Happy Spring!
 
Join us on ZOOM 9:00AM - 11:00AM Thursday April 15, 2021 to learn more about Respirators, Masks and Fit Testing for your office, business, restaurant, classroom and outdoor surroundings from our Lahaina-Based Safety Expert Dr. Dennis Terpin.
 
Students, Government Officials, Healthcare Providers, Private and Public Schools, the Hospitality Industry and Construction & Trades should understand designating a Respiratory Program Administrator to maintain SOP's for the safety of employees, customers and guests.
 
Please share with others who may have an interest as our community, state, nation and world eventually opens to wider commerce and travel.
 
Respiratory Protection Administrator Seminar
PDF Link
Registration Link
or contact the Lahaina Education Center for information.

 
Contact the Lahaina Education Center
60 Kenui Street Lahaina HI 96761
 
mcc96761@hawaii.edu | 808-662-3911
The University of Hawaii Maui College

​ 
September is National Preparedness Month, (NPM).
 
It’s crystal clear to our Nation that Preparing for Disasters must now include Pandemics.
 
"Disasters Don’t Wait. Update your Ohana Plan Today."
By Dennis A Terpin, Ph.D. retired Emergency Manager at the University of Illinois Chicago, Emergency Manager West Maui Taxpayers Association.
 
(Please visit the westmaui.org web site for the complete recommendations from Dr. Terpin. )
 
 
 
Your Family Plans.
 
September is National Preparedness Month (NPM) and each September we should take time to revisit our Ohana and community disaster planning. Make a plan today. Your family may not be together if a disaster strikes tomorrow. Your emergency plan should be based on an All Hazards approach. Proper planning will provide guidance on specific emergencies, consequences, required actions, written procedures, and the resources available in your area. Today is the time to update cell phone numbers, alternate contact details, and specific duties and responsibilities at all levels.
 
September 2020, we find ourselves amidst of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Last year incorporating pandemic planning into current planning was not a concern, COVID-19 was not a concern. It is now. Your revised plan should incorporate a basic understanding of the COVID-19 virus, how the virus can spread, and how we can reduce our exposure potential through proper use and cleaning of Face Coverings, practicing Social Distancing and repeated Hand Sanitizing.
 
Community All Hazard Disaster Planning
 
In preparing for the 2020 hurricane season, it is important that we prepare for responding to and recovery from operations that might be complicated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We should anticipate the added complexities of safeguarding our families during any emergency enhanced by the complexities of COVID-19. We need to take special precautions to protect the health and safety of evacuates, sheltered visitors, residents, survivors, family members and pets.
One of the most important concepts that family members must achieve is adapting their family emergency plans to the COVID-19. Evacuations and shelters plans are part of preparing for any hurricane season. However, that could be dangerous during the coronavirus pandemic and further spread the virus by evacuating people from COVID-19 hotspots. If a person does have COVID-19 symptoms, the Red Cross has a plan in place.
 
“First is to isolate them, keep them away from everybody else, make sure they stay masked and protected for their own good and for everybody else’s,” said American Red Cross Southeast Region Executive Director, John McFarland. “Then, as soon as it’s over, be sure that they’re given medical attention.”. COVID-19 is also modifying how food will be served to evacuees inside the shelter. “The way that we would do food would be a lot different because you can’t have open food. It would be package container type food,” said Harrison County Management Director Rupert Lacy. A special emphasis is also being placed on social distancing.
 
 
 
 
 
Prepare your family for the 2020 Hurricane, COVID-19 and Flu season
 

• Understand that your planning may be different this year because of the need to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
• Give yourself more time than usual to prepare your emergency food, water, and medicine supplies. Home delivery is the safest choice for buying disaster supplies; however, that may not be an option for everyone. If in-person shopping is your only choice, take steps to protect your and others’ health when running essential errands.
• Protect yourself and others when filling prescriptions by limiting in-person visits to the pharmacy. Sign up for mail order delivery or call in your prescription ahead of time and use drive-through windows or curbside pickup, if available.
• Pay attention to local guidance about updated plans for evacuations and shelters, including shelters for your pets.
• When you check on neighbors and friends, be sure to follow social distancing recommendations (staying at least 6 feet from others) and other CDC recommendations to protect yourself and others.

 
Preparing to evacuate
 

• If you may need to evacuate, prepare a “go kit” with personal items you cannot do without during an emergency. Include items that can help protect you and others from COVID-19, such as hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol, bar or liquid soap, disinfectant wipes (if available) and three masks for each person. Masks should not be used by children under the age of 2. They also should not be used by people having trouble breathing, or who are unconscious, incapacitated, or unable to remove the mask without assistance.
• Remember face coverings only provide limited protection even if use correctly.
• Know a safe place to shelter and have several ways to receive weather alerts, such as National Weather Service cell phone alerts.
• Find out if your local public shelter is open, in case you need to evacuate your home and go there. Your shelter location may be different this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• If you need to go to a disaster shelter, follow CDC recommendations for staying safe and healthy in a public disaster shelter during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• To enter a shelter health questions, need to be asked, temperatures need to be taken and safe distancing needs to be followed using proper hand hygiene.

• Follow guidance from your local public health or emergency management officials on when and where to shelter.
• Make a plan and prepare a disaster kit for your pets. Find out if your disaster shelter will accept pets. Typically, when shelters accommodate pets, the pets are housed in a separate area from people.

• Follow safety precautions when using transportation to evacuate. If you have to travel away from your community to evacuate, follow safety precautions for travelers to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.

 
 
Staying with friends or family
 
If you will be staying with friends or family outside your household to evacuate from the storm:
 

• Talk to the people you plan to stay with about how you can all best protect yourselves from COVID-19.
• Consider if either of your households has someone who is at higher risk of developing severe illness from COVID-19, including older adults or people of any age who have underlying medical conditions. Make sure everyone knows what they can do to keep them safe from COVID-19.
• Follow everyday preventive actions, including covering coughs and sneezes, washing your hands often, and avoiding touching your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands. Consider taking extra precautions for people living in close quarters.
• Know what to do if someone in your family or in the household you are staying with becomes sick with COVID-19. Take steps to keep your pets safe.

 
Recovery Planning for 2020 Hurricane and All Hazards Season
 
Given the complexity of operations in a COVID-19 environment, some aspects of recovery planning and posture will have to change to ensure the safety of disaster survivors and help prepare emergency managers and planners for the new challenges.
 
The operational realities of the COVID-19 environment will require adaptations to many aspects of the Mass Care and Emergency Assistance service areas, particularly all stages of sheltering assistance. Due to the risks associated with COVID-19 and congregate sheltering, including standards for occupancy rates, equipment requirements, and assessment of at-risk or vulnerable populations is a must.
Some consideration for your recovery efforts include but not limited to:
 

• Plan for reopening and reconstitution criteria that support opening of businesses damaged by a hurricane and/or tropical storm that is also impacted by COVID-19 restrictions.
• Identify sufficient congregate shelter spaces to safely implement social distancing requirements.
• Review and incorporated CDC’s Interim Guidance for General Population Disaster Shelters During the COVID-19 Pandemic into sheltering plans and strategies plan.
• Have plans to conduct health screenings of evacuees that may enter sheltering locations.
• Have a medical care plan for those evacuees that meet screening criteria (e.g., positive, presumptive positive, symptomatic, known exposure) upon arrival at a shelter.

 
Conclusion
 
Emergency planners and Emergency managers should review existing COOP programs and begin increasing planning and posturing with a focus on key changes necessitated by the COVID-19 environment. The failure to prepare and meet the requirements for maintaining social distancing, face covers, hand hygiene and the ability to follow CDC guidance limits our ability to protect the health and safety of our citizens, survivors, emergency response and recovery personnel. Failure to prepare can cause a negative impact on operational concepts such as sheltering plans, commodity distribution, and establishment of disaster facilities.
September is National Preparedness Month. The time to update is now at all level of preparedness from the Ohana, County, State and Federal levels.
 
 

Virus-free. www.avg.com

 

© Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce any portion of this document so long as credit is given to the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. This study can be downloaded at www.grassrootinstitue.org. Nothing in this report is intended to thwart or aid the passage of any specific legislation.