September is National Emergency Preparedness Month and Castle Country Radio was able to sit down with Emergency Preparedness Planner, Eric Anderson to discuss what you can do for yourself in preparing for an emergency situation.

When you think of emergency preparedness you often think of emergency kits, put did you know that you and your family’s well being is just as important. “Like you said during Emergency Preparedness Month we tend to focus on those tangible things. Where its really important for the individual and family to recognize that they’re own personal health forms the cornerstone of their ability to effectively respond in a crisis or a hazard,” explained Anderson. In order to protect your home and family, it is important to be prepared and have a plan in place.

Knowing your own health concerns and having access to those records can be important during a disaster. “Probably the most important thing to do is to make sure you’re up to date with your own health concerns. If you sick or if you have an ailment – make sure you go see a doctor. It’s important to keep track of your medical records, you can save them to a thumb drive now, it makes it pretty easy; a lot of them are on portals, but just having access to that to take with you in case of a problem,” said Anderson. Another thing to keep in mind is to stay up to date on your prescriptions, so if there is a disaster you have what you need till emergency assistance arrives.

One thing a family can do to prepare for disaster is to get training in first aid and CPR. “Like we mentioned having a well-stocked first aid kit, a basic one, I have one at home in my backpack and in my car. But more important than that first aid kit, is actually having the knowledge and training to do CPR, to do basic lifesaving procedures. There’s a lot of stop the bleed courses, CPR courses, offered in the county, so its important to get that training,” said Anderson. Living-saving skills could make a big difference in the event of a disaster.

If you would like some tips on Emergency Preparedness, please visit the Southeast Utah Health Department website at https://www.seuhealth.com/