The Department of Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control is reminding the public of the availability of its disaster-related mortality report that it says is intended to serve as an initial report for state department and medical examiners following a disaster or emergency situation.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt recently announced that the department is making available another $75 million to states, territories, and four metropolitan areas to help strengthen their capacity to respond to a pandemic influenza outbreak.
Two years after the gulf region was overcome by a rapid series of devastating storms, the American Red Cross is reminding and encouraging everyone to continue to support local Red Cross chapters and other groups that continue to work in these communities and stresses the importance of individual preparation.
Born from a cooperative disaster planning and nursing home leadership effort involving eight southeastern states and numerous organizations, "Caring for Vulnerable Elders During a Disaster: National Findings of the 2007 Nursing Home Hurricane Summit" contains 10 recommendations to improve how frail and elderly citizens are cared for during a major disaster.
IDG Research Services' recent 2007 IDG Research Business Continuity Survey, sponsored by SunGard® Availability Services, reports that CIOs and CSOs are facing increasing pressure to improve their disaster recovery plans and reduce recovery time objectives (RTOs), yet 61 percent of the respondents indicated they are either not very, not at all, or only somewhat confident in their company's preparedness for a disaster.
RECOVERING from a disaster is never easy, whether it's a hurricane, tornado, earthquake, fire, flood, or thunderstorm. These events have the potential to cause loss of equipment, power failures, non-functioning communication systems, and missing or otherwise preoccupied personnel. And when your health and safety (H&S) data are involved, the potential consequences can take on new dimensions, especially when you consider how Web technologies have made it possible for electronic information to become integral to every part of your business. Even without "an act of God," a disruption in your H&S electronic information management system, for whatever reason, can be disastrous.
U.S. Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), Mary Landrieu (D-La.), David Vitter (R-La.), and Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) praised the Senate's unanimous passage Aug. 3 of a loan bill that will improve assistance to business owners and homeowners after disasters. The legislation passed as the two-year anniversary of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma approached.
Office Depot recently conducted a survey that found 71 percent of businesses do not have a disaster plan in place. Federal data indicate more than 40 percent of businesses never reopen after a disaster affects them, according to the company. Because 80 percent of its customer base is small to medium-sized businesses, Office Depot considers it important to help them protect their businesses, said Tom Serio, Director of Global Business Continuity Management for the company, which has 52,000 associates and about 1,500 stores worldwide.
OVER the past few years, disasters and emergencies have garnered much attention in American society. From the disaster that did not occur, Y2K, to the attacks on the World Trade Center, the blackouts in 2003, the multiple hurricanes making landfall during 2004 in Florida, Katrina in 2005, and the droughts and subsequent wildfires as well as the flooding and mudslides in the Northwest in 2006, it seems like a steady drumbeat of bad headlines have caught America’s attention for the past few years.
TANK overfills. Forklift punctures. Floods. Earthquakes. Willful destruction. Spill response planners are tasked with creating plans for any possible spill incident that could occur at a facility. Often, however, the “best” or “ideal” plan to handle a situation is scrapped because of budgetary, manpower, or space constraints. Sometimes, less-than-perfect plans are developed because plan coordinators aren’t aware of the wealth of resources available in their communities. Acknowledging that the facilities may not need to purchase or store all of the items they could ever possibly need is an important first step toward achieving a more ideal spill response plan.
The American Medical Association's official publication will be a bridge between clinical response and public health, AMA says.
May 20-26 is National Hurricane Preparedness Week this year. President Bush's proclamation of the event calls on government agencies, private organizations, schools, and the media to share information about hurricane preparedness. "I also urge all Americans living in vulnerable coastal areas of our Nation to take appropriate measures and precautions to protect themselves against the effects of hurricanes," it says.
Posted on March 21 at http://pandemicflu.gov is a five-page Health Insurer Pandemic Influenza Planning Checklist that will be of use to other types of organizations, too, as they work on preparedness.
IF you feel that there have been more "once in a lifetime" natural disasters in the past few years to last 10 lifetimes, you're not imagining things. The International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, which publishes a World Disasters Report annually, calculates that from 1994 to 1998, reported disasters averaged 428 per year.
"IT showed something bad. . . . Come check this thing out, it showed something!" were the gasping utterances of a dirty, sweat-streaked, very excited (and obviously frightened) maintenance fellow. The multi-gas monitor, after months of use, had sounded an alarm that startled the crew while working in a tunnel.
IN the wake of a most devastating 2005 hurricane season with deadly storms named Katrina, Rita, and Wilma, many safety managers will undoubtedly find top management asking tough questions: "What are our risks and threats to customers, employees, operations and property? What type of enhancements to plant safety and emergency planning and response are justified?"
IN recent years, we Americans have experienced more than our share of natural and man-made disasters. From the six major hurricanes that struck Florida during the past two years to oil spills, tornadoes, and the devastating acts of terrorism on Sept. 11, 2001, and the Oklahoma City bombing, first responders and cleanup personnel have been required to work with a variety of catastrophic situations and related hazards.
THE place is a desolate, stinking, swampland speckled with the remains of a past civilization. Upended cars and rooftops serve as makeshift perches for birds who keep constant focus on an approaching alligator.
FEW workplace injuries leave more noticeable scars and jagged reminders than head/face injuries. Scarring, burns, pitted or uneven skin texture, severe sunburn or frostbite damage, or disfiguring skin pigmentation changes can be forever present after an injury to the face or head.