Putnam Celebrates Emergency Preparedness Month

Putnam is celebrating Emergency Preparedness Month in a special way. Last Thursday, the Putnam Health Department, in collaboration with the Putnam Bureau of Emergency Services, sponsored a seasonal flu vaccine for first responders as well as members of the county’s Medical Reserve Corps, Putnam employees, and their families. During the evening session at the Bureau of Emergency Services Training and Operations Center in Carmel, new Medical Reserve Corps recruits were also credentialed.

Eric Gross County Purchasing Director Alex Mazzotta receives his first flu shot ever. Public Health nurse Alice DuBon administers the injection. The corps is a volunteer organization comprising physicians, nurses, EMTs, and non-medical volunteers who assist at mass vaccination clinics, shelters, and other public health emergency services events as the need arises.

Kieren Farquhar of Mahopac, Coordinator of the Medical Reserve Corps, told the Courier that while 250 volunteers already exist, “we are seeking an additional 250 men and women to assist the county in time of disaster.”

Farquhar and Deputy Commissioner of Emergency Services Adam Stiebeling also reminded the public to discuss emergency preparedness with their families on a regular basis.

Stiebeling urged residents to “make a plan that will keep your family safe and make sure that everyone, from the youngest child to the eldest grandparent, knows the plan. Each family member must be advised where emergency supplies are kept, including a first-aid kit.”

Farquhar suggested that important phone numbers be kept by each phone in the home: “Make sure that at least one phone does not require electricity to work. Plan for an escape route from each room in the residence and know where family members will meet in case they can’t get home.”