> Pandemic Flu Information > Guides > Special Concerns
Special Concerns
College Students
Why This Is Important
Families with college students living away
from home will need to plan to bring their
students swiftly home, since colleges will
lack the means to feed students, provide care,
and prevent high infection rates in crowded
dorms.
We need to be realistic and flexible.
Once a pandemic begins, it may be more
difficult to travel for many reasons, and we
don’t know how much warning we will
have. So preparation for different
contingencies makes sense.
Planning
Planning is the most important action you can take right now. Key parts of your plan are as follows:
- Communication. This
establishes how family members will contact
each other. Include back-up communication
systems, and contact information for primary
and alternate destination locations.
Locations. In most cases, the primary location to reach will be home. For some, this may be the ultimate goal, with stops in between. Identify these intermediate and/or backup locations now. Make the necessary contacts and arrangement with relatives/friends. Add the contact information to the communications section.
- Travel. Identify primary and alternate ways to get to pre-established locations. Include detailed maps and secondary routes. Highlight the routes on an atlas, and put in your child’s vehicle, along with contact phone numbers.
Flexibility: Tailor Your Plan to Your Child and School
Many college students live "on the edge" and don’t have extra cash to get home; especially if anything happens to their credit cards. In a pandemic, credit card machines might not work. Extra cash and supplies will give greater flexibility. The farther away your child is at school, the more back-up options you might need to arrange.
Preparation
Dorm Room Emergency Kit. Dorm preparation can be simple (three-day supply of food and water as for any emergency; first aid kit, et c.), or it may be more complex (two weeks or more of food and water) depending on how difficult it might be for your child to get home. Include extra cash, but be careful of theft concerns. Include personal protection against infection: nitrile or latex gloves, hand sanitizer, safety glasses, and at least a week's worth of respirators. (See: Staying Healthy-Respirators) Given the close quarters on campus, the more expensive P-100 respirators may be the better choice. Be sure your child knows how to use all these items correctly.
- Communication.
Besides a cell phone and recharger, students
may need a way to text message. An
emergency radio is also a good
idea. Remain in communication with
your child’s college to learn of its
plans. If you have close friends or
family nearby your child’s school, make sure
these people have a way to communicate with
you and your child.
-
Travel:
- Car: You may arrange to
pick your child up, or students may have a car
on campus. Make sure ALL cars have a
large road atlas with multiple routes mapped
in case one route is not possible. Include a
basic car emergency kit (whistle, jumper
cables, money for gas, extra container for
gas, etc.). Include some extra food and
drinks so you and your child can
minimize contact with others at rest stops
along the way.
- Planes,
Trains and Buses: Even a student
who has a car may end up needing to get
home a second way. You may wish to
buy your child an open ticket on a plane,
train or bus. Though expensive, a "first
class, open-ended" ticket that can be used any
time might make sense: in an emergency,
flyers on “budget” tickets may get bumped by
more “special” flyers. Planes, buses and
trains all would carry more risk of exposure
than car. Be sure your child has plenty
of respirators and hand sanitizer to lessen
risk of infection.
Walking and Biking: If your student is healthy and physically fit, he or she could simply walk or bike to the airport, train or bus station, or even home - especially if it isn’t too far and the route is safe. Store a backpack with necessary gear: good walking shoes, maps including primary and secondary routes, extra food and water and handheld GPS unit. For personal safety, travel in groups.
- A Safe Haven: If travel
cannot be arranged, what will your student
do? Can they stay in their college dorm
rooms until a ride arrives to bring them home
safely? Could a friend, loved one, or family
member who lives closer by let the student stay
while school is closed or alternative
arrangements can be made? This may be an
extended stay; you would need to plan for this.
Consider your options now.
Education: If possible and practical, students may wish to continue their education ( by computer, textbooks, etc.) in the event college is closed. There may be distance learning options offered.
Chronic Medical Conditions
Why This Is Important
In a pandemic, health care services may be
overwhelmed, access to medication or therapy
may be limited, and regular utility services
such as water and electricity may be
interrupted.
People with chronic medical problems will
need to take the initiative to be responsible
for their own health, and work with doctors
and therapists to prepare and protect
themselves.
Access to Medication
Many medications are made overseas and may be
in short supply during a pandemic. Important –
verify NOW if your medications are made
overseas. If the supply chain is
broken, medication availability is very
uncertain. You may be stuck at home
and unable to re-supply. You may lose your
job, lose your health insurance, not be able
to pay your insurance premium, or not be able
to afford your medications. Many people
can receive prescription medication by mail,
but you must not count on this service being
available in a pandemic.
To take responsibility for your own health
and increase your overall resiliency, many
planners advise people to try to stock up on
at least a month or more of necessary
prescription medications. Work with your
doctor, pharmacist, or patient advocacy group
to find the answers to these questions:
- Which medications for my condition may
be in short supply during a pandemic?
- How can patients with my condition
successfully and economically stockpile a month
or more of some drugs? Some people pay
out of pocket for an extra supply, or they
renew their prescription as early as possible
to get additional days of medication each
month. Over a year this can be an extra
month’s supply.
What will happen to my condition if I suddenly stop taking necessary medication if I run out and cannot re-supply? Are there any lifestyle or diet changes I could make now, or in an emergency, to reduce my need for medication, even if only on a temporary basis? Could I take lower doses of medication, even on a temporary basis, to make my supply last longer? What other options are there?
If drugs need refrigeration, what is a good strategy for maintaining a supply during an extended power outage? For example, are generators or coolers available? Are there other medication storage issues to be dealt with, and how are patients handling them?
Continuing Needed Therapy
Follow-up by contacting your healthcare provider or patient advocacy group to work on the following questions:
- Which specific treatments for my
condition may be affected by a pandemic?
- How are health care providers trying to work on these situations?
Emergency or Pandemic Planning Guides
- Diabetes:
"Does insulin need to be refrigerated?"
"FDA on insulin in emergency conditions"
"Emergency Preparedness: Diabetes Management During a Crisis"
- Kidney Conditions (dialysis): "What
You Need to Know About Emergency Preparedness
for Individuals with Kidney
Disease"
- Pharmacies and Prescription Medication: "A Pharmacists Guide to Pandemic Preparedness"
Elders and Special Populations
Why This Is Important
The federal government recommends
that government entities and the private sector
plan with the assumption that up to 40 percent
of their staff may be absent for periods of
about two weeks at the height of a pandemic
wave. This includes any agency that
provides service to elders and special
populations, such as home health care, Hospice
Care and Meals on Wheels.
If you have a family member that needs
assistance, work with them now to ensure they
will be taken care of during a
pandemic.
Scope
The following guidelines are
intended for elders and special population
individuals who live in their own homes.
Care facilities are responsible for their own
emergency plans. If you have a family
member in a care facility, make sure that
plans have been made and necessary supplies
have ALREADY
been STOCKED. Ask to see those
plans. Is the facility prepared to deal
with power outages, reduced staff, and
interrupted supply lines for food and medical
supplies? Consider options if
preparation is inadequate.
Elderly and individuals in special
populations each have their own unique
needs. Use the following guidelines now
to ensure that you have what you will need when
the pandemic occurs.
Guidelines
1. If you use local services (for
example, home health), find out if pandemic
flu has been incorporated into their emergency
plans. The Centers for Disease Control
has an excellent
checklist for home health.
2. Begin stocking three months of food,
water (or purification capability),
medications and other basic supplies where your
loved one will be staying during a
pandemic. Go to the homepage of this site
for information on how to accomplish
this. If a person requires specialized
care (oxygen support or home dialysis or home
breathing treatments, for instance), plan
ahead for continuity of care by stockpiling
necessary supplies and arranging for backup
power in case the power is out for extended
periods.
3. Develop your own personal
emergency plan. A personal emergency plan
helps households organize and prepare for an
emergency.
4. Identify family members, friends and
neighbors who may be able to provide practical
assistance under emergency conditions.
Current Information is Critical
1. Connect locally.
- See
your medical practitioner. Discuss
getting extra medications or alternative
medications.
- Connect
with your community. Examples
include Senior Centers, Retired Senior
Volunteer Program, Area Agency on Aging,
Community Action Partnership, and
churches. Discuss alternatives to
services (such as meals on wheels).
Establish ways for organizations to check on
elders/special populations during an
emergency.
- Connect with local government. Get preparedness information from the public health department and emergency management.
2. Connect with national organizations. Look at their publications, and then write, call, or email them with follow-up questions that you have. Example organizations and their disaster publications are:
- American Association for Retired
Persons (AARP): Dealing
with Disaster
- Federal Interagency Coordinating
Council on Emergency Preparedness and People
with Disabilities: Disability
Preparedness
- US Department of Homeland Security has
two related disaster publications:
Older Americans
People with Disabilities and Other Special Needs
3. Getting help during a pandemic.
Stay informed. It is important for you to have the ability to contact others in case of a pandemic. See “Emergency Basics – Communications” to find information on what you can do now to help ensure that you can contact someone in the event of a pandemic. For official information, several options may be available, such as:
- pandemic hotline
- broadcasts over TV/radio
- public health department
- emergency management office
- public health department
- emergency management office
Pets
Why This is Important
Many people have a deep bond with their
pets. If your animals are true members of the
family, they must be included in your family's
emergency planning and preparations.
Keeping pets indoors helps prevent them from
bringing disease into the house. This is
especially true for cats and dogs, as the H5N1
flu virus has infected
both.
What You Can Do Now
Ensure your pet is properly identified. Identification tags should have your name, address, phone number, and phone number of your vet. Consider checking with your vet about micro-chipping your pet.
- Have your pets spayed or neutered NOW to prevent wandering, to allow your pet to be more comfortable inside the house, and to prevent unwanted animals during a pandemic.
- Create a plan to bring outdoor pets indoors. Consider each pet’s personality and needs, and prepare to separate animals that cannot co-exist together (separate rooms, feeding animals separately, providing supervision to prevent unwanted behavior/fighting). Start getting animals and people used to having the pets indoors NOW.
Have a sturdy, properly-sized carrier and/or crate for each of your pets to be used if you need for emergency transportation. This could serve a dual purpose by providing a means of separating animals in limited space.
- Assess how much food and water your pets need now and stockpile appropriate food and water. Canned food often will meet some of your pet’s water needs. Check expiration dates on pet food. Consider talking with your vet about simple homemade food for your pet in an emergency situation. At a minimum, it is important to know what "table foods" would make your pet sick and what nutrients are essential that aren’t available in regular foods (for example, taurine is a necessity for cats).
- Have the ability to dispose of waste properly and keep pet areas clean. Many cats instinctively will use a litter box, even if they have been outdoor pets. Stockpile cat litter and have extra litter pans. Save old newspaper for paper-trained animals, shredding for kitty litter, and to line litter boxes for easier clean-up. Old grocery bags can be used to bag up waste until it can be disposed of outside the home.
-
Have proper restraints (sturdy leashes, etc.) to make any necessary outside trips as safe and quick as possible (including "bathroom" trips).
- Keep check-ups and ALL vaccinations up to date. Keep a copy of vet records with your vet supplies. If your pet has any chronic health issues, learn as much as possible about these conditions and how you may be able to care for your pet at home. Stockpile necessary supplies and/or medications to the extent possible.
- Prepare for unexpected illnesses or
injury to the extent possible. Talk to your
vet about basic first aid in the event of an
emergency.
THE ESSENTIAL FIRST AID KIT
- Lots of bandages
- Clinging gauze rolls
- 2-inch square compression pads
- rolled cotton batting to apply to a splint and clean ears
- 1-inch bandage tape
- 2-inch elastic tape
- Telfa pads for wounds
- small scissors, nice and sharp
- nail clippers
- thermometer
- tweezers
- Q-tips
- nitrate strips or styptic powder for nails
- Pepto Bismol (and we recommend Benadryl, if your dog is allergic to bee sting)
- antibiotic ointments for small wounds
- hydrogen peroxide to induce vomiting as well as for cleaning of deep wounds
- Betadine for cleaning deep wounds
- ear cleaning solutions such as ChlorhexiDem, Epi-otic, Nolvasan
- eye wash solutions (saline/any contact lens solution)
- K-Y Jelly-water soluble
- any special medications prescribed by your vet
11. Be prepared to make difficult decisions regarding end-of-life situations for your pets. In the unfortunate event that your pet becomes extremely ill or injured, you will likely not have the option of having your pet "put to sleep" by your vet.
Pets During a Pandemic
- Keep your pets inside, if
possible.
- Secure all doors and windows so your
pet cannot escape.
Kitty litter alternative. Cat litter is heavy, bulky, and expensive. Consider replacing the litter with a green Astroturf welcome mat (usually cut in half), placed in the litter box. Your cat has something resembling grass to scratch, liquids can be poured off, and solids can be easily bagged. With two, one mat can be placed outside in the sun to dry while the other is in use.