Did you attend the EOC open house this week? You may be a winner
Evergreen House RN Emi Tsanova walked away with more than just important emergency information at yesterday’s Health Emergency Management BC (HEMBC) open house at Lions Gate Hospital.
She left with an emergency survival blanket, glow sticks and a key chain flashlight.
As Emergency Preparedness Week (May 1-7) comes to a close, hopefully everyone has had a chance to either review their current emergency plans or start getting prepared.
“These are just small items that can help supplement your home Emergency Preparedness Kit,” says Samantha Wilbur, Emergency Management coordinator for Lower Mainland Acute, who co-hosted the LGH event with Karson Wong at the Emergency Operation Centre (EOC) in the basement of Evergreen House.
“But it’s extremely important people are prepared with enough supplies such as water and food to last at minimum 72 hours,” she says.
Do you know where the EOC Command Post is at Lions Gate Hospital?
But don’t worry if you missed the open house and don’t know how to cope in a crisis situation, such as a Code Orange activation. Samantha is based at LGH and happy to help get you prepared for emergencies, including how to locate necessary emergency material and equipment and demonstrate how the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) works.
“I met some incredible people while working within the Coastal Communities of Care, and look forward to further emergency planning training and education opportunities,” says Samantha.
Are you a winner?
Some lucky staffers who attended the open house also won prizes. The winners are:
- Multi-Purpose outdoor radio: Robyn Miyata
- Multi-Purpose outdoor radio: Janice Ayat
- First Aid Kit: Susan Lopez
- First Aid Kit: Shelby Ayers
- First Aid Kit: Flora Shim
Samantha will contact the winners to deliver their emergency preparedness loot.
Special offer for VCH employees
To help everyone become prepared, the following vendors will be offering discounts to all health authority staff that order emergency supplies during the month of May (discount runs from May 1st to 31st).
F.A.S.T. First Aid & Survival Technologies Ltd:
• Discount: 15% discount on complete emergency kits for orders over $100 before taxes
• Website: http://fast-safety.myshopify.com
• Discount Code: HEMBC
Total Prepare Inc.
• Discount: 10% discount on all items (excludes SuperTankers, MREs, Blue Can Water, freeze dried food packages that include multiple buckets); free shipping on orders over $150
• Website: http://www.totalprepare.ca
• Discount code: hembc2016
During Emergency Preparedness week, HEMBC encourages everyone to take concrete actions to be better prepared. Please do your Part! Develop an emergency plan for your family. If you live alone, create a plan for yourself with links to your neighbours and friends. Experience has shown that individual and family preparedness goes a long way to help people cope better – both during and after a major disaster. Get prepared now!
More information
For more information on how to become prepared, visit HEMBC’s Emergency Preparedness Week page.