Pharmacists can help
During both preparation and recovery from natural disasters like hurricanes, pharmacists can be an unexploited resource, both for healthcare practitioners and the community at large. Dr. Andy Stergachis, professor in the University of Washington Department of Epidemiology and the Northwest Center for Public Health Practice, points out that neighborhood pharmacies play a key role in disaster response.
"Most people have a pharmacy within five miles of their homes," he says. "They can be a resource in emergencies and also provide a surveillance function, reporting notable conditions or a run on anti-diarrheal medicines." Additionally, in some states, pharmacists can prescribe some medications and administer immunizations.
Stergachis urges pharmacists to prepare for emergency response by making sure they know the local or regional public health officer; are familiar with the symptoms of agents of concern - both natural and intentional -- and their treatment and prevention; are willing to volunteer, by putting in the extra hours that may be needed to help set up and run mass dispensing clinics; take emergency preparedness classes and get others more involved.
Baby's emotional health
Even if an infant suffers no obvious injuries during and in the aftermath of a hurricane, the emotional effects can last a lifetime. Dr. Sheri Hill, the faculty lead on policy in the UW Center on Infant Mental Health, says the challenges to the relationship between the baby and its parents stem only in part from the parents' attention being diverted to the struggle to survive. "Both the distraction and the infant's actual experience of the traumatic event itself have an effect on the child's future development," Hill says. "Babies do remember these events, but differently than we do as grownups. They recall disasters in a manner that is very similar to the way that people with post-traumatic stress disorder recall traumatic experiences. Babies have what you could call body memory and can develop diagnosable traumatic stress disorders." Hill advises that parents should remember that infants and toddlers will be as upset by this dramatic change in their lives as adults will be. "Parents should talk to infants about how they are feeling about the emergency, even if they think the babies won't understand. Also, while this is hard to do, it's important to establish some sort of routine for these very young children as soon as possible," Hill says.
Reaction to events
"After exposure to traumatic events like the hurricane Katrina tragedy, it's normal to have unsettling feelings, thoughts and behavior," says Lucy Berliner, director of the Harborview Center for Sexual Assault and Traumatic Stress. These feelings may subside in the days after the event, but return again when local and national media again feature stories and pictures of the disaster. The Harborview Medical Center Traumatic Stress Counseling program includes these suggestions in their advice to survivors of traumatic events: monitor exposure to graphic images of the hurricane and its aftermath, since these may be a source of distress for both adults and children; remain near family and friends, for mutual comfort and reassurance; emphasize the positive attributes of lost friends or loved ones, and of positive actions people took during and after the hurricane; reassure young children that they are now safe, and allow older children and teens to express their reactions.
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