National P.E.P. Rally Featuring Subway's Jared and World-Renowned Athletes Laila Ali and Tab Ramos Kicks Off Partnership
The National Institutes of Health's We Can! program has partnered with Subway Restaurants to reach families throughout the United States and beyond with practical tips and tools to help children and their parents maintain a healthy weight and prevent overweight and obesity.
The partnership will be launched today at a National P.E.P. (Play More, Eat Right, and Push Away the Screen) Rally at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C. The event will feature hundreds of youth, parents, and teachers, along with Subway spokesman Jared Fogle, boxing champion Laila Ali, Olympic soccer star Tab Ramos, and Lawrence A. Tabak, D.D.S., Ph.D., NIH acting principal deputy director.
"Obesity is a significant public health problem, not just for adults, but also for our children who could suffer from lifelong medical and psychosocial problems," noted Tabak. "We are delighted to work with Subway Restaurants to educate children and their families about three simple steps they can take for a healthy weight: eat right, move more, and limit screen time."
Nearly 1 out of 3 children in the United States ages 2 to 19 is overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Extra pounds can lead to lifelong health problems, such as type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. In adults, overweight and obesity contribute to these and other chronic conditions, including certain cancers.
The NIH established We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition) in June 2005 to help prevent childhood obesity. The science-based national education program brings families and communities together to promote healthy weight in children ages 8 through 13 through improved food choices, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time.
Subway will promote We Can! messages and resources in restaurants and through the SubwayKids.com Web site. In addition, in collaboration with Subway and Scholastic, Inc. We Can! materials have been adapted into fun tools and activities for teachers, students, and parents, including a "You Are What You Eat" poster, reproducible activities for students, and send-home sheets for parents. The partnership does not imply endorsement of Subway products.
The partnership also aims to strengthen We Can!’s extensive outreach in communities across the United States, with Subway providing funding for training programs for community-based educators and leaders to help them implement We Can!’s hands-on curricula for youth and for parents. Currently, more than 1,000 We Can! community sites nationwide and in 11 other countries have committed to providing We Can! programs at the local level.
At the National P.E.P. Rally, more than 300 elementary and middle school students will participate in fun and educational activities, such as Energy In/Energy Out, a tag-like game that emphasizes the importance of energy balance for a healthy weight. Ramos will lead participants in soccer training sessions, and Ali will encourage the youth to eat well and be active every day. Fogle, who is popularly known as "Jared from Subway," will also share his story and talk about the importance of maintaining a healthy weight.
"Getting kids to stay healthy and active is something I work on all year long and I am constantly on the road, going from school to school to reach out to children," said Fogle. "I’m proud to be here today to support the We Can! program on behalf of Subway Restaurants because my goal is to help children avoid the physical and emotional hardships I went through living with obesity."
National P.E.P. Rally participants will be asked to sign a pledge to show their commitment to be active at least one hour a day, to make healthy food choices, and to limit recreational screen time to no more than two hours a day. All participants will receive educational materials to support their commitment.
"Helping America's children maintain a healthy weight is a priority," said Elizabeth G. Nabel, M.D., director of NIH's National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, which developed We Can! "By bringing together corporate partners with We Can! community sites, we believe we really can help families embrace healthy lifestyles."
For more information about We Can! and to learn more about the partnership, visit http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov.
To speak with an NIH spokesperson, please contact the NHLBI Communications Office at (301) 496-4236 or at NHLBI_news@nhlbi.nih.gov. To speak with a Subway spokesperson, please contact Megan Driscoll at Emanate, (212) 805-8034 (work); (646) 285-7165 (cell); megan.driscoll@emanatepr.com.
ABOUT We Can!
We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition) is a national education program of families and communities coming together to promote healthy weight in children and youth through improved food choices, increased physical activity, and reduced screen time. We Can! was developed by the nation’s top research and health authority — the National Institutes of Health — and is a collaboration of four NIH institutes: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and National Cancer Institute. The program provides parents, caregivers and communities — from the smallest towns to the largest cities — with ready-to-use, science-based tools, trainings and educational sessions that encourage healthy lifestyles. Today, more than 1,000 community sites have committed to offering We Can! science-based educational materials and curricula to youth and parents in their communities. We Can! has also engaged dozens of corporations, government agencies, and non-profit organizations to increase awareness and enhance product development and dissemination.
For more information about We Can!, visit http://wecan.nhlbi.nih.gov or call toll-free at call toll-free 866-35-WE CAN.
We Can! and the We Can! logo are trademarks of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS). Participation by Subway restaurants does not imply endorsement by DHHS.
NIH joins the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) as members of the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) to accelerate the progress of research to reduce childhood obesity. NCCOR seeks to improve the efficiency, effectiveness and application of childhood obesity research and to produce positive changes more rapidly through enhanced coordination and collaboration. For more information about NCCOR and its initiatives, visit http://www.nccor.org/.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic, clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
Monday, March 30, 2009
How Much Should Women Drink? It Depends on Who You Ask
College-age females overestimate 'need' to consume alcohol, survey finds
HealthDay
By Kevin McKeever
Friday, March 27, 2009
FRIDAY, March 27 (HealthDay News) -- College women, listen up: You don't need to drink to excess to impress college men, a new study has found.
"Although traditionally, men drink more than women, research has shown that women have steadily been drinking more and more over the last several decades," study author Joseph LaBrie, an associate professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, said in a news release from the American Psychological Association. "Our research suggests women believe men find excessive drinking sexually attractive and appealing, but it appears this is a giant misperception."
In fact, nearly three-fourths of the female students surveyed at two U.S. universities, Loyola and the University of Washington, overestimated how much alcohol they need to imbibe to interest their male counterparts. These women were the same ones who also tended to drink to excess, according to the research, published in the March issue of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors.
The researchers surveyed 3,616 college students about women's drinking habits and men's views of drinking by women.
Most of the women overestimated, by an average of a drink-and-a-half, how much men would like them to drink at any given event. About 26 percent said they thought men would most likely want to be friends with a woman who drinks five or more drinks, and 16 percent said women who drank the most attracted men sexually.
Both estimates were twice what the men said they actually preferred.
"There is a great, and risky, disconnect here between the sexes," LaBrie said. "While not all women may be drinking simply to get a guy's attention, this may help explain why more women are drinking at dangerous levels. We believe universities and other public health organizations could use this information to help curb binge drinking among young women."
A follow-up study by LaBrie is underway to determine how men think women view male drinking habits to see if the perception might have a similar effect on men's drinking habits.
New Device Treats Common Heart Rhythm Disorder
It could replace anti-clotting drug warfarin for many patients, researchers say
HealthDay
Sunday, March 29, 2009
SATURDAY, March 28 (HealthDay News) -- An implanted device may soon replace the anti-clotting drug warfarin as the first line of treatment for many people with atrial fibrillation, a new study suggests.
People with atrial fibrillation have a sixfold increased risk of stroke, the researchers noted, and typically need to take warfarin for the rest of their lives. Atrial fibrillation is a common heart rhythm problem that causes the upper chamber of the heart to beat irregularly.
"One in four people over 50 will develop atrial fibrillation," lead researcher Dr. David R. Holmes Jr., the Scripps Professor of Medicine at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, said during a morning teleconference at the American College of Cardiology annual meeting Saturday in Orlando, Fla.
About 3 million people in the United States have atrial fibrillation, and 16 million Americans will have the condition by 2050, Holmes said. Stroke is the most serious complication related to atrial fibrillation, he noted.
"We know that in those patients with atrial fibrillation that the clot that causes that stroke comes from a certain area of the heart called the left atrial appendage," Holmes said, explaining that the appendage is a muscular pouch connected to the left atrium. "The device isolates the left atrial appendage."
To implant the device, an interventional cardiologist uses a catheter inserted in a leg vein to guide the device into the heart; the device travels through the heart's right chamber and is deposited into the left atrium through a puncture hole between the two chambers of the heart, the researchers explained.
Current treatment with warfarin is effective in preventing strokes caused by clots associated with atrial fibrillation, but its use needs to be monitored monthly to assure patients are receiving the safest and most effective dose because it can cause serious bleeding if given in doses that are too high, Holmes noted.
In the Embolic Protection in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation (PROTECT AF) trial, researchers compared treatment with warfarin to a fabric-covered, expandable cage called the WATCHMAN. The device blocks blood clots that typically form in the heart's left atrial appendage. The 707 patients were randomly assigned to one of the two treatments.
"Efficacy was dramatically better with the device, and stopping the warfarin," Holmes said.
The researchers found that patients with the WATCHMAN had a 32 percent lower risk of stroke and cardiovascular death compared with warfarin therapy. This was especially true for hemorrhagic stroke, which causes bleeding in the brain and is usually fatal, Holmes noted.
In addition, there were fewer complications with the device, once it was implanted, compared to warfarin. Most complications with the device occurred when placing it in the heart, but these complications now occur in only 1 percent of patients, Holmes noted.
The researchers concluded that the device is an effective alternative to warfarin for preventing stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation, particularly those at the highest risk of stroke.
"A strategy like this can be used in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke, and get them off warfarin," Holmes said.
Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, thinks this device will benefit many patients with atrial fibrillation.
"The major risk of atrial fibrillation is blood clots forming in the heart, and then breaking loose to cause stroke. Most of these blood clots form in the appendage of the left atrium," Fonarow said.
The only effective treatment until now was lifelong use of warfarin. Researchers have been searching for alternative therapies to warfarin to protect patients with atrial fibrillation from stroke without success for decades, Fonarow noted.
"The findings from this clinical trial are very impressive," Fonarow said. "Although there were some procedure-related complications, treatment with this novel device will be very attractive and provide patients with atrial fibrillation effective, long-term protection from stroke and systemic embolization without the bleeding risks associated with warfarin."
Monday, March 23, 2009
Most New EMS Recruits Overweight or Obese
Massachusetts finding has troubling implications for public safety, experts say
By Robert Preidt
Friday, March 20, 2009
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- More than 75 percent of candidates for fire and ambulance services in Massachusetts are either overweight or obese, a situation that has major consequences for public health and safety, researchers say.
"First, cardiovascular disease and musculoskeletal injury are important causes of [disability and death] in emergency responders, and excess body fat is associated with higher risk for both. Second, because of the nature of emergency response work, any health condition suddenly incapacitating an emergency responder also potentially compromises the safety of his or her co-workers and the community," lead author Antonios Tsismenakis, a second-year medical student at Boston University School of Medicine, said in a news release.
A team from BUSM, Boston Medical Center, Harvard University and the Cambridge Health Alliance reviewed the pre-placement medical examinations of 370 firefighter and ambulance recruits assessed at two Massachusetts clinics between October 2004 and June 2007.
They found that 43.8 percent of the recruits were overweight, 33 percent were obese, and only 22 percent were normal weight.
Excess weight as measured by body-mass index (BMI) was associated with higher blood pressures, worse metabolic profiles and lower exercise tolerance on treadmill stress tests, the researchers said.
While all normal-weight recruits achieved the National Fire Protection Agency's recommended minimum exercise threshold of 12 metabolic equivalents, 42 percent of obese and 7 percent of overweight recruits failed to meet the criteria.
The study appears online March 19 in the journal Obesity.
"These findings are strong evidence against the common misconception in the emergency responder community that many of their members have BMIs in the overweight and obese ranges simply on the basis of increased muscle mass. Even in these young recruits, we documented a very strong association between excess BMI and an increased cardiovascular risk profile," study senior author Dr. Stefanos Kales, director of Occupational and Environmental Medicine Residency, Harvard School of Public Health, said in the news release.
3 Steps Might Help Stop MRSA's Spread
E-monitoring of hand washing, better room cleaning and checks on patient transfers are key, studies find
HealthDay
Friday, March 20, 2009
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- A high-tech way of monitoring hand washing, a better means of disinfecting rooms and improved tracking of patients as they transfer from one hospital to another could all help prevent the spread of the MRSA "superbug" and other pathogens, researchers report.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that's resistant to certain antibiotics. It can cause severe infections for people in hospitals and other health-care facilities, such as nursing homes. MRSA can also cause serious skin infections in healthy people who have not recently been hospitalized.
But MRSA can be beaten, suggest three studies that were to be presented this week at the annual meeting in San Diego of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
In the first report, Dr. Philip Polgreen, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, described an inexpensive way of electronically monitoring staff to be sure that they wash their hands before entering an intensive care unit. The system uses a wireless technology similar to Wi-Fi to transmit signals to a computer.
"Hand washing is one of the most important actions health-care workers can take to protect patients from developing hospital-acquired infections," Polgreen said during a March 12 media teleconference. "Yet hand hygiene compliance among physicians, nurses and other health-care workers remains unacceptably low," he said.
Currently, many hospitals have staff sit outside hospital rooms to record when people wash their hands, Polgreen noted.
In the new system, health-care workers wear a badge that interacts with a sensor on an automated hygiene dispenser placed outside or inside patients' rooms. Using this method, researchers were able to determine compliance with hand-washing protocols and identify staff who were following or not following hand-washing procedures.
"Testing has shown this new system to be accurate," Polgreen said, but he added that it still has to be tested in a variety of situations.
Dr. Marc Siegel, an infectious disease expert and associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, called the new system "impressive."
"We all agree that washing your hands is the way to go," Siegel said. But he is not convinced that hand sanitizers are totally effective. "Washing your hands with soap and water is better," he said.
In the second report, a team led by Rupak Datta, an M.D./ Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Irvine, found that 40 percent of MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections are transmitted by touching nearby surfaces. VRE is another dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogen.
"These infections can be cultured off a variety of surfaces, such as doorknobs, countertops, computer keyboards and bed trays," Datta said during the teleconference.
To combat this problem, the researchers developed a new cleaning method for disinfecting patient rooms. Instead of using spray bottles, the method involved cloths saturated with disinfectant and included instruction in proper cleaning techniques.
The enhanced cleaning significantly cut down on MRSA but was only moderately effective in killing VRE. The researchers believe that a different method will be needed to reduce VRE infections.
"This suggests that cleaning measures over and above national standards can be important in reducing the transmission of multi-drug-resistant organisms, such as MRSA and VRE in high-risk patient care areas, such as the ICU," Datta said.
"It is interesting," Siegel noted, "that VRE is even more resistant to standard cleaning techniques than MRSA. That implies that the more resistant a bug, the more crafty it becomes and harder to eradicate."
In the third presentation, Dr. Susan S. Huang, director of epidemiology and infection prevention at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine, examined the transfer of patients between hospitals in Orange County, Calif.
Sharing patients often means sharing hospital-based infections, she noted. "Our study is focused on trying to quantify how much patient-sharing occurs between acute-care hospitals," Huang said during the teleconference.
For the study, Huang's team looked at almost 240,000 people admitted to Orange County's acute-care hospitals in 2005.
"We found that 22 percent of patients will be rehospitalized within a year of discharge," Huang said. Most are readmitted to different hospitals than the one where they were initially treated. In an average month, each hospital exposed other hospitals to 10 of their patients, she noted.
According to Siegel, the transmission of infections from hospital to hospital is "being overlooked."
"Patients become deposits of bacteria, especially when they go from one facility to the next," he said, adding that it should be assumed that someone coming from another hospital is infected with drug-resistant bacteria.
In fact, routine decontamination of patients -- whether they are known to be carrying dangerous pathogens or not -- should be the status quo, Siegel said. "It has to become standard practice to decontaminate all patients who are in areas of high prevalence of dangerous bacteria," he said.
HealthDay
Friday, March 20, 2009
FRIDAY, March 20 (HealthDay News) -- A high-tech way of monitoring hand washing, a better means of disinfecting rooms and improved tracking of patients as they transfer from one hospital to another could all help prevent the spread of the MRSA "superbug" and other pathogens, researchers report.
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is a type of staph bacteria that's resistant to certain antibiotics. It can cause severe infections for people in hospitals and other health-care facilities, such as nursing homes. MRSA can also cause serious skin infections in healthy people who have not recently been hospitalized.
But MRSA can be beaten, suggest three studies that were to be presented this week at the annual meeting in San Diego of the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America.
In the first report, Dr. Philip Polgreen, an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Iowa, described an inexpensive way of electronically monitoring staff to be sure that they wash their hands before entering an intensive care unit. The system uses a wireless technology similar to Wi-Fi to transmit signals to a computer.
"Hand washing is one of the most important actions health-care workers can take to protect patients from developing hospital-acquired infections," Polgreen said during a March 12 media teleconference. "Yet hand hygiene compliance among physicians, nurses and other health-care workers remains unacceptably low," he said.
Currently, many hospitals have staff sit outside hospital rooms to record when people wash their hands, Polgreen noted.
In the new system, health-care workers wear a badge that interacts with a sensor on an automated hygiene dispenser placed outside or inside patients' rooms. Using this method, researchers were able to determine compliance with hand-washing protocols and identify staff who were following or not following hand-washing procedures.
"Testing has shown this new system to be accurate," Polgreen said, but he added that it still has to be tested in a variety of situations.
Dr. Marc Siegel, an infectious disease expert and associate professor of medicine at New York University School of Medicine in New York City, called the new system "impressive."
"We all agree that washing your hands is the way to go," Siegel said. But he is not convinced that hand sanitizers are totally effective. "Washing your hands with soap and water is better," he said.
In the second report, a team led by Rupak Datta, an M.D./ Ph.D. candidate at the University of California at Irvine, found that 40 percent of MRSA and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) infections are transmitted by touching nearby surfaces. VRE is another dangerous antibiotic-resistant pathogen.
"These infections can be cultured off a variety of surfaces, such as doorknobs, countertops, computer keyboards and bed trays," Datta said during the teleconference.
To combat this problem, the researchers developed a new cleaning method for disinfecting patient rooms. Instead of using spray bottles, the method involved cloths saturated with disinfectant and included instruction in proper cleaning techniques.
The enhanced cleaning significantly cut down on MRSA but was only moderately effective in killing VRE. The researchers believe that a different method will be needed to reduce VRE infections.
"This suggests that cleaning measures over and above national standards can be important in reducing the transmission of multi-drug-resistant organisms, such as MRSA and VRE in high-risk patient care areas, such as the ICU," Datta said.
"It is interesting," Siegel noted, "that VRE is even more resistant to standard cleaning techniques than MRSA. That implies that the more resistant a bug, the more crafty it becomes and harder to eradicate."
In the third presentation, Dr. Susan S. Huang, director of epidemiology and infection prevention at the University of California at Irvine School of Medicine, examined the transfer of patients between hospitals in Orange County, Calif.
Sharing patients often means sharing hospital-based infections, she noted. "Our study is focused on trying to quantify how much patient-sharing occurs between acute-care hospitals," Huang said during the teleconference.
For the study, Huang's team looked at almost 240,000 people admitted to Orange County's acute-care hospitals in 2005.
"We found that 22 percent of patients will be rehospitalized within a year of discharge," Huang said. Most are readmitted to different hospitals than the one where they were initially treated. In an average month, each hospital exposed other hospitals to 10 of their patients, she noted.
According to Siegel, the transmission of infections from hospital to hospital is "being overlooked."
"Patients become deposits of bacteria, especially when they go from one facility to the next," he said, adding that it should be assumed that someone coming from another hospital is infected with drug-resistant bacteria.
In fact, routine decontamination of patients -- whether they are known to be carrying dangerous pathogens or not -- should be the status quo, Siegel said. "It has to become standard practice to decontaminate all patients who are in areas of high prevalence of dangerous bacteria," he said.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Health Group Knocks Kindergarten Playtime Squeeze
By Todd Neale, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
Published: March 20, 2009
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco
COLLEGE PARK, Md., March 20 -- Replacing kindergarten playtime with formal lessons and standardized tests could have a wide range of negative consequences, according to the Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit that advocates for children's health. Action Points
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Explain to interested patients that the American Academy of Pediatrics has also endorsed playtime for young children.
During a typical day at 268 kindergartens in Los Angeles and New York, children spent two to three hours learning or being tested on literacy and math skills, but 30 minutes or less in imaginative play, two top Alliance executives wrote in a recent report.
The vast majority of the kindergarten teachers surveyed -- 82% in Los Angeles and 79%in New York -- said they spent time every day testing or preparing for testing, according to Alliance program director Ed Miller, Ed.M., and executive director Joan Almon.
In Los Angeles, 25% of teachers said there was no time for play at all, and in both cities, about 12% said they didn't have enough play materials for all of the children.
Miller and Almon labeled the trend a "crisis" in a report that brought together new research commissioned by the Alliance and other recent studies, published and unpublished.
"Play is one of the vital signs of health in children," they said. "We do not know the long-term consequences of the loss of play in early childhood, but this has become a concern for pediatricians and psychologists."
In the short-term, they said, forgoing playtime for regimented academic pursuits appears to increase aggression and other behavioral problems, school failure, frustration, and stress.
In addition, when teachers spend hours every day trying to get children to meet unrealistic academic standards, they may wind up mislabeling normal childhood behaviors as misbehaviors, attention disorders, or learning disabilities, the researchers said.
Imaginative playtime, on the other hand, has demonstrated multiple benefits, according to the authors.
"Young children work hard at play. They invent scenes and stories, solve problems, and negotiate their way through social roadblocks. They know what they want to do and work diligently to do it. Because their motivation comes from within, they learn the powerful lesson of pursuing their own ideas to a successful conclusion," they said.
Children who engage in playtime also have improved language and social skills, more empathy and imagination, and better self-control, they said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) emphasized the importance of play in a 2007 policy statement authored by Kenneth Ginsburg, M.D., of The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania, in conjunction with the AAP's committees on communications and the psychosocial aspects of child and family health.
"Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength," Dr. Ginsburg and colleagues said.
"Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers.
"As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills," they declared.
Playtime has been reduced by hurried lifestyles, changes in family structure, and increased focus on academics, they said.
But the authors of the Alliance report called for a balanced approach to playtime in kindergarten, arguing that superficial and chaotic play was not beneficial either.
The ideal would be a classroom that "relies on child-initiated play with the active presence of a teacher, combined with intentional teaching through playful learning, the arts, and other hands-on experiences," Miller and Almon said.
They made six recommendations to re-establish the importance of playtime in kindergarten. They suggested:
Restoring play initiated by children under the active support of teachers to the classroom
Reassessing kindergarten practices to make sure they are developmentally appropriate and eliminating those that fall short
Eliminating standardized tests in kindergarten
Expanding research in early childhood to assess the long-term effects of current kindergarten practices
Training early childhood teachers about the importance of playtime
Using the "crisis" of the disappearance of playtime to rally the support for a return of play to kindergarten
The Alliance for Childhood received funding for the report from the Woodshouse Foundation, the Buffett Early Childhood Fund, the NoVo Foundation, RSF Social Finance, the Kalliopeia Foundation, Bay Area Early Childhood Funders, the Newman's Own Foundation, and Community Playthings.
Primary source: Alliance for Childhood
Source reference:
Miller E, Almon J "Crisis in the kindergarten: why children need to play in school" Alliance for Childhood 2009.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Emergency Preparedness and Response
The possibility of public health emergencies arising in the United States concerns many people in the wake of recent hurricanes, tsunamis, acts of terrorism, and the threat of pandemic influenza. Though some people feel it is impossible to be prepared for unexpected events, the truth is that taking preparedness actions helps people deal with disasters of all sorts much more effectively when they do occur.
To help, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Red Cross have teamed up to answer common questions and provide step by step guidance you can take now to protect you and your loved ones.
1. Get a Kit
Gather Emergency Supplies
If disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, or electricity for some time. By taking time now to prepare emergency water supplies, food supplies and disaster supplies kit, you can provide for your entire family.
Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supplies for two weeks, consider maintaining a supply that will last that long.
You may not need to go out and buy foods to prepare an emergency food supply. You can use the canned goods, dry mixes, and other staples on your cupboard shelves.
Having an ample supply of clean water is a top priority in an emergency. A normally active person needs to drink at least 2 quarts (a half gallon) of water each day. You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. Store at least an additional half-gallon per person, per day for this.
Store at least a 3-day supply and consider storing a two-week supply of water for each member of your family. If you are unable to store this much, store as much as you can. You can reduce the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.
And don't forget to take your pets and service animals into account!
Disaster Supplies Kit:
A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items that could be needed in the event of a disaster.
Assemble the following items to create kits for use at home, the office, at school and/or in a vehicle:
Water - three gallons for each person who would use the kit and an additional four gallons per person or pet for use if you are confined to your home
Food - a three-day supply in the kit and at least an additional four-day supply per person or pet for use at home
You may want to consider stocking a two-week supply of food and water in your home.
Items for infants - including formula, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, powdered milk and medications not requiring refrigeration
Items for seniors, disabled persons or anyone with serious allergies - including special foods, denture items, extra eyeglasses, hearing aid batteries, prescription and non-prescription medications that are regularly used, inhalers and other essential equipment.
Kitchen accessories - a manual can opener; mess kits or disposable cups, plates and utensils; utility knife; sugar and salt; aluminum foil and plastic wrap; re-sealable plastic bags
A portable, battery-powered radio or television and extra, fresh batteries
Several flashlights and extra, fresh batteries
A first aid kit
One complete change of clothing and footwear for each person - including sturdy work shoes or boots, raingear and other items adjusted for the season, such as hats and gloves, thermal underwear, sunglasses, dust masks
Blankets or a sleeping bag for each person
Sanitation and hygiene items - shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, comb and brush, lip balm, sunscreen, contact lenses and supplies and any medications regularly used, toilet paper, towelettes, soap, hand sanitizer, liquid detergent, feminine supplies, plastic garbage bags (heavy-duty) and ties (for personal sanitation uses), medium-sized plastic bucket with tight lid, disinfectant, household chlorine bleach
Other essential items - paper, pencil, needles, thread, small A-B-C-type fire extinguisher, medicine dropper, whistle, emergency preparedness manual
Entertainment - including games and books, favorite dolls and stuffed animals for small children
A map of the area marked with places you could go and their telephone numbers
An extra set of keys and ids - including keys for cars and any properties owned and copies of driver's licenses, passports and work identification badges
Cash and coins and copies of credit cards
Copies of medical prescriptions
Matches in a waterproof container
A small tent, compass and shovel
Pack the items in easy-to-carry containers, label the containers clearly and store them where they would be easily accessible. Duffle bags, backpacks, and covered trash receptacles are good candidates for containers. In a disaster situation, you may need access to your disaster supplies kit quickly - whether you are sheltering at home or evacuating. Following a disaster, having the right supplies can help your household endure home confinement or evacuation.
Make sure the needs of everyone who would use the kit are covered, including infants, seniors and pets. It's good to involve whoever is going to use the kit, including children, in assembling it.
Benefits of Involving Children
Involving children is the first step in helping them know what to do in an emergency.
Children can help. Ask them to think of items that they would like to include in a disaster supplies kit, such as books or games or nonperishable food items, and to help the household remember to keep the kits updated. Children could make calendars and mark the dates for checking emergency supplies, rotating the emergency food and water or replacing it every six months and replacing batteries as necessary. Children can enjoy preparing plans and disaster kits for pets and other animals.
Disaster Supplies Kit Checklist for Pets
Food and water for at least three days for each pet, food and water bowls and a manual can opener
Depending on the pet, litter and litter box or newspapers, paper towels, plastic trash bags, grooming items, and household bleach
Medications and medical records stored in a waterproof container, a first aid kit and a pet first aid book
Sturdy leashes, harnesses and carriers to transport pets safely and to ensure that your pets cannot escape. A carrier should be large enough for the animal to stand comfortably, turn around, and lie down. Your pet may have to stay in the carrier for hours. Be sure to have a secure cage with no loose objects inside it to accommodate smaller pets. These may require blankets or towels for bedding and warmth and other special items
Pet toys and the pet's bed, if you can easily take it, to reduce stress
Current photos and descriptions of your pets to help others identify them in case you and your pets become separated, and to prove that they are yours
Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems and the name and telephone number of your veterinarian in case you have to board your pets or place them in foster care.
Additional Supplies for Sheltering-in-Place
In the unlikely event that chemical or radiological hazards cause officials to advise people in a specific area to "shelter-in-place" in a sealed room, households should have in the room they have selected for this purpose:
A roll of duct tape and scissors
Plastic sheeting pre-cut to fit shelter-in-place room openings
Ten square feet of floor space per person will provide sufficient air to prevent carbon dioxide buildup for up to five hours. Local officials are unlikely to recommend the public shelter in a sealed room for more than two-three hours because the effectiveness of such sheltering diminishes with time as the contaminated outside air gradually seeps into the shelter.
NOTE: Always keep a shut-off valve wrench near the gas and water shut-off valves in your home.
2. Make a Plan
Develop a Family Disaster Plan
Families can cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together as a team. Create a family disaster plan including a communication plan, disaster supplies kit, and an evacuation plan. Knowing what to do is your best protection and your responsibility.
Contact your American Red Cross chapter or local emergency management office — be prepared to take notes.
Ask what types of disasters are most likely to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.
Learn about your community’s warning signals: what they sound like and what you should do when you hear them.
Ask about animal care after disaster. Animals other than service animals may not be allowed inside emergency shelters.
Find out how to help elderly or disabled persons, if needed.
Next, find out about the disaster plans at your workplace, your children’s school or daycare center, and other places where your family spends time.
Create a disaster plan
Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.
Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
Pick two places to meet:
Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire.
Outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home. Everyone must know the address and phone number.
Safe and Well Website
Following the 2005 hurricane season, the Red Cross developed the Safe and Well website, which enables people within a disaster area to let their friends and loved ones outside of the affected region know of their well-being. By logging onto the Red Cross public website, a person affected by disaster may post messages indicating that they are safe and well at a shelter, hotel, or at home, and that they will contact their friends and family as soon as possible. During large-scale disasters, there will be telephone-based assistance via the 1-866-GET-INFO hotline for people who live within the affected areas and do not have Internet access, but wish to register on the Safe and Well website.
People who are concerned about family members in an affected area may also access the Safe and Well website to view these messages. They will be required to enter either the name and telephone number, or the name and complete address, of the person about whom they wish to get information. Red Cross chapters will provide telephone-based assistance to local callers who do not have Internet access and wish to search the Safe and Wellwebsite for information about a loved one.
Be assured that the information on the Safe and Well website is secure and that information about the locations where people are staying is not published. Privacy laws require the Red Cross to protect each person's right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members. The Red Cross does not actively trace or attempt to locate individuals registered on the Safe and Well website.
Ask an out-of-state friend to be your “family contact”. After a disaster, it’s often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact’s phone number.
Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.
Families should develop different methods for communicating during emergency situations and share their plans beforehand with all those who would be worried about their welfare. Options for remaining in contact with family and friends if a disaster strikes include:
Phone contact with a designated family member or friend who is unlikely to be affected by the same disaster.
Email notification via a family distribution list.
Registration on the American Red Cross Safe and Well Website.
Use of the toll-free Contact Loved Ones voice messaging service (1-866-78-CONTACT).
Use of the US Postal Service change of address forms when it becomes necessary to leave home for an extended period of time, thus ensuring that mail will be redirected to a current address.
Complete this checklist
Post emergency telephone numbers by phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
Teach children how and when to call 911 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.
Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
Find the safe spots in your home for each type of disaster.
Show each family member how and when to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at the main switches.
Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
Teach each family member how to use the fire extinguisher, and show them where it’s kept.
Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms.
Conduct a home hazard hunt.
Stock emergency supplies and assemble a disaster supplies kit.
Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.
Practice your plan
Test your smoke detectors monthly, and change the batteries at least once a year.
Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do.
Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills.
Replace stored water every three months and stored food every six months.
Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Be Informed
Learn How to Shelter in Place
"Shelter-in-place" means to take immediate shelter where you are—at home, work, school, or in between. It may also mean "seal the room;" in other words, take steps to prevent outside air from coming in. This is because local authorities may instruct you to "shelter-in-place" if chemical or radiological contaminants are released into the environment. It is important to listen to TV or radio to understand whether the authorities wish you to merely remain indoors or to take additional steps to protect yourself and your family.
How do I prepare?
At home
Choose a room in advance for your shelter. The best room is one with as few windows and doors as possible. A large room, preferably with a water supply, is desirable—something like a master bedroom that is connected to a bathroom.
Contact your workplaces, your children's schools, nursing homes where you may have family and your local town or city officials to find out what their plans are for "shelter-in-place."
Find out when warning systems will be tested. When tested in your area, determine whether you can hear or see sirens and/or warning lights from your home.
Develop your own family emergency plan so that every family member knows what to do. Practice it regularly.
Assemble a disaster supplies kit that includes emergency water and food supplies.
At work
Help ensure that the emergency plan and checklist involves all employees. Volunteers or recruits should be assigned specific duties during an emergency. Alternates should be assigned to each duty.
The shelter kit should be checked on a regular basis. Duct tape and first aid supplies can sometimes disappear when all employees know where the shelter kit is stored. Batteries for the radio and flashlight should be replaced regularly.
In general
Learn CPR, first aid and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). (Contact your local American Red Cross chapter for more information.)
How will I know when I need to "shelter-in-place"?
Fire or police department warning procedures could include:
"All-Call" telephoning - an automated system for sending recorded messages, sometimes called "reverse 9-1-1".
Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts on the radio or television.
Outdoor warning sirens or horns.
News media sources - radio, television and cable.
NOAA Weather Radio alerts.
Residential route alerting - messages announced to neighborhoods from vehicles equipped with public address systems.
Facilities that handle potentially dangerous materials, like nuclear power plants, are required to install sirens and other warning systems (flash warning lights) to cover a 10-mile area around the plant.
For more information, contact any of the following:
For checklists to help prepare to shelter-in-place in your home, at work, in your car, or at school or day-care, read How Do I Shelter-in-Place?
Your local American Red Cross chapter
Your state and local health departments
The Humane Society of the United States
Your local emergency management agency
CDC Public Response Hotline
English 1-888-246-2675
Spanish 1-888-246-2857
TTY 1-866-874-2646)
To help, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Red Cross have teamed up to answer common questions and provide step by step guidance you can take now to protect you and your loved ones.
1. Get a Kit
Gather Emergency Supplies
If disaster strikes your community, you might not have access to food, water, or electricity for some time. By taking time now to prepare emergency water supplies, food supplies and disaster supplies kit, you can provide for your entire family.
Even though it is unlikely that an emergency would cut off your food supplies for two weeks, consider maintaining a supply that will last that long.
You may not need to go out and buy foods to prepare an emergency food supply. You can use the canned goods, dry mixes, and other staples on your cupboard shelves.
Having an ample supply of clean water is a top priority in an emergency. A normally active person needs to drink at least 2 quarts (a half gallon) of water each day. You will also need water for food preparation and hygiene. Store at least an additional half-gallon per person, per day for this.
Store at least a 3-day supply and consider storing a two-week supply of water for each member of your family. If you are unable to store this much, store as much as you can. You can reduce the amount of water your body needs by reducing activity and staying cool.
And don't forget to take your pets and service animals into account!
Disaster Supplies Kit:
A disaster supplies kit is a collection of basic items that could be needed in the event of a disaster.
Assemble the following items to create kits for use at home, the office, at school and/or in a vehicle:
Water - three gallons for each person who would use the kit and an additional four gallons per person or pet for use if you are confined to your home
Food - a three-day supply in the kit and at least an additional four-day supply per person or pet for use at home
You may want to consider stocking a two-week supply of food and water in your home.
Items for infants - including formula, diapers, bottles, pacifiers, powdered milk and medications not requiring refrigeration
Items for seniors, disabled persons or anyone with serious allergies - including special foods, denture items, extra eyeglasses, hearing aid batteries, prescription and non-prescription medications that are regularly used, inhalers and other essential equipment.
Kitchen accessories - a manual can opener; mess kits or disposable cups, plates and utensils; utility knife; sugar and salt; aluminum foil and plastic wrap; re-sealable plastic bags
A portable, battery-powered radio or television and extra, fresh batteries
Several flashlights and extra, fresh batteries
A first aid kit
One complete change of clothing and footwear for each person - including sturdy work shoes or boots, raingear and other items adjusted for the season, such as hats and gloves, thermal underwear, sunglasses, dust masks
Blankets or a sleeping bag for each person
Sanitation and hygiene items - shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, toothbrushes, comb and brush, lip balm, sunscreen, contact lenses and supplies and any medications regularly used, toilet paper, towelettes, soap, hand sanitizer, liquid detergent, feminine supplies, plastic garbage bags (heavy-duty) and ties (for personal sanitation uses), medium-sized plastic bucket with tight lid, disinfectant, household chlorine bleach
Other essential items - paper, pencil, needles, thread, small A-B-C-type fire extinguisher, medicine dropper, whistle, emergency preparedness manual
Entertainment - including games and books, favorite dolls and stuffed animals for small children
A map of the area marked with places you could go and their telephone numbers
An extra set of keys and ids - including keys for cars and any properties owned and copies of driver's licenses, passports and work identification badges
Cash and coins and copies of credit cards
Copies of medical prescriptions
Matches in a waterproof container
A small tent, compass and shovel
Pack the items in easy-to-carry containers, label the containers clearly and store them where they would be easily accessible. Duffle bags, backpacks, and covered trash receptacles are good candidates for containers. In a disaster situation, you may need access to your disaster supplies kit quickly - whether you are sheltering at home or evacuating. Following a disaster, having the right supplies can help your household endure home confinement or evacuation.
Make sure the needs of everyone who would use the kit are covered, including infants, seniors and pets. It's good to involve whoever is going to use the kit, including children, in assembling it.
Benefits of Involving Children
Involving children is the first step in helping them know what to do in an emergency.
Children can help. Ask them to think of items that they would like to include in a disaster supplies kit, such as books or games or nonperishable food items, and to help the household remember to keep the kits updated. Children could make calendars and mark the dates for checking emergency supplies, rotating the emergency food and water or replacing it every six months and replacing batteries as necessary. Children can enjoy preparing plans and disaster kits for pets and other animals.
Disaster Supplies Kit Checklist for Pets
Food and water for at least three days for each pet, food and water bowls and a manual can opener
Depending on the pet, litter and litter box or newspapers, paper towels, plastic trash bags, grooming items, and household bleach
Medications and medical records stored in a waterproof container, a first aid kit and a pet first aid book
Sturdy leashes, harnesses and carriers to transport pets safely and to ensure that your pets cannot escape. A carrier should be large enough for the animal to stand comfortably, turn around, and lie down. Your pet may have to stay in the carrier for hours. Be sure to have a secure cage with no loose objects inside it to accommodate smaller pets. These may require blankets or towels for bedding and warmth and other special items
Pet toys and the pet's bed, if you can easily take it, to reduce stress
Current photos and descriptions of your pets to help others identify them in case you and your pets become separated, and to prove that they are yours
Information on feeding schedules, medical conditions, behavior problems and the name and telephone number of your veterinarian in case you have to board your pets or place them in foster care.
Additional Supplies for Sheltering-in-Place
In the unlikely event that chemical or radiological hazards cause officials to advise people in a specific area to "shelter-in-place" in a sealed room, households should have in the room they have selected for this purpose:
A roll of duct tape and scissors
Plastic sheeting pre-cut to fit shelter-in-place room openings
Ten square feet of floor space per person will provide sufficient air to prevent carbon dioxide buildup for up to five hours. Local officials are unlikely to recommend the public shelter in a sealed room for more than two-three hours because the effectiveness of such sheltering diminishes with time as the contaminated outside air gradually seeps into the shelter.
NOTE: Always keep a shut-off valve wrench near the gas and water shut-off valves in your home.
2. Make a Plan
Develop a Family Disaster Plan
Families can cope with disaster by preparing in advance and working together as a team. Create a family disaster plan including a communication plan, disaster supplies kit, and an evacuation plan. Knowing what to do is your best protection and your responsibility.
Contact your American Red Cross chapter or local emergency management office — be prepared to take notes.
Ask what types of disasters are most likely to happen. Request information on how to prepare for each.
Learn about your community’s warning signals: what they sound like and what you should do when you hear them.
Ask about animal care after disaster. Animals other than service animals may not be allowed inside emergency shelters.
Find out how to help elderly or disabled persons, if needed.
Next, find out about the disaster plans at your workplace, your children’s school or daycare center, and other places where your family spends time.
Create a disaster plan
Meet with your family and discuss why you need to prepare for disaster. Explain the dangers of fire, severe weather, and earthquakes to children. Plan to share responsibilities and work together as a team.
Discuss the types of disasters that are most likely to happen. Explain what to do in each case.
Pick two places to meet:
Right outside your home in case of a sudden emergency, like a fire.
Outside your neighborhood in case you can’t return home. Everyone must know the address and phone number.
Safe and Well Website
Following the 2005 hurricane season, the Red Cross developed the Safe and Well website, which enables people within a disaster area to let their friends and loved ones outside of the affected region know of their well-being. By logging onto the Red Cross public website, a person affected by disaster may post messages indicating that they are safe and well at a shelter, hotel, or at home, and that they will contact their friends and family as soon as possible. During large-scale disasters, there will be telephone-based assistance via the 1-866-GET-INFO hotline for people who live within the affected areas and do not have Internet access, but wish to register on the Safe and Well website.
People who are concerned about family members in an affected area may also access the Safe and Well website to view these messages. They will be required to enter either the name and telephone number, or the name and complete address, of the person about whom they wish to get information. Red Cross chapters will provide telephone-based assistance to local callers who do not have Internet access and wish to search the Safe and Wellwebsite for information about a loved one.
Be assured that the information on the Safe and Well website is secure and that information about the locations where people are staying is not published. Privacy laws require the Red Cross to protect each person's right to determine how best to communicate their contact information and whereabouts to family members. The Red Cross does not actively trace or attempt to locate individuals registered on the Safe and Well website.
Ask an out-of-state friend to be your “family contact”. After a disaster, it’s often easier to call long distance. Other family members should call this person and tell them where they are. Everyone must know your contact’s phone number.
Discuss what to do in an evacuation. Plan how to take care of your pets.
Families should develop different methods for communicating during emergency situations and share their plans beforehand with all those who would be worried about their welfare. Options for remaining in contact with family and friends if a disaster strikes include:
Phone contact with a designated family member or friend who is unlikely to be affected by the same disaster.
Email notification via a family distribution list.
Registration on the American Red Cross Safe and Well Website.
Use of the toll-free Contact Loved Ones voice messaging service (1-866-78-CONTACT).
Use of the US Postal Service change of address forms when it becomes necessary to leave home for an extended period of time, thus ensuring that mail will be redirected to a current address.
Complete this checklist
Post emergency telephone numbers by phones (fire, police, ambulance, etc.).
Teach children how and when to call 911 or your local Emergency Medical Services number for emergency help.
Determine the best escape routes from your home. Find two ways out of each room.
Find the safe spots in your home for each type of disaster.
Show each family member how and when to turn off the water, gas, and electricity at the main switches.
Check if you have adequate insurance coverage.
Teach each family member how to use the fire extinguisher, and show them where it’s kept.
Install smoke detectors on each level of your home, especially near bedrooms.
Conduct a home hazard hunt.
Stock emergency supplies and assemble a disaster supplies kit.
Take a Red Cross first aid and CPR class.
Practice your plan
Test your smoke detectors monthly, and change the batteries at least once a year.
Quiz your kids every six months so they remember what to do.
Conduct fire and emergency evacuation drills.
Replace stored water every three months and stored food every six months.
Test and recharge your fire extinguisher(s) according to manufacturer’s instructions.
3. Be Informed
Learn How to Shelter in Place
"Shelter-in-place" means to take immediate shelter where you are—at home, work, school, or in between. It may also mean "seal the room;" in other words, take steps to prevent outside air from coming in. This is because local authorities may instruct you to "shelter-in-place" if chemical or radiological contaminants are released into the environment. It is important to listen to TV or radio to understand whether the authorities wish you to merely remain indoors or to take additional steps to protect yourself and your family.
How do I prepare?
At home
Choose a room in advance for your shelter. The best room is one with as few windows and doors as possible. A large room, preferably with a water supply, is desirable—something like a master bedroom that is connected to a bathroom.
Contact your workplaces, your children's schools, nursing homes where you may have family and your local town or city officials to find out what their plans are for "shelter-in-place."
Find out when warning systems will be tested. When tested in your area, determine whether you can hear or see sirens and/or warning lights from your home.
Develop your own family emergency plan so that every family member knows what to do. Practice it regularly.
Assemble a disaster supplies kit that includes emergency water and food supplies.
At work
Help ensure that the emergency plan and checklist involves all employees. Volunteers or recruits should be assigned specific duties during an emergency. Alternates should be assigned to each duty.
The shelter kit should be checked on a regular basis. Duct tape and first aid supplies can sometimes disappear when all employees know where the shelter kit is stored. Batteries for the radio and flashlight should be replaced regularly.
In general
Learn CPR, first aid and the use of an automated external defibrillator (AED). (Contact your local American Red Cross chapter for more information.)
How will I know when I need to "shelter-in-place"?
Fire or police department warning procedures could include:
"All-Call" telephoning - an automated system for sending recorded messages, sometimes called "reverse 9-1-1".
Emergency Alert System (EAS) broadcasts on the radio or television.
Outdoor warning sirens or horns.
News media sources - radio, television and cable.
NOAA Weather Radio alerts.
Residential route alerting - messages announced to neighborhoods from vehicles equipped with public address systems.
Facilities that handle potentially dangerous materials, like nuclear power plants, are required to install sirens and other warning systems (flash warning lights) to cover a 10-mile area around the plant.
For more information, contact any of the following:
For checklists to help prepare to shelter-in-place in your home, at work, in your car, or at school or day-care, read How Do I Shelter-in-Place?
Your local American Red Cross chapter
Your state and local health departments
The Humane Society of the United States
Your local emergency management agency
CDC Public Response Hotline
English 1-888-246-2675
Spanish 1-888-246-2857
TTY 1-866-874-2646)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
