Health Department

Brochures, handouts & checklists detailing the information below are available at the Wells County Health Department at 223 W. Washington Street, Bluffton, IN.

If you would like to help your community in the event of a public health emergency, register as an emergency volunteer with the Wells County Health Department by completing the Volunteer Registration Form and submitting it to the Health Department.

Whether it is an an extended power outage in your community, act of terrorism, or a pandemic illness, you must be prepared to make it on your own- at least for a period of time.  Preparing for the unexpected is one of the most important things you can do for yourself and for your family.

Start simple.

Some essential items you need:

1. One gallon of water per person per day for at least three days
2. At least three day supply of non-perishable food, such as canned or packaged food, and infant needs
3. A change of clothes and footwear for each person
4. At least three days worth of prescription medication (if needed)
5. Flashlight and extra batteries
6. Manual can opener
7. Battery powered, solar powered, or hand-crank radio
8. Hygiene items like soap, hand sanitizer, toilet paper, and toothbrush
9. Household chlorine bleach for disinfectant or to treat drinking water
10. First aid basics like antiseptic, bandages, swabs, moist towelettes, thermometer
11. Filter masks, or cotton t-shirt to help filter the air
12. Garbage bags, plastic ties, and duct tape
13. Sleeping bags and warm clothes (for cold weather climates)
14. Fire extinguisher
15. Extra pet food & supplies

Plan in advance what you will do in an emergency.  Use common sense and whatever you have on hand to take care of yourself and your loved ones. Your family may not be together when disaster strikes, so plan how you will contact one another and review what you would do in different situations.

Create a plan to shelter-in-place.  There are circumstances when you may need to stay put and create a barrier between you and potentially contaminated air outside.  By sealing off a room or rooms with plastic sheeting and tape, you are creating a shelter-in-place, which may be a matter of survival if the environment outside is contaminated.

Know emergency plans at school and work. Talk to your children’s schools and your employer about emergency plans.  Find out how they will communicate with families during an emergency.  Talk to your neighbors about how you can work together.

Plan Check List 

Be informed about potential threats, such as biological, chemical, explosive, and radiological attacks, and keep up recent incidents and illness outbreaks.  By learning more about these threats, you are preparing yourself to react in an emergency.

Get involved in preparing your community for possible public health incidents.

• Join Citizen Corps, which actively involves citizens in making our communities and our nation safer, stronger, and better prepared.  Citizen Corps can be accessed at http://www.citizencorps.gov/ or by calling the Northeast Indiana Citizens Corps Council at 260-925-0917.
• Get involved in your children's school, and learn how you can help better prepare schools for emergencies.
• Volunteer with local groups to prepare and assist with emergency response.
• Visit www.serve.gov to find volunteer opportunities in your community, or to create your own.
• Register as an emergency volunteer with the Wells County Health Department by completing the Volunteer Registration Form and submitting it to the Health Department.

Be Red Cross Ready!
Strategic National Stockpile- What it means to you
Emergency Supply List
Disinfecting Wells After an Emergency
Food & Water in an Emergency
Sanitizing with Bleach after an Emergency
Shelter-in-place Checklist
Terrorism: Preparing for the Unexpected
Pets in Disaster Safety

Flood Safety
Power Outage Checklist
Extreme Cold
Tornado Safety Checklist
Winter Storm Safety

Radiation Emergencies
Acute Radiation Syndrome

Pandemic Flu Preparedness
Teach Kids Health Habits
Flu Checklist
10 Ways to Stay Healthy at Work

Tularemia
Plague
Anthrax
Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers
Botulism

Chemical Emergencies
Cyanide
Sarin
VX

Wells County Emergency Management Agency
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security
U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services
FEMA
American Red Cross of Northeast Indiana
Indiana Department of Environmental Management
Indiana State Department of Health
www.72hours.org
www.ready.gov
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/