SURVIVING THE STORM: DISASTERS & DIALYSIS

SURVIVING THE STORM:
DISASTERS AND DIALYSIS
August 3, 2009 - Dallas, Texas

RESCHEDULED!

SURVIVING THE STORM: DISASTERS AND DIALYSIS is a forum to ensure effective preparedness and efficient response to disasters impacting kidney dialysis and transplant patients and facilities.

This conference will focus on special requirements of dialysis and transplant patients, inclusion of the ESRD population in emergency and disaster plans, applying national emergency management principles to dialysis/transplant, disaster education to advance the quality of care, and weather service resources available to the kidney community.

This meeting is free and open to the public but you must register to attend. Please complete and return the registration form.

Surviving the Storm: Disasters and Dialysis
Monday, August 3, 2009
8:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.
Adolphus Hotel
Dallas, Texas

This agenda is tentative as of June 22, 2009. A finalized agenda will be posted soon. Please contact Sherilyn Burris, sburris@nw7.esrd.net if you have questions about this meeting or would like to exhibit your company/organization.

Hotel Reservations

A limited number of rooms at the Adolphus Hotel have been set aside for all attendees at a government rate of $115.00. To make your reservations, please contact Kolina Ford at (813) 383-1530 xt3884 or kford@nw7.esrd.net. Room reservations must be made by Monday, July 20, 2009 to receive this discounted rate.

MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS: Volunteers building strong, healthy, and prepared communities.

The MRC was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. It is a partner program with Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.

MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists. Many community members—interpreters, chaplains, office workers, legal advisors, and others—can fill key support positions.

MRC volunteers also strengthen the overall health of Americans by participating in general public health initiatives such as flu vaccination clinics and diabetes detection programs. MRC volunteers can choose to support communities in need nationwide.

For more information, visit www.medicalreservecorps.gov

Ready.gov: Hurricanes

http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/hurricanes.html

Hurricanes are severe tropical storms that form in the southern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico and in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Scientists can now predict hurricanes, but people who live in coastal communities should plan what they will do if they are told to evacuate.

Step 1: Get A Kit / "To-Go Bag"

• Get an Emergency Supply Kit,which includes items like non-perishable food, water, a battery-powered or hand-crank radio, extra flashlights and batteries. You may want to prepare a portable kit and keep it in your car. This kit should include:
  • Copies of prescription medications and medical supplies;
  • Bedding and clothing, including sleeping bags and pillows;
  • Bottled water, a battery-operated radio and extra batteries, a first aid kit, a flashlight;
  • Copies of important documents: driver’s license, Social Security card, proof of residence, insurance policies, wills, deeds, birth and marriage certificates, tax records, etc.

• Make sure you have a “to-go bag” ready in case you need to evacuate, include:
  • Water and non-perishable food;
  • Battery operated radio and batteries so you can get important information from local officials;
  • First aid kit;
  • Flashlight;
  • Maps
  • Important documents such as proof residence, pictures of your family including pets, insurance policies, and tax records;
  • Comfortable clothing and blankets;
  • Unique family needs such as prescription medications, pet supplies, infant supplies or any other unique need your family may have;

Step 2: Make a Plan

Prepare your family

• Make a Family Emergency Plan. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so it is important to know how you will contact one another, how you will get back together and what you will do in case of an emergency
• Plan places where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
• It may be easier to make a long-distance phone call than to call across town, so an out-of-town contact may be in a better position to communicate among separated family members.
• You may also want to inquire about emergency plans at places where your family spends time: work, daycare and school. If no plans exist, consider volunteering to help create one.
• Plan to Evacuate
  • Identify ahead of time where your family will meet, both within and outside of your immediate neighborhood.
  • Identify several places you could go in an emergency, a friend's home in another town, a motel or public shelter.
  • If you do not have a car, plan alternate means of evacuating.
  • If you have a car, keep a half tank of gas in it at all times in case you need to evacuate.
  • Take your Emergency Supply Kit.
  • Take your pets with you, but understand that only service animals may be permitted in public shelters. Plan how you will care for your pets in an emergency.
• Take a Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class from your local Citizen Corps chapter. Keep your training current.

Step 3: Be Informed

Familiarize yourself with the terms that are used to identify a hurricane.

• A hurricane watch means a hurricane is possible in your area. Be prepared to evacuate. Monitor local radio and television news outlets or listen to NOAA Weather Radio for the latest developments.
• A hurricane warning is when a hurricane is expected in your area. If local authorities advise you to evacuate, leave immediately.
• Hurricanes are classified into five categories based on their wind speed, central pressure, and damage potential. Category Three and higher hurricanes are considered major hurricanes, though Categories One and Two are still extremely dangerous and warrant your full attention.

Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Scale Number (Category)	Sustained Winds (MPH)	Damage	Storm Surge
1	74-95	Minimal: Unanchored mobile homes, vegetation and signs.	4-5 feet
2	96-110	Moderate: All mobile homes, roofs, small crafts, flooding.	6-8 feet
3	111-130	Extensive: Small buildings, low-lying roads cut off.	9-12 feet
4	131-155	Extreme: Roofs destroyed, trees down, roads cut off, mobile homes destroyed. Beach homes flooded.	13-18 feet
5	More than 155	Catastrophic: Most buildings destroyed. Vegetation destroyed. Major roads cut off. Homes flooded.	Greater than 18 feet

• Hurricanes can produce widespread torrential rains. Floods are the deadly and destructive result. Slow moving storms and tropical storms moving into mountainous regions tend to produce especially heavy rain. Excessive rain can trigger landslides or mud slides, especially in mountainous regions. Flash flooding can occur due to intense rainfall. Flooding on rivers and streams may persist for several days or more after the storm. Learn more about preparing your home or business for a possible flood by reviewing the Floods page.

Prepare Your Home

• Cover all of your home's windows with pre-cut ply wood or hurricane shutters to protect your windows from high winds.
• Plan to bring in all outdoor furniture, decorations, garbage cans and anything else that is not tied down.
• Keep all trees and shrubs well trimmed so they are more wind resistant.
• Secure your home by closing shutters, and securing outdoor objects or bringing them inside.
• Turn off utilities as instructed. Otherwise, turn the refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed.
• Turn off propane tanks.
• Ensure a supply of water for sanitary purposes such as cleaning and flushing toilets. Fill the bathtub and other large containers with water.

Prepare Your Business

Plan to stay in business, talk to your employees, and protect your investment.

• Carefully assess how your company functions, both internally and externally, to determine which staff, materials, procedures and equipment are absolutely necessary to keep the business operating.
• Identify operations critical to survival and recovery.
• Plan what you will do if your building, plant or store is not accessible.
  • Consider if you can run the business from a different location or from your home.
  • Develop relationships with other companies to use their facilities in case a disaster makes your location unusable.
• Learn about programs, services, and resources at U.S. Small Business Administration.

Listen to Local Officials
Learn about the emergency plans that have been established in your area by your state and local government. In any emergency, always listen to the instructions given by local emergency management officials.

Federal and National Resources

Find additional information on how to plan and prepare for a hurricane by visiting the following resources:

• Federal Emergency Management Agency
• NOAA Watch
• American Red Cross
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Center for Disease Control

OSHA Fact Sheet: Respirators versus surgical masks

The KCER Pandemic Team has posted a new resource to their web page.

"OSHA FACT SHEET. Respiratory Infection Control: Respirators versus surgical masks."

You can access this important information at the KCER Pandemic Team's page at www.kcercoalition.com/pandemic.htm

Pandemic Flu: Lessons From the Frontlines

http://healthyamericans.org/reports/?reportid=64

Trust for America's Health (TFAH), the Center for Biosecurity, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) analyze the initial response to the H1N1 outbreak, Pandemic Flu: Lessons From the Frontlines, which found that U.S. officials executed strong coordination and communication and an ability to adapt to changing circumstances, but it also how quickly the nation's core public health capacity would be overwhelmed if an outbreak were more severe or widespread.

The Pandemic Flu: Lessons From the Frontlines report reviews 10 early lessons learned from the response to the H1N1 (swine) flu outbreak, 10 ongoing core vulnerabilities in U.S. pandemic flu preparedness, and case studies of challenges communities around the country faced when responding to the outbreak. The 10 early lessons learned from the 2009 H1N1 outbreak in the report were that:

1. Investments in pandemic planning and stockpiling antiviral medications paid off;
2. Public health departments did not have enough resources to carry out plans;
3. Response plans must be adaptable and science-driven;
4. Providing clear, straightforward information to the public was essential for allaying fears and building trust;
5. School closings have major ramifications for students, parents and employers;
6. Sick leave and policies for limiting mass gatherings were also problematic;
7. Even with a mild outbreak, the health care delivery system was overwhelmed;
8. Communication between the public health system and health providers was not well coordinated;
9. WHO pandemic alert phases caused confusion; and
10. International coordination was more complicated than expected.
    

The report also identifies some surprises encountered during the H1N1 outbreak, including that much of the world's pandemic planning had revolved around the potential threat of the H5N1 (bird) flu virus, which had been circulating in Asia and elsewhere for nearly a decade. It also reveals that planners anticipated there would be six weeks of lead time between the time a novel flu virus was identified and its spread to the United States.

In addition, according to the analysis in Pandemic Flu: Lessons From the Frontlines, there are a number of systemic gaps in the nation's ability to respond to a pandemic flu outbreak. To further strengthen U.S. preparedness, the following 10 core areas must be addressed:

1. Maintaining the Strategic National Stockpile - making sure enough antiviral medications, vaccinations, and equipment are available to protect Americans, which includes replenishing the stockpile when medications and supplies are used;
2. Vaccine development and production - enhancing the biomedical research and development abilities of the United States to rapidly develop and produce a vaccine;
3. Vaccinating all Americans - ensuring that all Americans would be able to be inoculated in a short period of time;
4. Planning and Coordination - improving coordination among federal, state, and local governments and the private sector preparedness and planning activities on an ongoing basis, including taking into account how the nature of flu threats change over time;
5. School closings, sick leave, and community mitigation strategies - improving strategies to limit the spread of disease ensuring all working Americans have sick leave benefits and that communities are prepared to limit public gatherings and close schools as necessary;
6. Global coordination - building trust, technologies, and policies internationally to encourage science-based, consistent decision making across borders during an outbreak;
7. Resources - providing enough funding for the on-the-ground response, which is currently under funded and overextended;
8. Workforce - stopping layoffs at state and local health departments and recruiting the next generation of public health professionals;
9. Surge capacity - improving the ability for health providers to manage a massive influx of patients; and
10. Caring for the uninsured and underinsured - ensuring that all Americans will receive care during an emergency, which limits the spread of the contagious disease to others, and making sure hospitals and health care providers are compensated for providing care.

Free registration for CPR/AED/First Aid

In support of National Safety Month, the National Safety Council is offering free registration for "First Aid and CPR with AED."

Free Online Training (through June 7)

"First Aid and CPR with AED" can make the difference between life and death. Every year 1.1 million people in the U.S. have a heart attack and about half of them die. Many could have been saved if help came faster.

Registration is free through June 7 at www.nscfirstaid.com/nationalCPRweek.

Register as a "new student" and create your own login ID and password. Free registration is only until June 7. Once registered, you have 45 days to complete the course.