Creating a Safe, Healthy Home Environment: A Primer on Preparedness

1. Creating a Safe, Healthy Home Environment: A Primer on Preparedness Presented by Bryan Lee B.A., M.P.H. student

2. Disclaimer • This presentation is to serve as a primer on making the home a safe and healthy environment. The focus of the presentation will be on preparedness/safeguarding the home. All advice presented here are merely suggestions and are no way comprehensive. None of the advice presented here is a replacement for professional training/advice.

3. Emergency Response Protocol (ERP) • Important numbers • Poison control • Hospital • Primary care physician • Spouse/Children cell phones • Nearest family members • Close friends

4. ERP cont’d • Accidents/injuries • Check scene to make sure it is safe • Call 911 or Emergency Medical Services • Care for injured person(s) within scope of knowledge

5. ERP cont’d • Fire Plan • Avoid smoke inhalation by getting low to ground • If possible, fight fire with extinguisher • If not, evacuate home (get out and stay out) • Call 911 ASAP • Account for all individuals

6. ERP cont’d • Earthquakes • If inside, remain inside and duck-and-cover • If outside, avoid trees and power lines • Following earthquake, shut off gas/water as needed • Be aware of aftershocks and further injury • Assess damage to self, family, and home • Call 911 if emergency • Acquire first aid kit • Assist others if necessary • Check safety of home

7. ERP cont’d • Tsunami/Flood • Listen to NOAA watches/warnings • Gather essential emergency supplies • Locate all family members ASAP • Evacuate to safety/meeting point if necessary • Continue to monitor situation

8. Evacuation Plans • Situation Dictates Action (SDA) • KISS • Keep It Simple Stupid • Make sure plan is appropriate for emergency • Have multiple routes • Map out routes on roads and on foot • Have emergency supplies packed up/organized

9. Evacuation Plan Cont’d • Have a clear meeting point • Make sure all members know EP • Practice plan regularly • Top off fuel tanks often • Plan on being gone for minimum 3 days up to 2 weeks (more is better) • Pay attention to news and warning signs • Timing is important!!!

10. EXERCISE • Think about potential scenarios that may cause you and your family to evacuate. Do you have a basic plan of action? Routes? Supplies? • Work out a personal Emergency Response Protocol and discuss this with members of your family, post it in plain sight, and practice it often

11. Fire prevention • Check smoke alarms regularly and replace batteries at least once a year • Smoke alarms should be present in all bedrooms and hallways • Place fire extinguishers throughout the house • Keep them charged and rotated; attaching glow in the dark tape to them is helpful at night; make sure all members know where they are located • Make sure plugs to appliances are pushed in completely • Avoid running cords along the ground or near water sources • Make sure there is spacing and ventilation of appliances in the kitchen

12. Earthquake Proofing • Be aware of ERP, fire hazards, gas lines, etc. • Pick a safe area in each room of the house • Practice drop, cover, and hold at this location • Keep flashlights/shoes nearby bed/doors • Brace all water heaters, gas stoves, and book cases • Limit hanging of heavy items on wall • Maintain/rotate emergency supplies

13. Home Security Tips • Keep doors locked at all times • Make sure windows are closed and latched before leaving the house • If possible, install an alarm system • Use solid wood or steel doors for main entries • Reinforce strike pads • Install pry resistant bars • Install motion sensor lights on all corners of house • Consider placement of privacy hedges and fences • Dogs are great deterrents

14. Emergency Supplies • Food • Water • Communication • Shelter • Safety • Other supplies • Medical

15. Emergency Supplies: Food • 2300 calories per person per day for adults • 1 week=16,100 calories per person • Test foods and experiment with preparation • Variety of foods • Freeze dried foods (e.g. Mountain house, MRE) • Dehydrated/dried foods • Grains- Wheat, rye, brown/white rice, oats, etc. • Canned goods

16. Emergency Supplies: Water • At least 1 gallon per person per day for drinking only; ideally store at least 2 gallons of drinking water per day • Multiple water purification methods (e.g. bleach, germicidal tabs, iodine solutions, ceramic filters, pot/fuel, etc.) • Boil water for at least 1 minute • 2% iodine tincture, add 5 drops per quart of water let sit for at least 2 hours • 2 drops of household bleach per quart and let sit for 30 mins

17. EXERCISE: AT HOME • Try to conceptualize the amount of food/water your family will need for 2 weeks. • For 3 days, take note of all the food (calories) and water each individual consumes and write it down • Try to collect this amount of food and water to gauge the size and imagine carrying all these supplies • Once this is done, extend it to a week and then two weeks. Consider methods to make these supplies more compact and organized. • The amount of food and water to meet the family’s needs is astonishing

18. Emergency supplies: Communication • Cell phones • Fully charged and extra batteries • Hand crank AM/FM radios (w/ NOAA) • 2-way radios (handheld) • FRS/GMRS • Flares • Whistles • Small LED lights • Neon tie-tape

19. Emergency Supplies: Sanitation • Soap (small bars) • Tooth bush/paste (travel size) • Hand sanitizer • Baby wipes/ anti-septic wipes (Wet Ones) • Toilet paper (not necessary but nice) • Trash bags- multiple uses • Rubber gloves • Rubbing alcohol

20. Emergency supplies: Shelter • RV, trailer, canopy, vehicle, etc. • Tent w/ rain fly • Tarps (w/ rope) • Duct tape

21. Other supplies • Important documents in waterproof bags • IDs, passports, birth certificates, SS card, deeds, titles, flash drives, address book, etc. • Extra cash • Spare keys • Plastic bags (multiple sizes/uses) • Extra batteries for all electronics • Tools (for securing home/repairs/S&R) • Maps of the area • Hand held GPS

22. Emergency supplies: Safety • Self-defense weapons and training • Whistles • Mace (multiple sizes) • Dogs (around home) • Alarm systems • Networking with neighbors • Neighborhood watch

23. Emergency supplies: Medical • General wound care • Gauze (various sizes e.g. 2x2, 3x3, 4x4, rolled, z-pak, etc.) • Non-stick gauze • Band aids (various sizes) • Butterfly bandages/Steristrips • Medical tape (waterproof and general tape) • Medical wraps (ACE, self-adhesive, etc.) • Triangular bandages • Hydrogen peroxide • Alcohol wipes • Feminine care products (maxi pads, tampons, etc.)

24. Emergency supplies: Medical cont’d • Medicine • OTC • NSAIDs-ibuprofen, naproxen, etc. • Tylenol- acetaminophen • Benadryl- diphenhydramine • Anti-diarrheal- loperamide • Antacids • Cough medicine/decongestant • Aspirin • Etc. • Personal medications (including contacts and glasses) • Neosporin-neomycin (or other anti-bacterial) • Burn spray (or tea tree oil) • Anti-itch cream (e.g. hydrocortisone) • Bug spray (deet) • Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS) or electrolyte drink mix • Vitamins

25. Emergency supplies: Medical • Tools • PPE (gloves, masks, goggles, etc.) • Scissors • Tweezers (multiple sizes) • Moleskin • Safety pins/needles • Sterile scalpel • Squeeze bottle (or sterile syringe) • Instant cold pack • Eye wash cup (film can)/sterile saline • Emergency blanket/mylarbivy • Cotton swabs/cotton balls

26. THINKING EXERCISE • Scenario: A major disaster has just struck your area. Cell phones and other communications are offline. A member of your family has received a severe non-arterial laceration on the arm. Roads may or may not be safe to travel on. • What supplies would you use to a) assess the damage and b) treat the individual until emergency medical services can be reached?

27. American Red Cross: Classes • CPR/First aid • Emergency Medical Response • Emergency Medical Technician (Basic) • Be Red Cross Ready • Disaster Action Team • Shelter Operations/Simulations/Logistics • Disaster Assessment Basic • ARC has a “Safe and Well” program to notify family members of your status online or 1-800-RED-CROSS

28. Skill sets: The ultimate Return On Investment (ROI) • Medical skills • Canning, gardening, and food preservation • Martial arts, self-defense, etc. • Construction and improvised repairs • Good physical and psychological conditions (health integrity)

29. ROI cont’d • Mindset • Survivor mindset is integral to surviving • Fluidity in thinking (field expedient thinking) • Proficiency in using supplies • Keep in mind the 1/3 failure factor and Murphy’s Law • Self-sufficiency is key to resilience • Not doom-and-gloom but survive-and-thrive

30. Exercise • What are some skill sets that you currently have? Have you practiced them recently? Plan a time in the next week that you can practice at least one of your skill sets. • Also, are there any trainings or new skills you would like to learn that will help you increase the safety and health of your home environment? What are these? Research some potential training resources in your area and find out as much information as you can. Do your best to make time in the next month to attend at least one of these trainings. • Finally, what can you do to increase awareness to others in your community about home preparedness?

31. Thank you! • Thanks for participating in this presentation workshop. I hope all the information was useful to you and your family. • Please take a moment to answer a few questions on the survey and visit the National Public Health Week website for more information