Hey everyone, we’ve been posting emergency planning information and resources for Emergency Preparedness Week, and we want to take time to talk stress.
Emergencies can be stressful to think about. Planning for emergencies might seem like a big chore, or it might seem like it’s an impossible job to be ready for anything, or it might make you feel scared or sad.
It’s important to know that having a plan is one of the best emergency response strategies you can have: it will help you stay calm if you’re ever faced with a real emergency. So, while emergency planning might seem like a challenge, it’s definitely worthwhile!
Hey everyone, as part of Emergency Preparedness Week we want to focus in on supporting everyone to make an emergency plan that keeps you ready for anything!
Check out this video for a helpful walk-through of what to consider and what to do in case of some examples like 1) flooding while you’re not home, 2) a severe storm while you’re are home, and 3) a wildfire evacuation order.
Check out this page for access to 9 free online emergency preparedness guides you can use to plan for an emergency specific to your needs — from pets, to power outages, to pocket guides.
Finally, check out this page for some tips on how you can (and can’t) use technology when you’re planning what to do in case of an emergency, like these helpful hints:
Non-voice channels like text messaging, email or social media use less bandwidth than voice communications and may work even when phone service doesn’t.
Keeping phone conversation brief conserves your phone’s battery.
Waiting 10 seconds before redialing if you can’t complete a call helps reduce network congestion.
Cordless phones rely on electricity and will not work during a power outage.
Save your safe meeting location on your smartphone’s mapping application.
Conserve your smartphone’s battery by reducing the screen’s brightness, placing your phone in airplane mode, and closing apps you are not using.
This year’s campaign is all about being ready for anything — and you can share how you’re preparing (and help others in the process!) by participating in the Government of Canada social media campaign in support of Emergency Preparedness Week! Get creative, have fun, and get ready for anything:
Participate in our tag challenge or enter to win an emergency kit.
Be a positive influence within your networks by participating in our tag challenge. Show us your best emergency preparedness tip in a video or photo, and tag 3 or your friends or family and ask them to share their tip.
You can also win an emergency preparedness kit. Simply tell us how how you’re helping to make you and your family better prepared to cope during an emergency, and use the hashtag #ReadyforAnything.
It can be as simple as making an emergency kit with items found around your home, creating a family emergency plan, or becoming more informed about the hazards in your area. Get creative and post those messages, photos, or videos!
Don’t forget to use the hashtags #EPWeek2022 and #ReadyforAnything.
Hey everyone, next week is Emergency Preparedness Week, and there will be a test taking place of the national Alert Ready system! Check out more info (and emergency preparedness resources and info!) below:
Hey there everyone and welcome to the ZEN ZONE, where we have taken time out each Friday in April to zoom in on stress management information, resources, and strategies.
Some of the questions we’ve looked at this month were:
As we’ve been exploring our own stress management strategies this month, we can check in on how things went.
Did you use The Stress Management Society’s 30 Day Challenge resources to find strategies that worked for you? Did you track the activities you did for physical, mental and emotional wellbeing? Which tips and tricks worked best for you? Did you learn something new about managing stress this month?
At the end of the day, we are all different – and our best stress management strategies will all be different too!
Making the Zen Zone part of our health and safety month this year has been about exploring new ways to look at stress, trying new ways to manage stress, and (hopefully!) feeling the difference that managing stress proactively can make in our daily lives. Let us know how it went in the comments!
Hey everyone, welcome to Health & Safety Month 2022! Today, we’re looking at how to be safe while staying active.
It’s springtime – and the days are getting longer, the temperatures are getting higher, and the plants are getting bigger! For many of us, springtime brings sports, hiking, picnics, gardening, and just generally getting outside more often.
Being outside can also mean sports injuries, insect bites, allergies, sun exposure, storms. HealthLinkBC has a great page full of resources to help you be prepared as you venture out to enjoy spring, including:
Common Sports Injuries and First Aid (bruises, elbow injuries, hand/finger/wrist injuries, leg injuries, head injuries)
Insect Bites and Stings (allergies and toxic reactions to bites, home remedies, insect vs spider bites, insect repellant and DEET, tick bites)
Plants and Wildlife (rodents, moths, wilderness and wildlife risks, poison ivy, oak, sumac)
Seasonal Allergies (allergy triggers, allergy shots, medications, hay fever)
Sun Safety (heat protection, ultraviolet radiation, sun safety)
Hey there everyone and welcome to the ZEN ZONE, where we take time out each Friday in April to zoom in on stress management information, resources, and strategies.
Last week we looked at how to respond to stress in the moment by using tactical breathing. This week, we’re asking another question: how does stress cause damage?
Knowing about the long-term effects of stress over time helps us understand the damage it can cause — check out the Stress Management Society video below that explains more about stress and pressure by imagining a bridge. You can use a color grid, like this one from the CMA website, to check in on where you are currently and see how often you leave the “Green” zone:
One of the stress management strategies from the Canadian Medical Association website is to pace yourself by understanding that we all have physical and emotional limits. It’s important to be intentional with what you’re setting out to achieve in order to support healthy limits. Consider trying out a planner, like this one offered through the Stress Management Society website.
There are many resources online that offer strategies you can use to manage stress – get curious, explore, and find a strategy that works for you. Check out the Mayo Clinic’s “The 4 A’s of Stress Relief” here and read about 5 tips to manage stress here.
Hey everyone, welcome to Health & Safety Month 2022! Today, we’re looking at how to be safe in the coming season.
Seasonal hazards happen more often at specific times of year, like with flooding in the Spring and with wildfires in the Summer. Planning what to do when there’s a hazard (like an air or water quality advisory) or an emergency (like a wildfire) can be scary. To lighten up the planning, take a page out of the Province’s book and pretend to plan for a Zombie Apocalypse! If you’re prepared for Zombies, you’re prepared for an emergency. (Who says Health & Safety can’t be fun?!)
While it’s always good to be prepared for “big” emergencies, like the Zombie Apocalypse, it’s also important to be prepared for “everyday” hazards, like water and air quality problems and heat waves, that can affect your health.
OUR WATER:
Changes to our drinking water quality can happen for many reasons. Extra material in our water (like from flooding) or breakdowns to facilities and equipment that make water safe can result in warnings about water quality. It’s important to pay attention to news about water quality, like a Boil Water Advisory, in your area. You can find out more about the three kinds of water quality notifications, what triggers them, and what actions to take here. You can also find a drinking water advisory map for Interior Health region here.
OUR AIR:
Changes to our air quality can also affect our health. Like with water quality, there are many things that can change the quality of the air, like extra material (from smoke and fires) and different types of particles (like ozone). Pay attention to news about air quality in your area the same way you would for water quality. You can find out more about the Air Quality Health Index, which is how good the air quality is at any time, here. You can also find out what air quality alerts are issued here.
