September is Disaster Preparedness Month

Here are some easy tips to help your family be better be prepared for a disaster or emergency as your kids head back to school:

1. The American College of Emergency Physicians urges parents to make sure their children’s schools
have children’s most recent information to ensure they receive prompt medical attention and do not
have to take the time to get parental consent or track down medical records.

• Complete a consent-to-treat form, and give copies to the school or daycare for them to keep in your child’s record and to take with them if your child goes to the emergency department. It is also a good idea to give copies to family members, friends or babysitters who may care for your child. Your child will always get lifesaving care in an emergency room, but the form, gives a physician permission to treat your child for less serious medical problems when he or she is in someone else’s care.
• Organize your child’s medical history records and update emergency medical contact information.  Phone numbers change often; make sure you update emergency contact information as needed.

2. Since your child will be out of your care for some period of the day it is important to go over basic safety information

• Review and do a “dry run” of your child’s route to school, explaining potential hazards along the way. This is a great opportunity to talk
  about safety rules for going to and from school.
• Make sure your children know how to use a telephone for help. Post emergency contact numbers by every phone in your home. Have them practice the information they will be asked if they call 911; name, address, and description of the problem.
• Develop a family emergency plan in case something happens on the way to, or while attending school. Make a set plan of a place to meet if home or school are not safe options.
• One of the most valuable emergency items you can buy costs less than a can of soda. Consider adding a whistle for each child to your back to school shopping list. A whistle’s sound will carry much further than a voice and it will last longer. Teach children to use the whistle when they are lost or in trouble, by using the following code to communicate: 1 blow for “Yes” 2 blows for “No” 3 blows for “S.O.S.”

3. One of the most effective things you can do to prevent your child from a disaster is to make sure they are up to date on their vaccinations.

All students are required to be protected from polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis (whooping cough), measles, mumps, rubella, hepatitis B and varicella (chickenpox) to enter school. Most children need booster shots before they start kindergarten. Teens and adults also need vaccines to protect them from illnesses.

Make a “back-to-school” appointment for your children and teens. There are some new vaccines that might
be needed. Your doctor or provider can answer questions about vaccines and the diseases they prevent. Bring
your shot record (yellow card) and ask if your child is up-to-date with the following vaccines:

• Tdap is a fairly new vaccine that is recommended for 11-12 year olds, and one dose is recommended for all adults in place of their next tetanus shot. It contains protection against pertussis (whooping cough) that adults and teens need. If you can’t remember the last time you had a tetanus shot, it’s probably time.

• Meningococcal vaccine is recommended for all pre-teens 11-12. Students that are college bound should also be protected against this deadly disease.

• HPV is a new vaccine for women and girls 11-26 years of age. It protects against the Human Papillomavirus that can cause cervical cancer.

• Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine booster dose might be needed. Most students had one dose of varicella to get into school. A second dose is needed. Adults that have not had a case of chicken pox would also benefit from this vaccine.

There are myths about the safety of vaccines. Unfortunately, these rumors can cause parents to delay vaccinating their children or
not protect them at all. This leaves children at risk for the serious preventable diseases that we still see in Monterey County. If you are concerned, talk to your health care provider or visit www.cdc.gov/vaccines.

The law does allow parents and guardians to choose an exemption from immunization requirements based on personal beliefs or for medical reasons. If you choose an exemption, make sure you know the signs and symptoms of these diseases and are prepared to keep your child home, possibly for many weeks, if an outbreak does occur.

**Information was taken from the “Back To School 2010″ Preparedness Minute” published by the Monterey County Health Department. To view the original publication please click here.