Podcast: How Do I Prepare for an Emergency?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Planning will make all the difference when you’re dealing with a situation that you never thought you’d be dealing with. Who knew we would be dealing with Sandy? Who knew we would be dealing with a post-9/11 where we were worried about transport in and out of Manhattan? So having that plan is probably the number one thing that I would recommend.

Courtney: Welcome to Health Matters, your weekly dose of the latest in health and wellness from NewYork-Presbyterian. I’m Courtney Allison.

Road trips, barbecues, beaches, and fireworks are all part of summer fun, but it can also be a season of hot days, strong storms, and outdoor injuries. So what do we need to do to be prepared for emergencies and stay safe?

Dr. Brenna Farmer, the Chief of Emergency Medicine at NewYork-Presbyterian Brooklyn Methodist Hospital, joins me to discuss how to approach preparing for unexpected events. She offers some quick tips to make sure you have the supplies you need to care for yourself and your loved ones this summer and beyond.

Courtney: Dr. Farmer, thank you so much for joining us today.

Dr. Brenna Farmer: It is nice to be here.

Courtney: So we’re here today to talk about emergency preparedness. What do you think of as the basics of emergency preparedness when it comes to our health?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: The basics are, actually, to start with making a plan so that you have an idea of what you should do in case there is an emergency. And I recommend doing that planning and reviewing that plan with your family or your, whoever lives with you at least once a year.

And if things change, update it, so that you don’t have an old plan in place when some emergency happens.

Courtney: Everyone’s plan will be different, but could you give an example of what that plan might look like for a family?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: For me and my family, our plan is talking about what happens when the power goes out? Does the water still work? If you have to leave your building or your home, where do you go? And talking through that part of your plan as well. Most people have cell phones now, so thinking around how you contact people if you don’t have cell service. Those type of things and how you communicate, where you go, where you get your clean water, do you have water to flush your toilets, et cetera, are a great way to start.

And for me is also making sure I know who emergency contacts are. So my family does not live in New York City, so I make sure that they are aware of where I’m going if there’s a weather event. They do the same for me so that I know how to get in touch with them and I know that if I should have a concern, if there is some other event happening where they live.

Courtney: So we are in the summer season. Are there specifics in your mind for preparing for things we might encounter more often in the summer, like heat waves, summer storms, wildfires, wildfire smoke?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Absolutely. There’s several things that we have to think about. Heat is one of them, like you mentioned. In July, August, when we start seeing those really severe heat waves and the humidity that comes with them, one of the top things that we have to worry about is staying hydrated.

Because dehydration in the summer is way, way more common than it is in the winter. And so making sure you have your refillable bottles and getting the water that you need, avoiding strenuous activity as much as possible during those high, high humidity and high heat times of day, like 10 to 4.

There’s really times where there’s not gonna be a lot of shade and the humidity’s gonna be at the highest. Humidity really makes it difficult for us to dissipate our own body heat when we get overheated. And so having that bottle of water and being able to refill it as much as possible is something to think about.

And if you’re at a place that doesn’t have good air conditioning–and those days that are near a hundred or above a hundred–thinking about where you can go. And the city does a great job of notifying where there are cooling stations where you can go in and get cool.

Courtney: And so in the summer, are there certain things you see more often in your emergency department?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: There are. One of the things that we tend to see more often is we do see people coming in with sunburns because they didn’t realize they were gonna be out on a cloudy day and they can still get sun burned. So making sure that everybody understands that even on a cloudy day, that there is still UV out there and that UV light can cause burns and sunburns in particular.

I can’t emphasize enough sunscreen. Just because that is gonna help you longer in life, as well, because it’s gonna help prevent skin cancers and all that as long as you’re putting it on every two hours, at SPF greater than 30, is what our dermatology colleagues recommend to try and prevent some of those burns that happen in the summer.

Additionally, in summer, barbecuing is a fun pastime and one of the things that we see a little bit of is burns. Touching the grates or the top of the grill, getting burns. And so just paying attention to where you’re putting your barbecue waste, like the hot coals or making sure the gas is off when you turn off your grill, et cetera, will help prevent those burns and those fires that we get concerned about.

The last thing that I’m gonna talk about, just summer related, is water activities. So, pools, lakes, ocean, making sure that you have an adult that’s responsible for every kid. And eyes on them, not on your phone, not on a book, one adult for each kid, or at a place that has a lifeguard. Making sure that there is somebody always watching those younger kids that are not gonna be able to take care of themselves or don’t know how to swim. If they fall into the water, they’re at risk for drowning. And the only way to do that is if you have somebody that’s watching every single kid. And that if you have to switch off because you need to go make a phone call or use the bathroom, that somebody switches off and they’re only responsible for watching one person at a time.

Courtney: These are such great reminders. What supplies do you recommend everyone should have on hand in their home or maybe their car or workplace for everyday life?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: You know the basic first aid kits that you can buy at your drug store, like those are okay to start because they do have different ways to clean wounds and they do have coverings like gauze and tape or bandages. They also just remind you, like, oh yeah, I should be doing this basic cleaning of this wound, and that’s gonna prevent a lot of infection or a lot of those consequences that we worry about from wounds that can happen just from everyday injury. So having your basic first aid kit is probably one of the first things. But if you have somebody that has medical conditions that require daily medications, making sure you have those available or that you have a way to get extra if you need them. Don’t get down to the last pill before you get your refill.

If you have your grandparents or your parents or anybody else that you take care of, making sure you have all of their medications available and making sure you have addressed any special circumstances they may have related to their health conditions.

The kits with the first aid, your medications, flashlights because we have had these instances where you don’t have power and you need a way to see. Just general flashlights available with batteries, that’s completely fine. You’ll see some people that talk about the ones that you wind that you can power yourself if your battery runs out, like that’s okay as well, but you don’t have to go completely overboard.

I will say non-perishable food for a day or two so that you can plan and bottles of water or some way to get clean water.

Courtney: That’s really helpful and I’m also gonna throw in a plug for thinking about your pet and having some pet food ready.

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Absolutely. And if your pets have medicine, making sure that you have your pets medicine.

Courtney: Are there some basic supplies you would recommend people carry when they’re traveling, like in a backpack or keep something in the car?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Absolutely. And in your car, it’s always good to have your own car’s first aid kit, in addition to the one that you may have at your home. But having your car first aid kit and that kit may not only be first aid, but it may also include flashlights. It may include the battery. So we talked about for cars, you may need jumper cables if your battery runs out of your car. Having water is important. Having a blanket or some way to keep warm if you’re thinking about this in winter compared to summer.

And for summer, I will say, if you work or live on a boat as having carbon monoxide detectors even on your boat. Particularly if you have a boat that’s got a cabin where people may sleep is something to consider because there have been exposures where the engines have not worked properly and that there has been instances of carbon monoxide poisoning from living on a boat for a certain amount of time.

And we don’t think about that because it seems to be more of a winter thing. But thinking about that in the summer is something to consider.

Courtney: So any last thoughts for supplies we’d need in the summer?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: We don’t probably think about mosquito bites or take bites as often as we should unless you go camping a lot. But having a good insect repellent and, for kids, talk with your pediatrician about the type of insect repellent they recommend, but over the counter insect repellants can help prevent mosquito bites or at least decrease the number of mosquito bites. And we are seeing mosquito-borne illness, and having that good insect repellent will help prevent mosquito bites. And then if you go camping, having an insect repellent that has Deet in it to prevent tick bites. Because we do see a decent number of tick-borne illnesses, particularly in people that go camping. So that is in addition to the sunscreen, the water, the flashlights, the first aid kit, I would say insect repellent is something that you definitely have to think about.

Courtney: Are there any misconceptions about everyday emergency preparedness that you would want to address?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: I would say we don’t all have to have a year’s worth of canned food or food supply in our basements. I mean, a day or two, maybe a week, but you don’t have to have that all the time. Think about watching the weather, listening to forecast, looking at your news reports, et cetera, to see if there’s anything that you should be concerned about.

My ask would be that you just have a plan, be able to execute that plan and be able to know what that plan should look like. And sometimes thinking about the unexpected, but having two or three days for the unexpected is the way to start. And then if we’re in the middle of something or we’re getting alerted that there’s a smoke condition or a hurricane headed this way and talking about the number of days that you may want to prepare. But we don’t have to have a year’s worth of supplies to be able to make it through most of these events that are happening.

Courtney: I appreciate that sense of balance and it’s like common sense advice, especially again in a small New York City apartment, I can’t have more than two weeks, so…

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Exactly.

Courtney: Two days. So what are some basic skills that it would be useful for someone in every household to have

Dr. Brenna Farmer: I absolutely think everybody should have CPR training. I think about it as a parent, like, I want my babysitter or my nanny or whoever’s gonna watch my son when I go out for a run. Like I want them to have that CPR training. But I think in a general sense, not just CPR but first aid, like doing the basics, knowing how to call 9-1-1, knowing how to activate your emergency response within your household. Knowing who the emergency contacts are. That all is part of that preparedness.

There are classes in the community. I know my in-laws go to their local community center and they can have their fitness classes. The community center also does first aid training. Street fairs actually usually have a lot of community outreach from different hospitals or different healthcare providers. And they will have people there that teach first aid training and talk about preparedness. And a lot of our EMS colleagues will talk about basic trainings and they’ll also include Naloxone training for Naloxone kit distribution. And not only having that, but also how to use it.

Courtney: Thank you for all these easy, actionable tips for that. What do you think the most important thing is that people should do first if they’re looking for a place to start?

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Planning will make all the difference when you’re dealing with a situation that you never thought you’d be dealing with. Who knew we would be dealing with Sandy? Or who knew we would be dealing with a post-9/11 where we were worried about transport in and out of Manhattan or around the city?

So having that plan is probably the number one thing that I would recommend. And then thinking about all those other summer safety events that we talked about: sunscreen, insect repellent, life vest, pool safety, and grilling safety.

Courtney: Dr. Farmer, thank you so much for all these amazing tips. I feel so much more prepared already just talking to you. Thank you so much.

Dr. Brenna Farmer: Thank you so much for having me.

Courtney: Our many thanks to Dr. Brenna Farmer. I’m Courtney Allison.

Health Matters is a production of New York Presbyterian. The views shared on this podcast solely reflect the expertise and experience of our guests.

To learn more about Dr.Farmer’s work with patients, check out the show notes. New York Presbyterian is here to help you stay amazing at every stage of your life.

NewYork-Presbyteian is here to help you stay amazing at every stage of your life.