What should families do in case of floods, devastating storms or pandemic flu? State public health preparedness consultant Betsy Johnson will discuss individual and family emergency plans at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 10 at BSU’s Center for Research and Innovation (CRI).
Free and open to the public, the 90-minute presentation is part of an ongoing spring lecture series sponsored by the Academy of Lifelong Learning (ALL) and coordinated by the CRI at 3801 Bemidji Avenue.
Audience members will leave with the beginnings of their own preparedness kit.
Emergency preparedness efforts took off after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks and the 2002 anthrax attacks, said Johnson, who has a master’s degree in public health, administration and policy from the University of Minnesota. With federal funding, the Minnesota Department of Health provides consultants to eight regions around the state to help local governments plan for emergencies.
By better preparing individuals for emergencies, it will be easier to address larger societal concerns such as infrastructure and the economy, Johnson said.
Individuals and families to have a “go kit” containing three days of supplies and enough supplies at home to last at least two weeks, she said.
Hers is not the easiest task. Because disasters happen so infrequently, people tend to ignore the possibilities, she said. Yet northwestern Minnesota can get hit by blizzards and ice storms, flooding and disease that can cripple the economy for days, weeks or months.
Such disasters are “so huge and overwhelming that it can be frightening,” she said. “By focusing on your own family, you can get your arms around it.”
ALL offers humanities-based programs that are made possible in part with funding from the Minnesota Humanities Commission in cooperation with the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The academy is a member of the Minnesota Humanities Commission’s Learning in Retirement Network (LIRN), which promotes older adult humanities education. Through humanities programs, LIRN members study enduring ideas, reflect on experiences, analyze important issues and contribute to the educational well being of their communities.
DVDs of all the Academy of Lifelong Learning presentations are available at the Bemidji State University libraries.
More information about the Academy of Lifelong Learning is available by contacting the Center for Research and Innovation, Bemidji State University, 1500 Birchmont Drive NE, Bemidji, MN 56601-2699 (218-755-4900).