In Case You Missed It: Favorite Posts of 2021

Best of 2021

Year’s end is a good time to reflect on the events of the past 12 months.

The Center for Preparedness and Response (CPR) published about 30 posts to its Public Health Matters blog in 2021. Most of them include suggestions for how you can prepare for emergencies of all shapes and sizes.

In case you missed it: Here are some of our favorite posts from 2021.

Prep Your Mental Health for an Emergency

A man sits in the woods with his eyes closed.Traumatic events and most emergencies are beyond your control. You can, however, prepare your mental health for the stress of an emergency. Practice self-care, develop coping skills, and make social connections before an emergency happens. Taking care of yourself can also better equip you to take care of others.

This post suggests ways you can prepare your mental health for an emergency. They include practicing gratitude, staying connected with friends and family, and learning relaxation techniques like meditation.

Home Alone: Prepare Kids for Emergencies

Dialing 911 on a cellphoneMany children don’t have adult supervision 100% of the time. Parents and caregivers have jobs, errands, and other responsibilities that require them to leave their kids home alone sometimes.

Emergencies and no-notice disasters can happen when kids are home alone. This post includes tips from the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration’s Office of Emergency Medical Services for how to prepare children to call 911 in an emergency.

Food Preservation: Home Canning Safety

Glass jars in a hot water bath.

Many of us have discovered new hobbies during the pandemic. Some found self-care in gardening and preserving the literal fruits—and vegetables—of their labors.

Food preservation is an excellent way to extend the shelf life of produce, meats, and seafood. It’s a practical skill that you can learn and use to supplement your emergency food supply. But it can be risky—or even deadly—if not done correctly. This post includes information on proper canning techniques.

Be Prepared for a Day at the Beach

A green flag.A “day at the beach” can turn into anything but if you aren’t prepared. Rip currents, ultraviolet (UV) rays, and harmful algal blooms are a few of the dangers to be aware of before setting foot on the sand or in the surf.

Swimming in the ocean isn’t like swimming in a pool. This summertime post includes a list of different things you should know before you go to the beach. They include knowing how to escape a rip current and the meanings of different beach warning flags.

Must-Haves for Your First-Aid Kit

First-aid supplies.First-aid kits make it possible for ordinary people to help until professional help arrives. That’s important because family, friends, coworkers, etc.—not first responders—are often first on the scene in a medical emergency.

Owning a well-stocked first-aid kit and the practical skill to use its contents can save a life. This post lists suggested supplies to keep in your first-aid kit. It also recommends practical skills you can learn and use to protect yourself and others during an emergency.

Volunteers Prepare for Another Season of Disaster Response, Relief Work

Red Cross volunteer Gaenor Speed feeds a dog in a carrier.This post was published by CPR in partnership with the Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. The author introduces us to Gaenor Speed, a volunteer with the Red Cross South Florida Region.

Speed had responded to more than 20 disasters across the country going into the 2021 Atlantic hurricane season. Volunteering with a volunteer organization active in disaster is one way you can get involved in your community.

Emergency Preparedness Tips for Parents of Children with Special Healthcare Needs

A young girl in sunglasses enjoying the beach.Emergency preparedness can be stressful for all families, especially those with children with special healthcare needs. Children with special healthcare needs may have:

  • A hard time moving from one place to another.
  • Urgent or constant medical needs.
  • Difficulty communicating.
  • Trouble with transitioning to different situations.

This post was written in observance of National Autism Awareness Month in April. It emphasizes the importance of emergency action planning. Knowing what to do during an emergency can help maintain calm and keep your family safe.

 

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.

Emergency Preparedness Tips for Parents of Children with Special Healthcare Needs

A young girl wearing sunglasses on the beach.

April is National Autism Awareness Month. It is also a time of year when people must prepare for severe weather.

April, May, and June are peak months for tornadoes in many states. And the Atlantic hurricane season officially starts on June 1.

Emergencies come in all sizes and affect people in different ways. All emergencies require some amount of personal health preparedness beforehand to stay safe and healthy during and afterward. At a minimum that means stocking up on emergency supplies, such as food, water, prescriptions, and backup power sources.

For Jennifer Silliman and her family, it means that and more. Her 11-year-old daughter, Allyson, has autism. They live in South Florida, where they’ve experienced over a dozen hurricanes and tropical storms since moving there in 2003.

Preparing for emergencies can be challenging for families caring for a child with autism or other disability. But a little preparation now can make a big difference when an emergency happens.

Planning is paramount

All children have unique needs during an emergency. Preparedness planning for children with special healthcare needs is often more complicated because they may have:

  • A hard time moving from one place to another,
  • Urgent or constant medical needs,
  • Difficulty communicating, and
  • Trouble with transitioning to different situations.

A disaster can present some or all these difficulties at once.

Having a plan for how to stay healthy, informed, connected, and calm is important. If there is a child with special healthcare needs in your family, your emergency action plan should include an emergency care plan.

An emergency care plan is important paperwork that you and your child’s doctor can write together. It’s used to communicate information about your child to caregivers. During an emergency, this could include teachers, grandparents, friends, and neighbors.

“My biggest fear is that Allyson would get separated from me and my husband during an emergency,” says Jennifer. “Allyson is nonverbal, so she cannot tell people where she lives, what her phone number is, or how to contact her parents.”

Because of her communication challenges, Allyson wears a bracelet that has her full name and her parents’ names and contact information. “She wears it all the time. She never takes it off,” says Jennifer.

Nothing worthwhile is easy

When there is a hurricane in the forecast, Jennifer’s family makes sure they have the basics, such as water, batteries, and flashlights. But they must also prepare for Allyson’s personal needs.

Personal needs include the everyday items that she could not do without in an emergency. Allyson’s needs include a weighted blanket and a white noise machine to help her sleep and several favorite foods.

“My daughter has six foods that she eats every day, including honeydew melon and French toast sticks. Almost every food she eats must be refrigerated or cooked in a microwave and this can present challenges if the power goes out during a hurricane,” says Jennifer.

Some of Allyson’s other must-haves are noise-canceling headphones and a tablet preloaded with her favorite television shows and music. Then there’s the backup battery power that’s needed to run these things. All would be invaluable if her family ever had to evacuate to a shelter.

Strive for peace of mind

Preparing for an emergency can be stressful for all families, especially those with children with special healthcare needs. Having—and practicing—an emergency action plan can help families respond with confidence to the real thing.

Communication is key. It’s important for all families to talk to their children about what is happening in a way that they can understand. Keep it simple and consider the child’s age and type of disability.

Even though Jennifer’s daughter, Allyson, does not have a lot of expressive language, she does understand when others talk to her. “We want to be respectful of Allyson, so we tell her ‘Hey, we might need to pack up and go,’ or ‘It might get really loud tonight, and the house might get dark.’ I think telling children what’s going on puts them at ease.”

After a disaster, parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers must know how to help children cope with their different and strong emotions. Some children react right away; others may show signs of difficulty much later. Coping with a disaster can be particularly difficult for children with disabilities.

Visit the Prepare Your Health website for more information on how to prepare for emergencies.

Resources

Thanks in advance for your questions and comments on this Public Health Matters post. Please note that the CDC does not give personal medical advice. If you are concerned you have a disease or condition, talk to your doctor.

Have a question for CDC? CDC-INFO (http://www.cdc.gov/cdc-info/index.html) offers live agents by phone and email to help you find the latest, reliable, and science-based health information on more than 750 health topics.