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Champaign County Health District preparing community for emergencies

Springfield News-Sun - 6/4/2017

June 04--The Champaign County Health District wants to prepare for an emergency before it happens -- so they surveyed the community to find out how residents would react in case of a natural disaster or other event.

About 60 families in the county responded to the Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response, or CASPER -- a survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said Gabe Jones, Champaign County health commissioner.

It's intended to find out how residents would respond in emergency situations, like a flood, tornado or other natural disaster, he said, as well as a bio-terrorism event or chemical spill.

"We wanted to figure out what kind of gaps there are in the community and try to fill in those gaps," Jones said.

The survey is normally administered after an emergency happens, he said, but the health district wanted to be proactive. It worked with the Champaign County Emergency Management Agency and Mercy Memorial Hospital to send volunteers to homes across the county.

The families were randomly selected, Jones said, to produce results that would represent the whole county.

"You never know when something is going to happen," he said.

Residents were asked several questions, including if they have designated contacts in case of an emergency, if they have an emergency supply kit and if they have a three-day supply of nonperishable food.

"A lot of people are better prepared than we were anticipating," Jones said.

One issue that came up is what to do with pets or farm animals in an emergency, he said.

About 75 percent of respondents said they would take their pets with them, but families need to have supplies prepared for them as well. In some cases, Jones said, like with farm animals, it wouldn't be possible to take all of them.

"That's something we're still trying to address," he said.

The survey also told community organizations the best way to get information to people in an emergency.

Social media is one source the district will consider, he said. About 66 percent of respondents said they get their emergency information from television.

A big benefit of the survey is that it raises awareness of emergency preparedness, he said.

"Having a plan is going to be the best thing and it needs to be very broad," he said. "Just have a general route of where you're going to go in an event like this."

Residents should make sure they have three days worth of food, water and medication if they have to stay in place. And, he said, make sure to pay attention to alerts from the health district, Champaign County EMA and the hospital.

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