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About The independent. (Vernonia, Or.) 1986-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 1, 2009)
Page 8 The INDEPENDENT, October 1, 2009 FEMA offers information on what preparedness really means The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is focusing on changing per- ceptions about emergency pre- paredness, and helping Ameri- cans understand what it truly means to be Ready. Being Ready is all about taking four simple but all-important steps: get an Emergency Supply Kit; make a Family Emergency Plan; be informed about emer- gencies and their appropriate responses; and get involved in community preparedness initia- tives. Being Ready also means in- cluding your pets in the plan- ning. According to FEMA Acting Regional Administrator Dennis Hunsinger, the time to make proper provisions for pets is be- fore disaster strikes. “Including pets, working ani- mals and livestock in disaster planning can be vital to peace of mind and should be part and parcel of basic emergency pre- paredness,” said Hunsinger. “If you must evacuate your home, it’s always best to take your pets with you, but plan ahead. Work with your office of emer- gency management to learn about evacuation policies and pet shelters.” Sound animal disaster pre- paredness planning should en- compass: one week’s emer- gency rations and water; identi- fication tags, leg bands or tat- toos; pet first aid kits; and cur- rent photos of your animals, filed with your important pa- pers. If you use a ‘pet sitter’ while on vacation, discuss dis- aster plans and evacuation sites, and if your regular veteri- narian does not have a disaster plan, locate one who does. Detailed plans for pet and livestock owners are available at www.ready.gov, but basic guidance includes: • If you must evacuate, take your pets with you. If you are going to a public shelter, it is important to understand that animals may not be allowed in- side. Plan in advance for shel- ter alternatives that will work for both you and your pet. • Make a backup-up emer- gency plan in case you can’t care for your animals yourself. Develop a buddy system with State Farm ® Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Bunny Girt, Agent 1229 N. Adair PO Box 543 Cornelius, OR 97113-0543 Bus 503-357-3131 Fax 503-357-9667 bunny.girt.b71g@statefarm.com neighbors, friends and relatives to make sure that someone is available to care for or evacu- ate pets if you are unable to do so. Be prepared to improvise and use what you have on hand to make it on your own for at least three days, maybe longer. • Ensure that pets and live- stock have some form of identi- fication that can facilitate their return. • Do not corner wild animals or try to rescue them. Call your local animal control office or wildlife resource officer. • Do not approach wild ani- mals that have taken refuge in your home. Open a window or See FEMA on page 18 Heart attacks and smoking connected One year after passing smoking bans, communities in North America and Europe had 17 percent fewer heart attacks compared to communities with- out smoking restrictions, and the number of heart attacks kept decreasing with time, ac- cording to a report in Circula- tion: Journal of the American Heart Association. The report is a meta-analy- sis of 13 studies in which re- searchers examined changes in heart attack rates after smok- ing bans were enacted in com- munities in the United States, Canada and Europe. The re- searchers found that heart at- tack rates started to drop im- mediately following implemen- tation of the law, reaching 17 percent after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with about a 36 percent drop three years after enacting the restrictions. “While we obviously won’t bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings give us evidence that in the short- to medium- term, smoking bans will prevent a lot of heart attacks,” said James M. Lightwood, Ph.D., co-author of the study and as- sistant adjunct professor in the department of clinical pharma- cy at the University of Califor- nia–San Francisco. “The stud- ies on this issue now have long enough follow-up periods so that we can see exactly how big the effect is.” Lightwood also noted that the community effect is consis- tent with probable individual risk and exposure scenarios. For example, according to the American Heart Associa- tion’s Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics 2009 Update, non-smokers exposed to sec- ondhand smoke at home or at work have a 25 percent to 30 percent increased risk of devel- oping heart disease. This new research suggests that the indi- vidual increased risk may be higher, said Lightwood. “This study adds to the al- ready strong evidence that sec- ondhand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100 percent smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to protect the public,” Lightwood said. “Now we have a better under- standing of how you can predict what will happen if you impose a smoking-free law.” David Goff, M.D., Ph.D., Chair of the Department of Epi- demiology and Prevention and Professor of Public Health Sci- ences and Internal Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, N.C., and an American Heart Association national spokes- person, said the paper provides strong support for the con- tention that smoke free laws will improve public health. “This is good evidence that the bene- fits are realistic and consistent with reasonable estimates of the harm imposed by second- hand smoke,” Goff said. “It is important to move for- ward now with widespread im- plementation of smoke-free laws,” he added. “At a time of great concern over the financial sustainability of our healthcare system, smoke free laws repre- sent an inexpensive approach to reducing heart attacks, and, probably, other cardiovascular conditions.” Stanton Glantz, Ph.D., co- authored the study. Author dis- closures are on the manuscript. The National Cancer Insti- tute funded the study. Heart disease topic of free talk Overview of heart and vas- cular disease will be the topic of a free 90-minute presenta- tion on Thursday, October 15, at 6:00 p.m. Appropriate health care and lifestyle changes can help pre- vent and even reverse the pro- gression of cardiovascular dis- ease (CVD), the largest single killer of American men and women. With one in three Americans living with one or more types of CVD, it is more important than ever to take care of your heart. The presen- tation will include an overview of CVD including the latest evi- dence-based information on its causes, diagnosis, treatments, and outcomes. Call to reserve your space at this free event by calling 503- 681-1700. This will be held at the Tuality Healthcare Commu- nity Education Center, 334 SE 8th Ave., Hillsboro.