With news that the H1N1 virus had arrived at the campus of South Dakota State University in Brookings, local preparedness planners last week received proof that their work really is making a difference.

Traffic at the team's Web site, BeReadyBrookings.com, increased. About 200 people per day are now logging onto the site that's meant to be a one-stop shop for information on disasters .

State Extension Specialist Kim Cassel says that's a sign that more people are looking for information on what to do in the event of a pandemic (a widespread outbreak of disease) or other emergency.

"To me, the proof that it's serving its purpose was when the (H1N1) cases were announced at SDSU. People are going to that (Web) site."

Cassel said local pandemic planning began in 2006, when South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds held his pandemic summit . Many Brookings representatives were there and decided to apply for a grant and start preparations locally. Five partners

Five partners - SDSU, Brookings Health System, City of Brookings, American Red Cross and Brookings County - all came together to create the Brookings County Pandemic Influenza Response Plan, and drills have tested the readiness of that plan and local officials .

Many other cities and counties are now taking their cues from Brookings.

"We've probably been more successful than other communities because we've realized that everyone has a role to play. There's a role for emergency management, there's a role for the health system, there's a role for Red Cross and the city and county," Cassel said.

"And then we found a niche for Extension. Families had to be individually prepared, because even those responding to a disaster, if you're not prepared at home, you're not going to be able to go to work and help others."

Cassel said that if a pandemic is as bad as some predict it could be, everyone will need enough food and water and the ability to take care of themselves for two to three weeks. "You cannot rely on anyone else to take care of you." Family preparedness

So the Brookings County Pandemic Preparedness Coordination Committee initiated a Family Preparedness campaign, with the help of three individuals from SDSU: Cassel, Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Educator Donna Bittiker, and SDSU veterinary science professor Tanya Graham. After the state launched its own preparedness Web site, bReadySD.com, the group developed the local site. Coincidentally, BeReadyBrookings.com launched last April, when cases of the H1N1 influenza were first identified.

And in the week after the first cases of H1N1 were announced in the United States, the Brookings committee held an exercise to test the county's pandemic plan.

The Brookings Web site includes much of the latest news on the H1N1 virus, along with links to other online health and preparedness resources at the local, state and national levels . Users can head to BeReadyBrookings.com for information on creating their own disaster preparedness plans and kits. Cassel says there's even a Kid's Zone so children can learn about disasters .

"One of the things we heard early on from people in the community is that checklists are great, but they don't tell us exactly what to do - like how many cans of food do I really need, and how many gallons of water do I really need? So we tried to bring that information, and material from the Centers for Disease Control and our local information, into one place."

September is National Preparedness Month, and local officials are now working on their fall education campaign, focusing on flu hygiene. More education planned

Magnets advertising BeReadyBrooking.com will be distributed through the community soon. Cassel and Bittiker will also be at the Brookings Public Library on Saturday, Sept. 26, to help people create preparedness kits and communication plans, free of charge. "We're continuing, particularly on making sure the community understands what's happening and is up-to-date , and then getting them prepared .

"We want to get the Web site out in front of people and let them know we're here to help."

While the BeReadyBrookings site is not tailored to only H1N1 or pandemic planning, Cassel said being ready for that is a good thing.

"If you're prepared for pandemic , you're ready for anything. Pandemic is the worst-case scenario , where you'd be stuck at home for a long period of time.

"If we have a tornado here in Brookings, we can get help from Sioux Falls or Watertown. Or if there's a blizzard , they can come from Minnesota and help restore the electricity. In a pandemic, it affects everyone, and that's why individuals and families have to be ready to take care of themselves." Plan needs updating

There's plenty more preparedness work to be done here. Cassel says the county's pandemic plan will always need more testing and updating .

And Cassel, Bittiker and Graham have even been asked to lead a national team, providing information to other Extension educators and specialists to help their communities prepare. The Extension Disaster Education Network, or EDEN, has highlighted the work of the South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service, including the BeReadyBrookings program.

"( We) have been told that Brookings has been more comprehensive and more prepared than many other communities. ... We have a great team here in Brookings. I don't know how it came to be, that we all found one another," Cassel said.

Contact Jill Fier at jfier@brookingsregister .com.

For the complete article see the 09-19-2009 issue.

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