Pandemic Flu Planning Checklist for Individuals and Families

At Home:

• Store water, food, and other essentials. Prepare to get by for at least a week on what you have at home.
• Store medical and health supplies. Ask your healthcare provider for a prescription for an extra supply of your regular drugs. Keep health supplies and non prescription drugs on hand.
• Make household emergency plans.
  • Prepare for possible changes in healthcare. For example, medical advice and healthcare may be more difficult to obtain during a severe pandemic. There may not be enough medical supplies, healthcare providers, and hospital beds for all persons who are ill.
  • Difficult decisions about who receives medical care and how much treatment can be administered will be necessary. Talk about these possibilities with your family and loved ones.
  • In a severe pandemic, you may be advised to stay away from others and from public places as much as possible. Plan to limit the number of trips you take to run errands.
  • Think about how you would care for people in your family who have disabilities if support services are not available.
  • Decide who will take care of children if schools are closed.

At Work:

• Prepare to stay at home. Staying at home from work when you are sick is the most important thing you can do to protect others.
• Know policies. Ask your employer or union about sick leave and policies about absences, time off, and telecommuting.
• Encourage planning. Every business, organization and agency should have a plan for making sure essential work can get done if large numbers of employees are absent over may months. You may be asked to perform duties that are not typically part of your job.
• Explore other ways to get your work done. Find ways to reduce personal contact, such as increased use of emails or phone conferences. Plan to work from home whenever possible.

In Your Community:

• Know your neighbors. Talk with family, friends, and neighbors to make sure everyone is prepared. Be ready to help neighbors who are elderly or have special needs if services they depend on are not available.
• Know school policies. Know policies about illness and being absent. Be prepared for school closures.
• Volunteer with community groups. Assist with planning for emergency response to disasters and pandemic influenza.

Information on this page has been provided by Public Health - Seattle & King County.

For more information, contact:

Jeff Doerr, Epidemiologist

(208) 478-6321

Kathy Reynolds, RN, MPH, Epidemiologist

(208) 239-5231