Lessons From Katrina
Finding something positive from all of the devastation is not easy to do
Aug 29, 2006
One of the first lessons from Katrina is knowing when to evacuate. Planning for evacuation has to include disaster planning.
A disaster can hit any community. It can be a hurricane, a tornado, an earthquake, a tsunami, an act of war, a fire, a flood, etc. Finding something positive from the devastation is not an easy task, but there are important lessons to be learned.
Are you Prepared?
Disaster planning includes many things beyond the basics of a flashlight and a 3-day water and food supply. Not all disasters give fair warning, but when they do, you need to heed the warnings.
- Do you have an emergency kit?
- Do you know the names of your medical conditions?
- Do you know the names and dosages of your medications?
- Do you have copies of your prescriptions?
- Do you have a week's supply of your medications with your emergency kit? And do you rotate them so that they are not expired?
- Do you have an out of state emergency contact person?
Make a list now.Sit down and write out your medical history including surgeries, allergies, illnesses and diseases, and injuries. Put this in your emergency kit and put a copy in a safe deposit box or send it to your out of state contact person to keep. Ask your physician to review it for accuracy.
Make a list of your medications including all over the counter meds you take. Write down the pharmacy and their phone number. List your prescription numbers. Take a photo of your medication bottles that shows the information. Ask your physician for a copy of your prescriptions, and as you recieve new ones, make a copy of it. Keep these in your emergency kit, as well as your safe deposit box and/or with your emergency contact person.
Keep your emergency kit accessible.Many people have an additional kit in their car in case they get trapped away from home, or have to make a rapid exit.
Encourage your legislators to pass laws governing elecronic health records to improve the accessibilty especially in the event of a disaster.
In New Orleans alone, many hundreds of people died or suffered severe complications due to fact that they did not have access to their medications, and didn't know their medical conditions. Valuable time was also lost because physicians had to run unnecessary tests to diagnose conditions on patients they had never seen before. Once access was available to some prescription records, patients could be treated much more effectively.
Be Prepared and keep your information updated. Learn about your medications and medical conditions.
Know your family's medical history as well. You might find yourself in a shelter with your elderly parents for instance, and need to know about their conditions and medications.
