Briefly Noted - Everyday Preparedness

I came across this post on Stepcase Lifehack a little while back and wanted to pass it on before National Preparedness Month ended. The opening paragraphs sum the article up nicely.

People create emergency kits for car problems and bad weather, but few create kits to deal with more common but less urgent situations. In particular, misplacing a wallet or forgetting a work laptop at home can play havoc with a person’s workday.

With a little bit of planning, you can create emergency kits that will let you deal with these types of situations in a calm and productive manner.

The whole article is HERE and I highly recommend checking it out. I think it's a great way to close out preparedness month.

This is a great concept that I'm retitling "everyday preparedness". Between the examples the author gives and one from the comments (the clothing etc that are in a gym bag/locker) you've got some great ideas for managing day-to-day incidents. I used to keep a couple of changes of clothes in my office when I worked in Baltimore and I've just never gotten around to bringing the extras in to the office now that I've moved. And I've been here three years. Reading this may be enough to get me motivated.

What I hope to get to this week

This week will probably be busy in the office for a number of reasons but there are also a couple of larger topics I want to spend some time on here. Specifically:

• National Disaster Recovery Framework - I was planning to write on this before I saw it mentioned by William Cumming on his blog and Claire Rubin on hers. I've had various drafts of this kicking around my desk for a while now and want to take a day or so to look through it before I say anything, but it is out there.
• Department of Homeland Security Authorization Act of 2011 (S.1546) - If you haven't seen this one it just means you're not an obsessive Congress-watcher. This is the authorization bill for DHS submitted by Sen. Lieberman. It is also the first of these in a long while, which makes it significant. There is a lot to digest here, especially in light of PPD-8 (something else I'd like to get to someday, since I've been heavily involved in implementation work locally) related to preparedness and response issues at the Federal level, disaster funding (obviously a hot topic), and a specific pet peeve of mine - the role of DHS Office of Health Affairs.

Briefly Noted - 2011 State-by-State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning

So the title may be longer than the post...and that's only half in-jest. I don't have a whole lot to say on this one. I picked up the 2010 version of this report at the 2011 Public Health Preparedness Summit (note - the 2012 Summit is open now, I have my reservations made, do you?) and was impressed with the amount of information the authors were able to stuff into the relatively small document. Remember, I am used to things that come out of DHS so small is relative.

The report includes great information on national preparedness, state-by-state reporting, and some appendices that explain how the different metrics were pulled together. It can be accessed from the CDC Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response website. The write up from the site is below:

Public Health Preparedness: 2011 State-by-State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning

A report on CDC-funded preparedness and response activities in 50 states and 4 cities

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Public Health Preparedness: 2011 State- by-State Update on Laboratory Capabilities and Response Readiness Planning is CDC's fourth preparedness report. It presents available data that demonstrate trends and document progress in two important preparedness activities occurring at state and local health departments across the nation. The report features national data as well as individual fact sheets with data on activities occurring from 2007 to 2010 in the 50 states and four directly funded localities (Chicago, the District of Columbia, Los Angeles County and New York City) supported by CDC's Public Health Emergency Preparedness (PHEP) Cooperative Agreement. All CDC preparedness reports are an important part of CDC's overall focus on demonstrating results, driving program improvements, and increasing accountability for the nation's investment in public health preparedness
The complete report and individual sections of the report are available for downloading as separate pdf files.

FEMA launching "Ready Indian Country"

This is the latest product/concept from the Ready.gov team, and is targeted to the Tribal Nations. Following in the footsteps of Ready (aimed at families and individuals in general), Ready Business, Ready Kids, and Ready Responder, the Ready Indian Country is a sub-site under the Ready.gov umbrella with information targeted to Tribal members and Alaska Natives.

In addition to some general information on readiness planning that applies to most Tribal Nations members there are specific regional pages for Alaska, the Northwest, Southwest, Northern Plains, Southern Plains, Northeast, and Southeast. The regional pages include region-specific hazards and planning information, audio public service announcements, and contact information for the local FEMA Regional Office by state.

The press release on the Ready Indian Country program is below.

FEMA to Launch Ready Indian Country Preparedness Campaign 

National Preparedness Month Launch is Part of Larger Efforts to Partner With Tribal Nations as They Prepare for Disasters

Release Date: September 19, 2011                                                            Release Number: HQ-11-198

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) today announced the launch of the Ready Indian Country campaign as a part of its ongoing National Preparedness Month outreach. The new campaign will provide disaster preparedness information resources for the 565 federally-recognized tribal nations and communities across the country.

The goal of Ready Indian Country is to partner with tribal leaders in asking individuals and families in Indian Country to take basic steps to prepare themselves for emergencies.

"Our tribal nations and organizations are a key member of our nation's emergency management team and this campaign will help us build on the already strong partnership we have developed," said FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate. "By strengthening these communities' ability to be better prepared in the face of emergencies and disasters, together we can save lives and bolster our resiliency against all hazards."

Ready Indian Country is designed to promote preparedness within tribal communities through education and outreach. It is intended to serve as a resource for Tribes to prepare their citizens and provide support in developing and implementing pre-disaster policies and procedures.

"The National Congress of American Indians supports the efforts by FEMA to include Indian Country. Tribal governments are continually striving to develop, improve, and enhance their emergency preparedness capabilities in order to better ensure the safety of their citizens. Staying proactive and creating lasting partnerships will help tribes achieve this goal and will build sustainable and resilient tribal communities in the process. NCAI appreciates this opportunity to work with FEMA and the Ready.gov program," said Jefferson Keel, President, National Congress of American Indians.

Ready Indian Country's resources include existing Ready Campaign messaging and builds on existing capacity with specific tools customized for Indian Country. These include:

• Brochures, posters and billboards customized by geographical region to reflect diverse local conditions and American Indian and Alaska Native cultures.
• Radio Public Service Announcements (PSAs) in :60, :30 and :15 second formats; and,
• Tribal Leader Resources to help guide community emergency and disaster planning efforts

Ready Indian Country resources can be found at www.ready.gov/IndianCountry.
For more information on the Ready Campaign visit Ready.gov  and follow Ready online at www.twitter.com/readydotgov.

FEMA's mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

Last Modified: Tuesday, 20-Sep-2011 07:55:08

FEMA webinar on preparedness for aging Americans - TODAY

I'm still catching up from too many weeks on the road but wanted to get this out, since the webinar is coming up in a couple of hours. Info below...

Preparedness Considerations for Aging Americans 

Click on this link to log in tomorrow September 20, 2011 at 1:50 pm EST!

No registration is required. Please log in tomorrow as a guest.

In this webinar, you will learn about specific preparedness steps for Aging Americans.  Hear from FEMA officials and leaders at the forefront of Aging American Preparedness and have your questions answered: 

• What can I do to bring preparedness to my community?
• What are the free resources available to me?
• How do I connect with my state emergency management?

If you know or care for someone that is aging, you'll want to join.

Getting Real II - Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community

I'm still traveling so I'm still running behind with getting things from my email and Twitter feeds to post. Below is information about a workshop and webcast being hosted this week on integrating whole community practices. I was able to watch parts of last year's webcast (this year I'll be in training or on a plane so I'll miss the live version) and the discussions were outstanding. If you have time to log on for even a few of the sessions I highly recommend it.

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The Office of Disability Integration and Coordination ODIC at the Federal Emergency Management Agency and our co-sponsors, the National Council on Disability NCD and the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research NIDRR and our partners the Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and People with Disabilities ICC and the Emergency Management Institute EMI are hosting Getting Real II - Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community, September 12-14, 2011 in Arlington, VA.

This year, we’re particularly excited to have a webcast generously supported by the National Council on Disability available for people who cannot join us in person. This webcast will include many of the Promising Practices presentations (and all will be videotaped for “on demand” viewing after the conference). Click on the link provided to register for the webcast Getting Real II

Thank you!

IMPORTANT DATES & TIMES:

September 12, 2011

7pm – 10pm: Opening Plenary

September 13, 2011

9:00am – 10:15 am: Morning Plenary

10:30am – 12:40pm: Promising Practices

12:40pm – 1:30pm: Lunch

1:30pm – 5pm: Promising Practices

September 14, 2011

8:30am – 9:30am: Morning Plenary with Administrator Fugate

9:45am – 12pm: Promising Practices

12pm – 1pm: Lunch

1pm – 3:15pm: Promising Practices

3:30pm – 5pm: Team Reports and Closing Discussion

Please plan to join the Office of Disability Integration and Coordination and the National Council on Disability by webcast on Sept 12-14 for “Getting Real II- Promising Practices in Inclusive Emergency Management for the Whole Community” http://GettingReal-II.WebCastOn.TV

NIMS Guideline for the Credentialing of Personne

I'm in the midst of three weeks of straight travel. As interesting things show up on my radar I'm putting them up, in some cases with minimal comment. Apologies for the lazy blogging.

Early last week I received an email update informing me that the "NIMS Guideline for the Credentialing of Personnel" was available. It included the following paragraph:

The NIMS Guideline for the Credentialing of Personnel (Guideline) is now final and available for use. The Guideline provides guidance on credentialing for Federal, State, Tribal and Local Personnel, as well as for persons affiliated with Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources, voluntary and not-for-profit response organizations. This Guideline was developed with the participation of stakeholders from key sectors of our society, and builds on the doctrine established in NIMS Guide 0002 NATIONAL CREDENTIALING DEFINITION AND CRITERIA dated March 27, 2007. The Guideline addresses the full range of responders who may be called upon and need to establish their legitimacy through proof of Identity, Qualification/Affiliation and Authorization to deploy.

I haven't had the opportunity to review the Guideline so I can't say much about it. I do plan to take a look soon. Links below:

The Guideline and the NIMS Guide 0002 can be found at the NIMS Resource Center at the following URLs:

The Guideline - http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims/ResourceMngmnt.shtm#item3

The NIMS Guide 0002 - http://www.fema.gov/pdf/emergency/nims/ng_0002.pdf

For more information on NIMS visit: www.fema.gov/emergency/nims

All questions can be directed to the NIC via e-mail: FEMA-NIMS@dhs.gov or via telephone: 202.646.3850.