National Preparedness Month
National Preparedness Month provides an opportunity to raise awareness for the important work being done to ensure our communities are safe, healthy and ready for emergencies. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) Office of Preparedness and Emergency Management again is sponsoring a statewide campaign to encourage Massachusetts residents, families and communities to make plans and prepare for public health and medical emergencies, threats and disasters.
This year’s Know Plan Prepare campaign continues the legacy of the Together We’re Ready: Massachusetts Prepared campaign of previous years, with a bit of a new look and a slight shift in focus and approach. DPH has created two 30-second TV ads that will begin airing in September. The first of the two ads is a direct appeal that features a range of diverse people in various settings explaining how they prepare for emergencies. The second ad is animated – it features a villain, Captain Chaos, who brings various disasters to families only to find that his destructive efforts are thwarted by prepared family members. Each ad closes with a line that says, “Emergencies can happen at any time” along with a call to action to “Download a preparedness checklist today” at mass.gov/KnowPlanPrepare. The ads will be available for viewing on the campaign webpage at the end of August.
Trainings available:
The Local Public Health Institute of MA supports this campaign and offers a number of emergency preparedness trainings online for the public health workforce.
- Dealing with Stress in Disasters: Building Psychological Resilience
- Emergency Preparedness Begins at Home
- Emergency Preparedness in MA
- Emergency Risk Communication for Public Health Professionals
- Massachusetts Virtual Epidemiologic Network (MAVEN) Introduction
- MAVEN – TB
- Public Health Workforce Protection
- Using the Health and Homeland Alert Network (HHAN)
Additional online trainings are available here.