This New Year’s Eve, nearly 50 percent of Americans will make at least one resolution as they look toward 2010. KCER wants to encourage the renal community to make preparing for an emergency a resolution that is both important and easy to keep.
1. Create a family emergency plan.
Your family may not be together when an emergency happens, so it is important to plan in advance: how you will contact one another; how you will get back together; and what you will do in different situations. You can download a family emergency plan template from by visiting http://www.ready.gov/america/makeaplan/index.html
2. Put together an emergency supply kit. You may need to survive on your own after an emergency. This means having your own food, water, and other supplies in sufficient quantity to last for at least three days. Local officials and relief workers will be on the scene after a disaster, but they cannot reach everyone immediately. You could get help in hours, or it might take days. In addition, basic services such as electricity, gas, water, sewage treatment, and telephones may be cut off for days, or even a week or longer. To find a complete checklist of the supplies your household may need in the event of an emergency, visit http://www.ready.gov/america/getakit/index.html
3. Be informed about the different types of emergencies that can happen in your area and their appropriate responses. Learn about the hazards that may strike your community, the risks you face from these hazards, and your community’s plans for warning and evacuation. You can obtain this information by visiting http://www.ready.gov/america/beinformed/index.html
4. Get involved in emergency preparedness. Visit www.CitizenCorps.gov to find local Citizen Corps Councils, USAonWatch (Neighborhood Watch) groups, Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT), Fire Corps programs, Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) programs, and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units. Ask them what you can do to prepare and train yourself and your community for disasters and how to get involved locally.
Contact local chapters of the American Red Cross and National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster for local disaster preparedness and response service opportunities.
If you are interested in starting a local emergency preparedness initiative in your neighborhood or community, visit http://serve.gov/toolkits/disaster/index.asp to download a toolkit that will walk you through the steps to start a project.
KCER encourages you to use these tools to make a New Year’s resolution that will bring you and your loved ones peace of mind.
Wishing you a happy and safe New Year, and remember, Resolve to Be Ready in 2010.
