# 3772
Never let it be said that I passed up an opportunity to make an easy blog post.
Earlier today, in response to a blog I wrote yesterday entitled The Flaw In The Ointment, Karen aka Readymom of the Readymoms Alliance left a comment. I felt it should have more exposure than to simply languish amongst the comments to a day-old blog, and so I reproduce it here for all to see.
- ReadyMom said...
- This has been a pet peeve of mine for a long time. In the two years that I have been giving pandemic awareness presentations, I have never had so many people ask me "WHAT do I do?" or "WHAT do I need to GET?", as I have these past couple of months. Answer those questions for the public. It'll be a great start to helping to curb spread.
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They need to know WHAT they should be purchasing NOW, so they have the ability to stay in & away from others when they and/or their family are sick. Having a prepared family ready to implement 'social distancing' when illness strikes will be a great help. -
They need to know HOW to prepare and plan for daily disruption. Keeping sick kids from healthy kids. -
I have been recommending my own 'bullet points' to those who attend my presentations: -
• Have alternative child care options, if the adult members still have to report to work. Those options should be for SMALL groups of 6 or less children -
- • Have a well stocked pantry of AT LEAST two-weeks of ADDITIONAL groceries (in addition to what is already in stock in their homes!).
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- Parents may not be able to shop due to illness in their family (taking care of a sick child or the adult member becoming sick)
- Stores *may* have reduced hours, if illness starts to affect employees
- Families may decide NOT to shop, if the have a child or other family member at home in the ‘high risk’ category that makes getting the virus more dangerous to their health/life
- • Have all the necessary ‘over-the-counter’ meds necessary for home treatment of the flu already purchased.
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- Hospitals and Doctor offices will be overwhelmed with more serious cases
- Stores may run out of the needed meds & supplies (just look at England & Australia for examples of that!)
- Pharmacies are generally smaller stores than grocery stores and number of employee are smaller. Those stores may have reduced hours due to employee shortage due to illness.
- • Have a ‘Flu Buddy’, having another adult available to care for the children of their household, should one or both adults in a household become ill.
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- • Looking in on the Elderly or Infirmed
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- At the end of the presentations, people are ALWAYS coming up to me and saying 'Thank you', NOW they know WHAT to DO! –k
Thank you Karen.
One of the Readymoms Displays.
The Readymoms are a volunteer, grassroots, organization that began a little more than two years ago to spread the pandemic preparedness message.
Over the past two years they have attended many high profile events, such as the APHA (American Public Health Association) Convention in Washington D.C and the Second National Emergency Management Summit, also held in the nation's capital, and the ACHA (American College Health Association) meeting in Orlando.
You can read more about their organization, and the free pandemic toolkits they make available, in some of these earlier essays.
The Readymoms College Flu Kit
The ReadyMoms Ride Again
Feedback From The ACHA Conference
The Readymom's Alliance In Orlando
The Readymom's Go To Atlanta
Dispatches From The APHA Expo
The `Flu Buddy’ concept is one that I’ve personally been pushing since about 2007, and you can find my latest scribe on the subject in my sidebar:
Karen, aka Readymom has taken that essay and massaged it a bit (and improved it, I think) and has posted it on her SCRIBD account, where anyone can download it for free.
She also has a document, and a powerpoint presentation on Pandemic Parenting also available for free downloading.
And while I’m at it, I might as well remind my readers of the resources available at Get Pandemic Ready.
GetPandemicReady.org is a terrific web resource for preparedness information created by volunteers, and hosted by Nez Perce County, Idaho.
Here you’ll find simple, easy to follow advice on dozens of preparedness subjects including how to stockpile food, build a first aid kit, or staying warm or cool when the power goes out.
Full disclosure: I’ve been a minor contributor to the Get Pandemic Ready website, and have volunteered to assist the Readymoms Alliance in the past.
