If an emergency or disaster struck, would you be prepared? This is the question that the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) wants people to ask themselves during National Preparedness Month. September 2013 marks the tenth annual National Preparedness Month where organizations – national, regional, and local public and private organizations – are hosting local events and initiatives designed to motivate people to take the necessary steps to ensure that their homes, workplaces, and communities are prepared for disasters and emergencies of all kinds.¹ The theme this year is:

 You Can be the Hero

As disasters and emergencies can happen at any time, individuals and families need to be prepared with knowledge and skills in order to care for themselves and their community. The more skills people have about important topics such as building an emergency supply kit, developing a preparedness plan, and providing care in an emergency situation, the more lives can be saved during an emergency. TRAIN, the nation’s most comprehensive learning management network for professionals and volunteers who protect the public’s health, has over 400 online preparedness trainings that people can take to become more knowledgeable about disaster situations. Online preparedness trainings on TRAIN include:

• Oh, the Places You'll Go!: Providing Care in Non-Traditional Settings During an Emergency
• Community Preparedness Webinar Series: Earthquake Preparedness: Lessons Learned from Haiti and California
• Fundamentals of Emergency Preparedness
• Family Disaster Planning
• Nurses on the Front Line: Preparing for and Responding to Emergencies and Disasters
• The Prepared Lifestyle: Part 1
• The Prepared Lifestyle: Part 2  
  

Since January 2013, about 1,500 courses per month were completed on average through TRAIN that build one or more of the Public Health Preparedness and Response Core Competencies (standards are designed to accelerate state and local preparedness planning, provide guidance and recommendations for preparedness planning, and, ultimately, assure safer, more resilient, and better prepared communities).² Through increased training, the public health community can achieve a higher standard of preparedness. For National Preparedness Month, the TRAIN Team challenges professionals responsible for public health preparedness and response to complete 3,000 courses in September that build on one or more of the Public Health Preparedness and Response Core Competencies. So far, there are nearly 2,100 completions of courses that build Public Health Preparedness and Response Core Competencies. With 900 more courses, the goal of 3,000 for National Preparedness Month can be met!

To embark upon trainings within the emergency preparedness subject area, create a TRAIN account today and start learning by taking one of the courses offered. To learn more about National Preparedness Month and how and how you or your organization can get involved, visit Ready.gov. For more information on preparedness trainings,

1. Search and complete courses by Public Health Preparedness and Response (PHPR) competency on TRAIN
2. Follow TRAIN’s Facebook andTwitter feeds and the #PHPR hashtag for highlighted trainings
3. Share preparedness courses you find useful in the comments below – and use the #PHPR hashtag
   

There are many other activities to engage in during National Preparedness Month. You can attend events occurring all across the country or even order preparedness materials to your door through PHF’s Online Store. Remember, community recovery and preparedness starts with you – share your plans and comments below and through social media using the #PHPR hashtag.