Disaster Preparedness - a Call for Action

One of the talks today at the NAPNAP annual conference was on Disaster Preparedness and the need for pediatric nurses and nurse practitioners to be advocates for kids in community, state and national disaster preparedness planning. Dr. Michael Anderson, Vice Chairperson on the National Commission on Children and Disasters gave a stirring call for PNP's to be a voice for children and movers of community discussion on preparing for "the big one."

National Commission on Children and Disasters

2010 Report to the President and Congress  http://www.ahrq.gov/prep/nccdreport/

We have had a number of wake up calls - Sept. 11th, Katrina, Haiti, Japan, and even the H1N1 scare - and while most communities have created and practiced disaster drills, we have not yet had our system tested for a surge event on the scale of what Japan has suffered. I do not wish to minimize what the people of New Orleans have suffered - and indeed, they are still rebuilding and the community is some ways will never be the same! Our response as a nation to New Orleans and Mississippi was a valiant attempt but woefully inadequate. We need to do better!

Dr. Anderson spoke eloquently of how the pediatric community should articulate for the general public how children are not small adults, including the physiologic differences in children. Children have thinner skin, a larger surface area, they are closer to the ground, have increase respiratory and heart rates, not to mention they are often found in large groups and are unable to escape on their own. What happens when the adults in charge of children become incapacitated? Children do not usually carry ID's!

It is my belief that emergency preparedness should be included as part of the well child check up. It does not hurt to ask parents what they keep in their emergency bags and if they have an emergency plan for the family. At least open the conversation and have some handouts or Internet links that offer credible information for kids and parents.

Today I received an email from our local public health clinic with information about a talk by Dr. David Brenner, Director of the Center for Radiological Research at the Columbia University Medical Center. The training is called "Just in Time" and is a 36 minute primer on radiation exposure that addresses the facts and common misconceptions. His discussion focuses on the damage at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan as well as the implications of the catastrophe on radiation preparedness efforts in the U.S. 

Watch the presentation now: 
http://bit.ly/rad_jit 

Another great day at the conference! Thank you NAPNAP and thanks to my workplace for supporting me attending this awesome event!