National Preparedness Month

Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourages Everyone to Make a Plan in Honor of National Preparedness Month

September 9, 2024

Media Contact: RHHDpr@vdh.virginia.gov
804-807-1727

Richmond and Henrico Health Districts Encourages Everyone to Make a Plan in Honor of National Preparedness Month

RICHMOND, Va. – Richmond and Henrico Health Districts encourage the public to observe National Preparedness Month (NPH) this September by making a plan for emergencies.

“Emergency preparedness starts with a few simple, cost-free steps,” says Ed Porner, Richmond and Henrico Health Districts emergency preparedness and response coordinator. “Talk to your family, gather important information, and find out what your friends and neighbors will need. The more prepared we are as a community, the better we will fare.”

The theme of this year’s NPH is “Start a Conversation” The best way to begin the development of your family emergency plan is to start with a conversation. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security advises that the best time to start talking about emergency preparedness is when everyone is calm and relaxed. Hold the discussions over a small time period so decisions aren’t rushed, and everyone can feel more comfortable talking about the topic. Ensure everyone has input and is on board! Talk about steps you’ve taken to prepare in the past, things that have gone well (or not gone well) as a result of planning and encourage others to ask questions about preparedness actions that might work for them.

Make sure your plan includes everyone! Consider supporting those in the community that might need your help, like an elderly neighbor or someone with a disability. Don’t forget to plan for your pets!

Ed Porner offers these tips to help you and your family stay prepared:

• Prepare your family AND your household. Disasters can happen unexpectedly and without warning. Hurricanes and storms may give us some time to gather things together, but fires, floods, and other disasters could give us only seconds to get to safety. Gather important documents like birth certificates, citizenship papers, or backup medical prescriptions and place them in a secure location close to an exit, preferably in a fireproof box.
• Talk openly with kids about preparedness. Talk with children often, honestly, and openly about the potential for emergencies while empowering them to take charge of their own preparedness. “Comfort items” for both kids and older adults should be an important part of an emergency kit – think a favorite toy or a keepsake that’s important to that person. Discussions should include procedures for reuniting if separated, trusted people in their lives that they can call, and how to access emergency services if they’re alone. Prepare with Pedro from Ready.gov is a fun resource that families can use to help kids think about preparedness.
• Meet your neighbors. Planning with your community in mind can help counteract some of the ways way age, income, or disabilities impact someone’s readiness for emergency situations. Have conversations about the needs your neighbors might have and what type of assistance they might need in an emergency.
• Practice your plan. Turn preparedness into a game like a treasure hunt for emergency kit items, or a car trip around the neighborhood highlighting meeting points of safe areas. Ready.gov has many more ideas.
• Learn more about preparedness at Ready.gov or VDH Severe Weather Preparedness.

New River Health District Announces Efforts During National Preparedness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 11, 2023

Media Contact: Beverly Hill, M.Ed.,
Public Health Emergency and Medical Reserve Corps Coordinator,
New River Health District, beverly.hill@vdh.virginia.gov

New River Health District Announces Efforts During National Preparedness Month
The annual designation focuses on preparing older adults for disasters

Christiansburg, Va. – September is National Preparedness Month (NPM), the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s (FEMA) annual preparedness outreach event sponsored by FEMA’s Ready Campaign. The New River Health District has committed to participate in NPM to increase preparedness in the community by offering educational resources to the public, providing training opportunities to local health department staff and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers, and providing Stop the Bleed training to community members across the district.

This year, National Preparedness Month will focus on preparing older adults for disasters. Older adults have specific needs during a disaster, specifically those who are disproportionately affected by all hazards. Older adults face greater risks associated with disasters, especially those who live in rural areas, live alone, are low-income, or have a disability. National Preparedness Month is a perfect time to create or review your own emergency plans, or those for our parents, grandparents, and elderly friends and neighbors.

Preparedness is a shared responsibility that takes the Whole Community. Learn ways you can take action by visiting www.ready.gov/older-adults and Ready.gov/prepare.

“The importance of preparedness cannot be overstated. Outcomes are far better with these simple measures on the front end versus picking up the pieces on the back end,” said Dr. Noelle Bissell, Health Director for New River Health District.

For more information about the Ready Campaign and National Preparedness Month, visit Ready.gov/September.

Health Care Organizations Encourage the Public to Get Informed, Make an Emergency Plan During National Preparedness Month

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE — September 5, 2023
Media Contact: VHHA: Julian Walker, Vice President of Communications, jtwalker@vhha.com
VDH: Maria Reppas, Director of Communications, maria.reppas@vdh.virginia.gov

Health Care Organizations Encourage the Public to Get Informed, Make an Emergency Plan During National Preparedness Month

Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association, Virginia Department of Health, and Regional Healthcare Coalitions Encourage the Public to Prepare for Emergency Situations Including Natural Disasters, Infectious Outbreaks, and Manmade Threats

RICHMOND, Va. – September is National Preparedness Month, an annual observance that serves as a reminder of the importance for families and organizations to develop response plans to prepare for unexpected emergencies or disaster situations.

Emergency situations that have widespread impact can take many forms: natural disasters such as major storms that cause flooding, wind damage, property destruction, or power outages; biological hazards such as infectious disease outbreaks that spread across a population causing serious illness and strain on the health care system; or manmade events including acts of violence or other catastrophes that cause mass injuries and casualties.

During National Preparedness Month, the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA), the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), and the Commonwealth’s four Regional Healthcare Coalitions urge Virginians to develop plans for emergency situations. A family plan means preparation and discussion ahead of catastrophic events so everyone understands how they will communicate during an emergency and how they will reconnect when danger has passed. It also involves having a family list or form with information including important phone numbers, insurance contacts and other key medical and essential information needed for emergency response, as well as on-hand emergency supplies (water, non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, and a portable radio to access emergency alerts and warnings, and more). Learn more about building an emergency supply kit here. Emergency plans should contemplate what supplies, information, and documents families will need during shelter-in-place events, situations warranting evacuation to a safer location, or the need to search for loved ones after an emergency. Learn more about preparing at vaemergency.gov/prepare.

“Our experiences from recent years have demonstrated the critical importance of being ready to respond when emergencies happen,” said VHHA President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton. “Emergency situations can occur at any time. Virginians across the Commonwealth have witnessed this in the form of major flooding in Hampton Roads and Southwest Virginia, a snowstorm that stranded motorists on the interstate in Northern Virginia, and the COVID-19 outbreak beginning in 2020. In each case, those emergencies developed quickly and presented serious health and public safety concerns for people impacted by them. When emergencies happen, hospitals are part of the critical infrastructure engaged in response efforts. Because of this, hospitals and other health care organizations partner with state and federal government agencies to conduct ongoing emergency preparation and planning efforts. Just as these organizations plan for the worst, it is vital for families and private sector firms to also have regularly updated plans that can be activated when an emergency happens.”

“I urge Virginians to take time during National Preparedness Month to assess how prepared they and their families are for coping with disasters and emergencies,” said State Health Commissioner Karen Shelton, MD. “Do you have enough water and non-perishable food on hand to last for several days if everything shut down? Do you have your mobile phone set up to receive emergency alerts? If you had to evacuate, where would you go and how would you get there? Have you made plans for your pet if you had to evacuate to a shelter? These are some of the questions we all should be thinking about year-round as disasters come in all forms and can happen anytime. VDH and its Local Health Districts provide oversight of many emergency response functions, including monitoring for disease outbreaks, insuring food and water safety, and mass casualty management.”

This year, the theme of National Preparedness Month is “Take Control in 1, 2, 3.” Its focus is on helping elderly individuals, including those from communities that are disproportionally impacted by the all-hazard events and threats, prepare for emergencies. Additional information and resources about emergency preparation and planning are available through Ready.gov and the Red Cross.

For businesses, Ready.gov recommends conducting a risk assessment to identify potential emergency scenarios as part of the development of an emergency response plan consistent with organizational objectives and focused on protecting staff, visitors, contractors and others on premises if an emergency occurs.

In Virginia, critical public and private sector organizations collaborate to conduct ongoing planning preparation activities to be ready when disaster strikes. This includes VHHA, its member hospitals and health system, and VDH. These organizations partner on the Virginia Healthcare Emergency Management Program (VHEMP), an initiative supported with grant funding from the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) Hospital Preparedness Program under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). VHHA and VDH work through VHEMP to address gaps in the health care delivery system regarding the ability to respond to disaster situations. This work is facilitated by a network of four regional healthcare coalitions (the Central Virginia Healthcare Coalition, the Eastern Virginia Healthcare Coalition, the Northern Virginia Emergency Response System, and the Southwest Virginia Healthcare Coalition) that work with health care facilities and response organizations to help prepare for emergency response situations. Each regional healthcare coalition maintains a Regional Healthcare Coordination Center (RHCC) to support response activities during a disaster affecting health care facilities.

The extent of meaningful cooperation between government agencies, health systems, and regional coalitions is reflected in the effectiveness of Virginia’s emergency response apparatus. The Commonwealth has been recognized several times in recent years for its high level of preparation for public health emergencies. That includes the latest report by Trust for America’s Health, Ready or Not 2023: Protecting the Public’s Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, which again places Virginia in the top tier of states for emergency readiness. The report measures state levels of preparedness to respond to a wide range of health emergencies including infectious outbreaks, natural disasters, and manmade events. Previous annual reports from Trust for America’s Health – including those compiled during the lengthy response to the COVID-19 pandemic – also ranked Virginia in the top tier of states in 2022, 2021, and 2020. Virginia has also been ranked among the top states in the National Health Security Preparedness Index (NHPSI) report that evaluates state readiness to respond to public health emergencies.

###

About VDH: The mission of the Virginia Department of Health is to protect the health and promote the well-being of all people in Virginia. Learn more at vdh.virginia.gov.

About VHHA: The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association is an alliance of 111 hospitals and 26 health delivery systems that develops and advocates for sound health care policy in the Commonwealth. Its mission is to achieve excellence in both health care and health to make Virginia the healthiest state in the nation. Its vision is through collaboration with members and stakeholders, to ensure the sustainability of Virginia health care system, transform the delivery of care to promote lower costs and high value across the continuum of care, and to improve health for all Virginians. Connect with VHHA through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and YouTube.