September is National Preparedness Month

In observance of National Preparedness Month, North Health District encourages residents to take steps to become better prepared for emergencies. Each week during the month of September, a different area of preparedness will be highlighted. More information about the weekly topics can be found at www.ready.gov and www.phdistrict2.org

September 1 - 8 Backto school (Ready Kids)

September 9 - 16 Business preparedness (Ready Business)

September 17 - 23 Multicultural preparedness (Listo)

September 24 - 30 Family and home preparedness (Ready America)

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security will sponsor the fourth annual National Preparedness Month and encourages Americans to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and communities. This year's effort has a growing coalition of more than 625 national, regional, state, and local organizations pledging support.

Health departments in our area will participate by displaying preparedness information and partnering with other community organizations to raise awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies.

Ongoing preparedness activities in the North Health District include partnerships with health care and emergency organizations, government and civic organizations, faith-based and volunteer groups and others in developing plans for pandemic influenza, distribution of the Strategic National Stockpile assets, assisting hospitals in securing emergency equipment, organizing the North Georgia Mountains Medical Reserve Corps, and meeting national standards training requirements.

"September is a time to focus on personal preparedness for our residents," says Mark Palen, Emergency Preparedness Director. "We want to raise awareness about the need to be prepared. Most people probably have an idea of what they would do if a tornado or fire were to happen. But we want them to be ready for other emergencies as well, such as pandemic flu or a chemical spill."

Information about various types of emergencies, how to prepare, and items you might need are available at the following websites: http://www.ready.gov; http://www.fema.gov; http://www.hhs.gov/; http://www.pandemicflu.gov/; http://www.bt.cdc.gov/; http://www.redcross.org/; http://health.state.ga.us/; http://www.phdistrict2.org