National Preparedness Month

September is National Preparedness Month which is intended to increase public awareness of the importance of emergency preparedness.    Being prepared is easier than you may think and it can make a difference to our families and communities. 

To facilitate your preparedness, the FDA Office of Crisis Management suggests the following: 1. To learn how to  make a family plan, build an emergency kit, get involved in your community, sign up for emergency alerts, and much more visit: http://www.ready.gov/ 

2. Sign up for classes:

a. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/CPRAndECC/FindaCourse/Find-a-Course_UCM_303220_SubHomePage.jsp
b. http://www.redcross.org/take-a-class

3. Food and Drug Safety after a disaster

a. http://www.fda.gov/NewsEvents/PublicHealthFocus/ucm317232.htmb. http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/EmergencyPreparedness/ucm085200.htmc. http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077029.htm

The above was the gist of an email recently sent to all FDA employees, of a type which FDA encourages us to forward to friends and family in order to spread the word.  I have altered the content somewhat to remove some which was specific to employees and thus not terribly interesting to the rest of the world.

I urge you, though, to take action, especially if you are in a part of the US (or the rest of the world!) that is subject to natural forces which can abruptly create disaster conditions in human living areas.  This is especially important today, as the areas affected by large, powerful storms in the US is increasing, as the tornadoes in New York this weekend clearly show.

A natural disaster can happen to you!  Be prepared, you don't have to be a Boy Scout to do that!