always wash anything in your kitchen that comes in contact with it. Also, it wouldn’t hurt to stock up on good face masks for your family. If there indeed ever was a pandemic, you would not want to leave your home with out one! My family stocked up on “N100 Particulate Respirator” masks. They filter out nanoparticles, including viruses and bacteria. You may also want to purchase high quality nitrile gloves. A stash of disinfectant wipes and hand sanitizer is also good for protection.

Luckily, we haven’t had to deal with a pandemic of the bird flu, but, just like any emergency, we never know if, or when, it will strike. The best bet is to be prepared!