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6 | OHCC LIVING | MAY 2021 | Emergency Preparedness - The Right Way Last month, I wrote an article confessing what I did wrong. This month I am writing an article about something I do right. To begin my story, I will let you know that I have high blood pressure; how high you ask – do not ask! It is not uncontrolled – it is just high. I have had a team of cardiologists and hypertension experts monitoring my situation for many years. I have had scans, genetic testing, and blood testing – all with good results, so we keep looking. In the meantime, I take pills – lots and lots of pills. One of the benefits of having my blood pressure monitored by a lot of people is that they have a lot of different opinions as to why my blood pressure is high. One of the drawbacks of having my blood pressure monitored by a lot of people is that they have a lot of different opinions as to why my blood pressure is high. Most of these opinions result in "Well, that medication mix did not work, so let's try this…" which typically translates into stop taking that pill, double-up on that pill, and let us add a new one. Why did I tell you this story – it has to do with Emergency Preparedness! If you recall, a few months ago SERT distributed a Disaster Ready Guide to use as a template in preparing your Emergency Preparedness Plan. An element of the Plan is listing your medications, along with having a sufficient number of pills (and other medications) readily available to take with you if you need to evacuate. In my circumstance, because my "pill cocktail" changes almost monthly I continually update my Plan to make sure my drug list is current and the outdated or no longer used drugs are removed from my drug bag. While I'm updating my drug list, I also make it a habit to scan through the rest of my Plan to make sure everything else is current. It seems we can all find the time to do something the first time – but it is not as easy to remember to or find the time to do it again and again. It is easy to develop that first Emergency Preparedness Plan, but we really do need to make the time to review it on some type of routine basis; not only to make sure everything is current, but also to refresh our memory as to what is actually in the Plan. While you are reviewing, make sure those people who may be affected by the Plan know they are included. If your Plan says you will evacuate to Aunt Becky's house – make sure Aunt Becky knows you are coming, especially if her house may be affected by the disaster. If you do not remember where you placed the Guide, or if you are new to our community and have not yet received one, or if you just want another copy please let SERT know via our email address (ohccsert@gmail.com). Provide your name and house address and a local Neighbor Helping Neighbor Street Captain will be glad to drop off a copy to you. The Guide is also available as a multi-page pdf on the SERT website (https://tinyurl.com/ohccsert) within the Training tab. Finally, I trust you all completed the evacuation survey mentioned in the recent eBlast sent by the HOA. Those results will be used by the Oceanside Fire Department and its consultant to develop traffic routing for a wildfire scenario evacuation plan specific to our community. In the coming months you will receive additional information from both the HOA and SERT regarding that Plan. By John Slayton, SERT Club President

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