The Emergency Preparedness Guide offers helpful emergency preparedness recommendations for individuals who require ongoing dialysis. Specifically, the guide discusses how to function during an interruption in dialysis services and provides food stockpiling suggestions that are specifically tailored for someone on dialysis. It uses a readable format to convey user-friendly information that may be life-saving for a dialysis patient.
Providing Services
Toolkit helps agencies assess flu vaccine beliefs and behaviors, educate public, and tailor services
Background
Yearly bouts of seasonal influenza and even pandemic influenza strains can be fairly different in how quickly and pervasively they spread, the severity of illness they cause, and the groups of people most at risk of infection. Consequently, the general public may experience confusion about who is at risk for influenza from year to year, making demand for vaccine unpredictable.
Background
Emergency shelters vary by the types of services they offer, with some providing only the basics of food, shelter, and access to medical care. In 2010, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) released state and local guidelines for specific services that people with functional needs may require in general population shelters. Recommendations include furnishing communication assistance, accessible sleeping accommodations, and equipment to facilitate tasks of daily living.
Background
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are developmental disorders that can affect how children communicate, interact with other people, and perceive their environments. While the number of people with an ASD is unknown, CDC estimates that 1 in 110 children is affected. Children with ASD may have extreme difficulty communicating and experience threats to their personal safety during disasters.
Background
Each year, on average, some 5% to 20% of United States residents become ill from seasonal flu, and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized for flu-related complications. Most people will have mild illness; however, some individuals are at an elevated risk for developing flu-related complications, including adults 65 years of age and older and people who have certain medical conditions (eg, weakened immune system, heart disease, chronic lung disease). A challenge providing vaccine to many vulnerable people is being able to reach them.
Background
Individuals who are homeless, homebound, lack health insurance, speak limited English, or have limited access to financial resources or medical care are typically the most in need of and have the greatest challenges accessing the influenza vaccine.
Background
Continuity of operations during an emergency is a particularly important aspect of planning for agencies that protect the safety and well-being of children. Prior to and during the H1N1 pandemic, much attention was focused on social distancing and continuity of operations measures to ensure that organizations could carry out their functions while minimizing risk of illness spread. In many instances, this involved identifying essential functions to preserve or redesign so that services would not be interrupted during an emergency.
Background
Radiological preparedness has become a significant issue for public health agencies planning ways to address a dirty bomb detonation or fallout from an industrial accident. Jurisdictions containing nuclear power plants, however, have integrated emergency preparedness into their normal activities for decades.
Background
During many emergencies there is often limited time to either gather supplies before sheltering in place or to find important personal documents and belongings before evacuating. The best preparedness measure is to keep all essential information, documents, and supplies in a central, easy-to-access location (eg, box, folder, container).
Specific issue
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