Friday Roundup – Stakeholders cry foul, credit crisis and healthcare

Good Friday to you all! Looking at the press and blog world and what pops up in the emergency preparedness and self-reliance realm, I have a few great items to share today. Being Canadian, I am always on the lookout to what affects us here north of the 49th parallel. The first news item I am happy to say is homegrown… although it is not making Canadians happy.

There is a justifiable uproar happening in Canada as the federal government has ended a 30 year (yes that is 30) funding program called the Joint Emergency Preparedness Program designed to help cover the costs of emergency preparedness.  As with most government program cuts, it is being billed as “a deficit reduction measure”.  According to public accounts, the government has allocated nearly $184 million in funding since the programs inception in 1980.  Here’s hoping it will return in a different guise as the initiatives the funding has created benefit us all.

Looking over the boarder, we have a rather alarmist point of view of the looming global credit crisis titled 20 Reasons Why America’s Next Bank Holiday Will Be a Nightmare.  Great name for an emergency preparedness website by the way… SHTFplan.com (When it hits the fan, don’t say we didn’t warn you).  They list how this will affect each and everyone of us who rely on the “digital realm” with Debit and Credit and go on to give their observations and mitigation strategy.  For example having a Stash of Cash (small denomination bills),  gasoline credit card (if they won’t take checks or VISA they might take their own CC) and knowing the brick and mortar location of your utility companies.

The recent flu epidemics and the regular natural disasters put increasing pressure on hospitals to provide care to impacted communities.  The article has a good Q&A with two healthcare professionals: Jennifer Elliott, nursing director of emergency services, critical care and patient access at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., and Stacy Douglas, emergency department manager at Baptist Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. Worth a read if it is your field.

Till next week… Be Aware, Be Prepared, Be Totally Prepared!