Better safe than sorry

While this is an unusual post for a grocery store blog, I feel that it may be the best way to reach the local Olean-Allegany-Portville area, so...

What is disaster planning? Planning in advance to reduce the negative effects of a disaster. So this is not to say that swine flu will be a disaster. The same holds true for any disaster: a little thought in advance can save much trouble down the road.

Obviously we can never be fully prepared for everything, but it does make sense every now and then to stop and think if you are prepared. So using swine flu as the most recent excuse, here goes:


What disasters can hit locally? Obviously many things can happen from Earthquakes to Ice storms to chemical spills, but some that come to mind quickly:

• Fires (by far the most common)
• Floods (see 1972, 1942),
• Tornadoes--from 1950 to 1995 (the most recent data I can find, Cattaraugus county was hit with at least 13 tornadoes
• Ice Storms
  
• Pandemics
  

Are you prepared?

1. Install fire (and CO2) alarms and check the batteries!
2. Have a back-up water supply (especially if you rely on well water)
3. Never ever run generators inside. Nor should you have fires indoors or in unventilated areas (several died of this after the Buffalo Snow storm in October 2006).
4. Have a flashlight, radio, and batteries in a safe spot. Information is very valuable. Plan on not having power and no cell coverage.
   
5. Back-up and protect valuable files. Keep in waterproof/fireproof containers. Back up hard drives. Keep off site if possible.
   
6. Know what to in the event of a tornado: get to a safe place ASAP! Basements, doorways, bathtubs.
7. Be aware of what to do and think. DO not panic. Thinking (both before, during, and after a disaster) is probably the most important thing you can do to improve your odds.
   

Obviously with Swine flu on everyone's mind, the increased probability of a pandemic warrants extra attention.

First and most importantly, do not panic. The odds are very much in your favor. Most people have not come down with it even in the hard hits area of Mexico and the vast majority of people who do catch it, recover. That said, why not minimize the risks, so some advice from a variety of sources:

From the Cattaraugus County Health Dept:

"Allegany and Cattaraugus Counties’ Health Departments are working together to educate their county residents about swine flu. The New York State Department of Health has set up a 24 hour a day/ 7 days a week toll free hotline to answer questions from the public. This number is 1-800-808-1987. Public Health Directors Barb Hastings and Lori Ballengee agree the best advice the Cattaraugus County Health Department and the Allegany County Department of Health can give county residents is wash your hands, stay home if you are ill, and keep children home who are ill."

From the CDC's Swine flu and you:

"What should I do to keep from getting the flu?
First and most important: wash your hands. Try to stay in good general health. Get plenty of sleep, be physically active, manage your stress, drink plenty of fluids, and eat nutritious food. Try not touch surfaces that may be contaminated with the flu virus. Avoid close contact with people who are sick."

and

"What can I do to protect myself from getting sick?
There is no vaccine available right now to protect against swine flu. There are everyday actions that can help prevent the spread of germs that cause respiratory illnesses like influenza. Take these everyday steps to protect your health:

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
• Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. Germs spread this way.
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
• If you get sick with influenza, CDC recommends that you stay home from work or school and limit contact with others to keep from infecting them."

The first one is seemingly common sense, but in the 1918 pandemic, it seems that healthy people were more adversely effected, so the success of that may be questioned purely from a flu perspective (obviously good for other reasons!).

Be prepared to stay home. While mandated quarantines have not been even discussed to my knowledge, history suggests that they are likely if the diseased spreads more than expected. Moreover, if you or your family are sick, don't venture out to spread the disease.

How to you prepare to stay at home? Have an emergency supply of things that you would need to be able to stay at home for a week to ten days if necessary. Look for long shelf lives and easy preparation/storage.

Need some suggestions?

• Cans of soup, peanut butter and jelly, canned vegetables, bottled water, tissues, toilet paper, hand santizers, oatmeal, pasta, tuna fish, mac and cheese, etc. (note you may not be living the high life, but you are only looking for things to be comfortable with)

If you are run a school or business: have plans to have your classes/employees work at home. Sure it is a pain, but it can be done.

For instance, at the Allegany Park and Shop we have a disaster pandemic plan that starts simple and gets more advanced if the problem escalates. A summary:

1. More frequent washing of all carts, surfaces, and doors to help prevent the spread of the flu virus.
2. Hand sanitizers at all registers for use after each customer.
   
3. Accepting phone and internet orders and then have a drive-up pick up (on the Maple avenue side) so that people would not need to come into contact with others.
   
4. Make home deliveries where food could be prepaid and left on porches.
5. Operate with a skeletal crew by cutting back on hours of operation and the number of product offerings: for instance water, vegetables, breads, etc.

Hopefully none of these will need to be used, but it is better to be prepared than to be caught by surprise and make costly mistakes.

For more see Ready.gov.