Disaster Preparedness Kits

Hi All,

Disaster preparedness kits (DPK).  We've all heard about them from either radio, tv or magazines and books.  But what actually good are they?  Well, they are great resources when you need to leave your house at a moments notice because of some natural emergency (think flood, fire, tornado, hurricane, etc...)

Ready.gov is a great place to start planning for an emergency.  Besides for DPK's, there are links for making a plan during an emergency, and to learn what protective measures to take before, during and after an emergency.

Click on this next link to learn about building a basic DPK. Also, click here about how to maintain your DPK so that you you'll have the necessary supplies when you need them.

Fema is an excellent place to learn about emergencies and how to survive them.  Click on this link to learn - again - how to put together a DPK.  This next link is a document that opens in Adobe's pdf format.  It is basically an emergency supply list that you can check off.  Good stuff!  Fema also created this video on how to create a DPK. 

And not to be outdone the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has created this next page titled Emergency Preparedness and Response.  This is an extensive summary of everything you need to know about DPK's. 

And for readers who want to see the article that got me thinking about DPK's and using the idea for a blog entry, click on this link from the DIYNetwork.com.  

Finally, you can go on the web and buy a DPK if you don't (or can't) prepare one for yourself.  Click on either of these links to visit sites where you can buy a DPK.  EmergencyKits or Costco Wholesale American Preparedness Kit.

Regards,
Stu

Recalls.gov

Hi All,

I heard about Recalls.gov from the radio this weekend. I was washing some dishes and listening to the radio and I heard and advertisement about the site.  Wow - I was so impressed I actually jotted down the name and decided to write a blog entry about the sit.  And here we are!

So...what is Recalls.gov? Great question....direct from the website is this summary:

"To provide better service in alerting the American people to unsafe, hazardous or defective products, six federal agencies with vastly different jurisdictions have joined together to create www.recalls.gov -- a "one stop shop" for U.S. Government recalls.  Follow the tabs above to obtain the latest recall information, to report a dangerous product, or to learn important safety tips."

So there you are.  A one stop for U.S. government recall information.

There are tabs for Consumer Products, Motor Vehicles, Boats, Food, Medicine, Cosmetics and Environmental Products. Click each of the prior topics to go to that particular site.

There are also tabs for Recent Recalls, a place where users can Search For Recalls, and another place where visitors can Sign Up For E-mail. 

Widgets for smartphones and tablets are available for each of the tabs mentioned before (Consumer Products, Motor Vehicles, Boats, Food, Medicine, Cosmetics and Environmental Products)....

Information for the site was gathered from various government entitiees like the USDA, FDA,  CDC, US Department of Health and Human Services, EPA, US Consumer Product Safety Commission. 

Enjoy the site - I think it will be very helpful when you need to find out about a product recall.

Regards,
Stu

Americans' Health Report Card

Hi All,

I was listening to the radio while driving to work today and I heard about this report from the CDC (Center For Disease Control).

The name of the report is 'Health, United States 2011' and is essentially the annual state of the union's health. According to the news report that I link to - click here for the link - there is both good news and bad news: the good news is that Americans are living longer - the bad news is that we are gaining weight.

This years' report has a special section on how our socioeconomic status and health are related. 

Click on this link for the actual report from the CDC.  Note that on this page you'll see a section of 'What's New' in the 2011 Edition, the Complete Report, an 'At a Glance Table', 'Highlights' of the Report, 'Trendtables, and the Index. Finally, there is a link entitled, 'Socioeconomic Status and Health'. 

On the 'Health, United States, 2011' page, there is a box titled 'Selected Topics'.  This is a great place to get data on Children and Adolescent Health, Men's Health, Mental Health, Older Population Data and Poverty data and more! 

What a treasure chest of data - interesting, relevant and timely!  Great stuff. 

Enjoy the link and the sites and the data!

Regards,
Stu