September is National Preparedness Month
CPhA’s Emergency Preparedness Committee encourages all pharmacists and all Californians to be prepared in the event of an emergency. As part of the coalition supporting the national “Ready.gov” campaign, CPhA is suggesting that members prepare for emergencies by getting a kit, making a plan, becoming informed and getting involved.
The most important step to becoming involved in California is to register as a California Medical Volunteer. The Committee encourages all pharmacists, pharmacy interns, pharmacy students and pharmacy technicians to register with the California Medical Volunteer database, which provides county officials with contact information for volunteers willing to help. It’s important to clarify that the CMV website is strictly there to collect contact information for county officials and does not provide any emergency training. However, there are a number of organizations to provide emergency training. The Committee recommends contact the Citizen Corps in your county to learn more about the training programs they offer.
In addition, the Committee has developed a medication wallet card template that can be customized to your place of practice and then used as a handout for patients. Not only is it a great marketing tool, but a very important patient document as well. Encourage your patients to make one for each member of their family!
Should you have questions about National Preparedness Month or the Medical Volunteer database, contact Cathi Lord at: clord@cpha.com.