Emergency Management and Debt

So as you all know there are a lot of issues on in the U.S.A. right now, everything from weather to debt debates in Washington. All too real are the issues that hit close to home, and one of those that myself has been dealing with and I hope to make a future career out of, is Emergency Preparedness or Management.

As you might have read before, there are a lot of branches that stem from the base of Emergency Management (EM). EM is very vital when it comes to weather related events, which occur almost every week and can affect a location in a matter of minutes, leaving destruction, displacement and a team of professionals hard at work to deal with immediate response issues and long-term recovery. Some issues, are not always weather related. For example, working at the VA here in Iowa City I have learned very quickly how construction projects can cause unanticipated internal flooding and how the temperature alone can affect an entire hospital's ability to cool itself. Many hospitals rely on "chillers" to cool their facilities by running cold water through pipes and having ventilation to circulate the air. The factor of heat and humidity together puts enormous stress on these systems which had forced the VA to conserve energy, by shutting off lights, equipment and heat producing devices that were not needed or limiting their use in non-clinical areas. This not only releases strain on the cooling system, because it spends less energy having to cool a space, it also saves money and can produce a calming effect in the work environment, which are great benefits I realized and others did I work with.

All in all, I hope you have pushed the boundaries a little during times of high stress and could realize the benefit of doing things differently or chipping in when it's needed. You can take what you want from this and apply it to the national debate on the debt occurring in Washington. I leave you to interpret what you want and make your own choice, but remember to stay vigilant and always stay open to new ideas and to listen to both cases for any argument, whether it be how to deal with the heat of a debate or the literal heat outside.

Ryan

4th of July and News!

As I read the morning paper while spending time at home I can't help but notice the top story on the front page of the Chicago Tribune stating "E. coli test of produce may be cut."

If only I weren't a public health nerd I would probably glance over this story or think to myself, what is going on with our food system and government? Are we about to cut a program that helps protect our produce here in the United States?

I read more into the article and thankfully the Senate still needs to vote on the bill, but the House had already approved the bill that would end funding for the Microbiological Data Program. Now I am now epidemiologist or aspiring lab analyst, but I can appreciate the public health work done in those fields and help bring the policy to fulfill such roles. I like the Chi-Tribune article because it gives you the background story of why such a bill would even be thought of, which comes down to special interests, which mainly lay with the commercial produce industry in this case. Wether it's deciding what to eat tonight, what politician you might vote for in 2012 or arguing why we have might have a law that would cut safety testing for our nation's produce, make sure to dig a little deeper than the outside cover of something that you might find to be quite juicy inside!

In any instance, I hope you all enjoy your 4th of July and make sure those burgers are cooked to the right temperature, produce washed properly and of course, fire safety in mind ;)

Happy 4th of July!

Ryan