Children and Disaster Planning: National Commission Findings

Abstract

On the Commission Web site, there is a list of useful resources on children and disasters, which includes a list of ageappropriate shelter supplies for infants and toddlers, information of how to help children cope emotionally after a natural disaster, a description of how to set up a mobile medical unit at a disaster site, how to create a child-friend spaces program in an evacuation center, and how to facilitate reunification IMAGINE A FIRE that affects a local school or childcare center. The evacuation of children younger than 18 years is going to be very different from other types of evacuations. Although some children may understand the severity of the situation, younger children may be incapable of understanding the dangers around them. They may be unable to make critical decisions affecting their safety. They may need to rely on others to take care of their needs, both during and after the emergency. Health care providers must be prepared to address the evacuation and short-term sheltering of children with age-appropriate supplies such as diapers, cribs, and baby food. Reunification becomes an issue because it is important that children be returned to their guardians as quickly as possible. This article focuses on the findings and recommendations of the National Commission on Children and Disasters, which were released late last year. The statistics regarding emergency response procedures for children are sobering. Only 25% of emergency medical services have the equipment and supplies to treat children properly in an emergency (www.childrenanddisasters.acf. hhs.gov). The stockpile of Tamiflu for children was exhausted within months of the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, demonstrating how understocked these preventative measures for children are in the Strategic National Stockpile (www.cdc.gov/phpr/stockpile.htm). These statistics illustrate the fact that in the event of a large-scale disaster, the country may not be prepared to facilitate the safety and protection of this vulnerable group. Children comprise approximately 26% of the U.S. population, so it is extremely important that emergency medical personnel