Preparing For Emergencies

• Identify places for your family to meet: One in the home, one outside the home for things like fire and one place outside of the neighborhood if you must evacuate the area.
• Find out your employer, school and day care provider emergency procedures.
• Ask a relative or friend who lives out of the area to be your family’s contact person. In an emergency, all family members should contact this person and tell them where they are. See Family Information Form
• Put “in case of emergency” contact on your cell phone. ICE your cell phone
• Talk with family members and loved ones about how they would be cared for if they got sick, or what will be needed to care for them in your home. see emergency preparedness guidelines for older persons and those with a disability
• Have a list of current family health information: allergies, medications, children’s weights, ages/birthdates. See Family Information Form
• Make plans for the care of your pets. See Preparing your Pets for Emergencies makes sense.
• Volunteer with local groups to prepare and assist with emergency response.
• Register on line to be a volunteer a Minnesota Responds. https://www.mnresponds.org
• Put “in case of emergency” contact on your cell phone. ICE your cell phone

• Teach your children to wash hands frequently with soap and water, and model the correct behavior.
• Teach your children to cover coughs and sneezes, and be sure to model that behavior. Remember if you cough in a tissue, hand washing after proper disposal is necessary. It is recommended that people cough into their sleeves. There is a humorous short video clip on this technique titled” Why Don’t We Do It In Our Sleeves” at http://www.coughsafe.com/media.html
• Teach your children to stay away from others as much as possible if they are sick. Stay home from work and school if sick.