September is National Preparedness Month!

Just like May 1st is mayday and we should check our supplies and do training refreshes, September is National Preparedness month. While this usually is for homeowners, it also is a great time to check in with your work team, especially if you've had an active summer for disasters in your area. Here are some top tips!

• Review and Practice your Emergency Plan: Ensure everyone in your institution knows what to do in case of an emergency. This plan should include meeting points, check-in points, and specific instructions for various scenarios (like tornadoes, fire, and armed assault). Bonus points if you practice part of your plan with a drill!

  
  

• Check or Build an Emergency Kit: Check your kit, or build a kit with essential supplies suited to your institutions needs. Don't forget staples like, duct tape, plastic tarping, and extension cords!

  
  

• Prepare Your Institution: Assess and fortify your institution's safety features. This might include checking for potential hazards, securing heavy objects, and doing a walkthrough with your buildings staff to check fire alarms and extinguishers. It's also worth training your regularly onsite staff to know where emergency turn offs for water and electricity are in case of emergencies.

  
  

• Stay Informed: Sign up for local alerts and warnings to stay updated on emergencies in your area. Put your computers on a UPS battery backup to ensure nothing is lost from recent edits during a power outage. Carry a backup power bank for your cell phone that you can charge in your car. If you use them, check that your radios will work in case of power outage.

  
  

• Build Community Connections: Get to know your neighboring institutions and local community resources. In times of crisis, having a network of people you can rely on can be invaluable. These can be the museum across town, or even the businesses that are down the block. Consider joining or forming a community emergency response team (like Georgia Heritage Responders!) to enhance local preparedness.