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If you couldn't answer that question immediately . . . or worse, had to ask `What the heck is a CPO?' - then you've got some serious work to do.
A CPO is a Chief Pandemic Officer.
Someone in your business, organization, or your family - whose job it is to coordinate your pandemic plan.
You do have a pandemic plan, don't you?
While your pandemic plan can be part of a broader, all-hazards plan - a standard disaster plan won't do in a pandemic. A pandemic presents very specific challenges.
And if you are expecting a government `bailout' during a pandemic . . . you'd better forget it.
Our government will have their hands full dealing with trivial problems like national defense, keeping the power grid up, trying to keep supply lines from collapsing, and seeing that a vaccine is eventually manufactured and delivered to the people.
They aren't going to be dropping a pallet of N95 masks, tamiflu, and MRE's off at your door step.
If you are thinking that if a pandemic hits, you'll just shutter the doors and windows, hunker down and/or send everyone home . . . remember, a pandemic could last up to 2 years.
Could your business survive a prolonged shutdown. Not days or weeks, but months?
Few could. Which is why you need to develop a pandemic plan that will allow your family, organization, or business to function during a pandemic.
No . . . it won't be business as usual. And for some businesses, it may not even be possible. But it is vital that we keep as much of the economy functioning - at least at some level - during a pandemic that we can.
Businesses that can remain operational - even in a limited capacity - need to stay open. But they need to do so in as safe and responsible of a manner as possible.
Otherwise supply chains will fail, goods and services will become scarce, unemployment will rise, and life becomes even more difficult for the nation and the world.
And for that to happen, every business needs a solid pandemic plan. Not just some document in a binder, hidden away in some drawer, only to be opened in case of an emergency.
But a living, breathing, and well rehearsed plan.
Anything less probably won't do you much good in a disaster.
Nothing is likely to happen until someone takes the responsibility to make it happen. A pandemic plan doesn't just come off the rack like a cheap suit, it has to be tailored to fit each organization, and that includes all the way down to the family level.
Which is why you need a CPO.
And you need to give that person the resources, the cooperation, and the latitude, to make - test - and maintain a real pandemic plan for your business, your family, or your organization.
You don't have to be an expert in pandemics, or pandemic planning to get started. There are plenty of resources available on the Internet. Just Google Business Continuity Pandemic, and you'll have a month's worth of reading at your fingertip.
But to get started, go to pandemicflu.gov , and visit the Individual planning page for preparing your family, and the Workplace planning page for businesses.
Here you will find `toolkits', basically checklists, for starting your pandemic plan. While you will have to modify these toolkits to fit your situation, they provide an excellent starting point.
Another essential read is the CDC's Community Strategy for Pandemic Influenza Mitigation (PDF - 10.3 MB) guidelines on actions, designed primarily to reduce contact between people, that community government and health officials can take to try to limit the spread of infection should a pandemic flu develop.
Appendix 4 contains information for businesses and other employers.
Two other essential resources, specifically geared for business owners, are these guides from OSHA.
Guidance on Preparing Workplaces for an Influenza Pandemic (PDF - 313 KB) (Occupational Safety & Health Administration)
Provides guidance and recommendations on infection control in the workplace, including information on engineering controls, work practices, and personal protective equipment, such as respirators and surgical masks.
Guidance for Protecting Workers Against Avian Flu (Occupational Safety and Health Administration)
For individual and family planning, the CDC has several toolkits, along with this advice:
Social Disruption May Be Widespread
- Plan for the possibility that usual services may be disrupted. These could include services provided by hospitals and other health care facilities, banks, stores, restaurants, government offices, and post offices.
Being Able to Work May Be Difficult or Impossible
Schools May Be Closed for an Extended Period of Time
Transportation Services May Be Disrupted
Stock a supply of water and food. During a pandemic you may not be able to get to a store. Even if you can get to a store, it may be out of supplies. Public waterworks services may also be interrupted. Stocking supplies can be useful in other types of emergencies, such as power outages and disasters.
Family Guide, Checklist, and Information Sheets
If you are prepared for a pandemic, then you are probably in pretty good shape to weather any disaster.
Since a pandemic, or an earthquake, or a flood, or a tornado can occur at just about anytime, with little or no advance warning, it just makes sense to get prepared, and to stay prepared.
Some links to get you started include:
FEMA http://www.fema.gov/index.shtm
READY.GOV http://www.ready.gov/
AMERICAN RED CROSS http://www.redcross.org/
For Pandemic Preparedness Information:
For more in-depth emergency preparedness information I can think of no better resource than GetPandemicReady.Org. Admittedly, as a minor contributor to that site, I'm a little biased.
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