Check Your Emergency Preparedness Kits When You Set Your Clocks, Says New American Public Health Associatio...( WASHINGTON Feb. 22 -- As we eage...),Health

WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As we eagerly prepare for the arrival of spring, the American Public Health Association (APHA) wants to ensure that you and your loved ones are prepared for a possible public health emergency. With this in mind, APHA today launched a new campaign aimed at encouraging Americans to make sure their emergency preparedness kits are stocked when they change their clocks for daylight saving time.

The "Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks" campaign aims to build on the message of preparedness that already exists with using daylight saving time as a reminder to check the batteries in our smoke detectors.

"Since we already use daylight saving as an opportunity to ensure that our families are prepared for an emergency, it's a great time for us also to make sure that we have a fully stocked emergency kit and that none of the perishable items have expired," said Georges C. Benjamin, MD, FACP, FACEP (E), executive director of APHA. "When we spring forward this year, we want every American to make sure their family has a preparedness kit to fall back on in the event of an emergency."

In anticipation of daylight saving time on March 9, APHA's first annual "Get Ready: Set Your Clocks, Check Your Stocks" campaign kicks off today with the release of materials and tips aimed at raising awareness of the importance of ensuring that each family has a stocked emergency preparedness kit. In the downloadable toolkit http://www.getreadyforflu.org/clocksstocks/stockpilingtoolkit.pdf, families can find out why preparing for a public health emergency is important, what to include in an emergency preparedness kit, how to get kids involved, and much more. The campaign reminds people to refresh their emergency supplies before a disease outbreak or disaster occurs. It also serves as a reminder that, if you haven't crea
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