September was National Preparedness Month, and a chance to remind us all that if we take time to ready ourselves—now and throughout the year—for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live, we could have much better outcomes.
September was National Preparedness Month (NPM), and a chance to remind us all that if we take time to ready ourselves—now and throughout the year—for the types of emergencies that could affect us where we live, we could have much better outcomes.
Captivating as they are, tales of someone taking serious risks to rescue pets don’t always have happy endings. Many of us have our own stories of caring veterinary professionals who refused to leave or went back to an animal hospital in dangerous conditions to safeguard the patients. Why disregard safety? There is a wide variety of reasons that professionals might choose to do this, including: they weren’t sure that everything was being done for the animals; they didn’t know who else could get there; or they weren’t aware of who was doing what. However, there’s no reason to take heedless risks if you take a good look at your hospital and make plans beforehand for personnel, patients, and boarders in preparation of potential disasters. Veterinary professionals should already know the disasters that are most likely to occur in their region—be it flooding, power outages, high winds, fires, among other disasters—but, to get you started on how to prepare your practice in the event of a disaster, we adapted the basic checklist created by The World Health Organization (WHO) for human hospitals. Seven points to focus on include:
1. Command and control:
2. Communication:
3. Safety and Security:
4. Triage:
5. Human resources:
6. Supplies:
7. Post-disaster Recovery:
Better planning increases your chances of a better outcome when the unthinkable happens. Thirty states have specific animal-related emergency resources that you can learn more about on the AVMA site. You can look up your state here: http://sartusa.org/sart-state-links/.
Information on training and volunteering can be found here: https://www.avma.org/KB/Resources/Reference/disaster/Pages/Disaster-Preparedness-Disaster-Training.aspx as well as information every pet owner should have https://www.ready.gov/sites/default/files/documents/files/pets%5B1%5D.pdf.
Once you’ve done the groundwork, periodic checks and updates will be all you need to keep you, your staff, and your patients as safe and healthy as possible—no matter what happens.
Dr. Thompson is a small animal veterinarian, animal health executive, developmental editor and writer who produces informational and educational material for veterinary professionals and pet owners in all media. She started her career in mainstream publishing and video production, returning to school to earn degrees in marine biology and veterinary medicine. After working in small animal and feline only practice, she taught and co-directed an AVMA-accredited program for veterinary technicians. As her interest in education grew, she held positions as EIC of Veterinary Technician journal, Executive editor of Compendium journal, Vetstreet.com and Healthy Pet magazine as well as Medical Director, VP of Business Development and VP of Content for organizations from Veterinary Learning Systems to Vetstreet and NAVC.