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| November 05, 2012- In This Issue |
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Home
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Hurricane Sandy Health Concerns |
Georgia Ready to Aid |
Massive Red Cross Relief |
How You Can Help With Sandy |
Wise Giving In Times Of Crisis |
Free App Shows Disasters |
PHBRIEFS |
PHNEWS |
PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
Hurricane Sandy Presents Serious Public Health Concerns
 Hurricane
Sandy has come and gone from the East Coast, leaving behind a
wide path of destruction that now presents a host of public
health concerns to those affected. With power outages, flooded
sewage-treatment plants, and contaminated floodwaters, millions
of people face dangers from food, the water and the air.
Thomas Frieden, M.D., director of the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC), told
National Public Radio (NPR)
that people are at risk of food poisoning from eating food that
has remained too long in warm refrigerators during the
widespread power outage, which is what happened in New York in
2003 after a long blackout.
"We saw a significant increase in food-borne illnesses in the
days after," Friedan said.
Floodwaters, however, present one of the most obvious health
threats and can be harmful in multiple ways. Also interviewed by
NPR, Tina Tan, state epidemiologist for the New Jersey
Department of Public Health, said the water could become a
mixture of toxic chemicals from the variety of pesticides,
paint, and gasoline that people keep in their basements and
garages.
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Georgia Ready to Aid States Affected by Hurricane
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This aerial photo shows destroyed houses left in the
wake of superstorm Sandy on Oct. 31, 2012, in
Seaside Heights, N.J.
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There have been 110 confirmed deaths in the U.S. directly
related to Hurricane Sandy, a figure that has increased daily as
recovery efforts continue.
Public health officials
throughout the country are in the process of multiple efforts to
keep that number as low as possible, while aiding the millions
who are suffering as a result of the super-storm that came
ashore last week.
Bruce Jeffries,
acting deputy director of the Georgia Department of Public
Health's Division of Health Protection, said if requested,
Georgia health officials could be assisting residents in the 15
affected states. Jeffries said it's great for workers to help
other parts of the country.
"Even though
they're gone, they're learning stuff you can't learn in a book.
A lot of stuff that we do here in Georgia is applicable to
events such as this in New York," Jeffries said.
Georgia
emergency preparedness coordinators met last week to discuss the
latest in emergency planning during their annual conference.
Such collaboration is vital to the jobs being done throughout
the year according to Scott Minarcine, state director of public
health emergency preparedness.
"Workshops like
these pay for themselves over and over again as they provide a
rare opportunity for preparedness staff from federal, state and
local public health agencies across the state to sit face to
face and work on extremely complex challenges and begin to
formulate collaborative solutions."
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Massive Red Cross Relief Response Spans Ten States
 Thousands
of American Red Cross disaster workers are providing aid and
comfort to people affected by Superstorm Sandy. Shelters are
open across multiple states and feeding operations are ramping
up as communities become accessible.
"We know this is a very difficult and frustrating time for
people who have lost their homes, are displaced or don't have
power," said Charley Shimanski, senior vice president of
Disaster Services for the Red Cross. "The Red Cross is doing
everything possible to get help quickly to those affected. We
are providing aid and comfort to people right now, and our focus
today is on ramping up a massive feeding operation to get hot
meals to people in places such as Long Island, Manhattan, Staten
Island and New Jersey."
More than 7,000 people spent Wednesday night in 115 Red Cross
shelters in nine states - New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania,
Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia,
Ohio, and the District of Columbia. Red Cross disaster workers
have already served nearly 164,700 meals. More than 334,000
ready to eat meals are in the area and 12 mobile kitchens
capable of making 198,000 meals a day have been deployed.
Roads and airports are opening and more disaster workers,
vehicles and relief supplies will be arriving in the affected
areas. The Red Cross has mobilized more than 3,300 disaster
workers and more than two-thirds of the entire Red Cross fleet
of response vehicles is beginning to distribute meals, water and
snacks in some areas. Trailers full of relief supplies have also
been deployed to help people as they begin to clean up their
homes.
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How you can help with Sandy
 There are many ways you can help with disaster relief in the
wake of superstorm Sandy. Below are several ways to donate to
the relief effort:
The American Red Cross
Donate by Phone or Mail
- Call 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767), or print a
donation
form that can be mailed to the Red Cross.
- 1-800-257-7575 (Espaņol)
- 1-800-220-4095 (TDD)
North American Mission Board Disaster Relief:
- Online donation:
Click here
- Phone-Call-1-866-407-NAMB (6262)
- Mail-Checks may be mailed to NAMB, P.O. Box 116543,
Atlanta, GA 30368-6543. Designate checks for "Disaster
Relief."
Salvation Army:
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 After seeing a heart-wrenching story on the news about the
devastation caused by natural disasters, people often want to
help in whatever way they can. Donating money to a charity is
often the easiest way, but it should be done wisely. Follow
these guidelines to help ensure your donation does what it was
intended to do.
Give To An Established Charity
Don't let an unscrupulous charity take advantage of your
goodwill. Find a charity with a proven track record of success
with dealing with the type of disaster and in the region in
which the disaster occurred. Avoid fly-by-night charities
created specifically to deal with the new crisis. Even
well-meaning new organizations will not have the infrastructure
and knowledge of the region to efficiently maximize your gift.
If you do feel compelled to give to a new charity, be sure to
get proof that the group is in fact a registered public charity
with 501 (c) (3) status.
Designate Your Investment
Worried that your donation will go towards the charity's general
operating fund or saved for a future crisis? This is a very
understandable concern. Many charities do encourage donors not
to designate their gifts so that the charity can decide how best
to utilize the money, but depending on your confidence in the
charity's ability to make that determination, you may choose to
tell the charity exactly how to use your investment. By
designating your gift, you'll ensure that your donation will be
used as you intended. Most charities with online giving portals
offer a check box feature so that you can tell the organization
how to spend your contribution. If you are mailing in a check,
then write a note in the memo section of the check specifying
that you want your gift spent entirely on the current crisis.
Avoid Telemarketers
Be wary of fundraisers who pressure you to make a contribution
over the phone. Never divulge your credit card information to
someone soliciting you via the phone. Instead, ask the
fundraiser to send you written information about the charity
they represent and do some research on your own. Once you feel
comfortable with the charity, send the organization a check
directly in the mail, or give through their website, thus
ensuring 100% of your gift goes to the charity and not the
for-profit fundraiser. Click here to read Charity Navigator's
Guide to Handling Telephone Appeals.
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Free App Shows Global Disasters
 The Disaster Alert app, by Pacific Disaster Center (PDC),
provides a listing and an interactive map of active hazards
occurring around the globe. Additional information and reports
about hazards can be viewed and shared.
Active hazards are current and real-time incidents compiled from
authoritative sources that have been designated potentially
hazardous to people, property or assets. PDC active hazards
currently include:
- Hurricane/Tropical Cyclone (global)
- Earthquake (global)
- Flood (global)
- National Weather Service High Surf (for Hawaii)
- National Weather Service High Wind (for Hawaii)
- National Weather Service Flood (for Hawaii)
- Manmade (global)
- Marine (global)
- Storm (global)
- Tsunami (global)
- Volcano (global)
- Wildfire (global) coming soon!
Other hazards will be added over time. Click
here to download.
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A Healthy Halloween |
DPH's Amazing Race |
Drive-by Flu Shot Clinics |
Cobb2020 |
Free App Tracks Food & Exercise |
PHBRIEFS |
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PHRECIPE |
PHTRAINING |
PHEVENTS
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