National Preparedness Month provides local health department (LHD) and Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Unit leaders, staff, and volunteers with an opportunity to foster greater community understanding and support for the critical role of local public health in supporting emergency preparedness. By hosting preparedness-themed education and outreach activities throughout September, LHDs and MRC Units can promote year-round community vigilance and strengthen collective resilience. In addition, local health officials and MRC Unit volunteers can sharpen their preparedness knowledge and facilitation skills as a result of leading Preparedness Month events.

Get Involved

NACCHO encourages LHDs and MRCs to take advantage of Preparedness Month to engage families, communities, businesses, and other regional partners in preparedness activities.

Building on the theme of “Take Control in 1, 2, 3,” Ready.gov offers a variety of resources focused on preparing older adults for disasters, specifically older adults from communities that are disproportionally impacted by the all-hazard events, which continue to threaten the nation.

New webpages available in English and Spanish languages at Ready.gov/older-adults and Ready.gov/es/adultos-mayores provide initial messaging, graphics, and resources for those who work with and support older adult communities. For more information on preparedness for people with disabilities and their families, visit Ready.gov/disability or Ready.gov/es/discapacidad in Spanish.

Additional Resources to Support the 2023 Theme

• Capacity-Building Toolkit for Including Aging and Disability Networks in Emergency Planning from NACCHO
• Web-based training: Addressing the Needs of Older Adults in Disasters from HHS/ASPR
• Web-based training: Caring for Older Adults in Disasters: A Curriculum for Health Professionals from the National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health
• Guide: Helping Older Adults After Disasters: A Guide to Providing Support from SAMHSA

National Preparedness Month - Disability and Access and Functional Needs Webinar Series
Join NACCHO in partnership with World Institute on Disability (WID) in celebrating National Preparedness Month with a focus on supporting people with disabilities and others with access and functional needs. This two-part webinar series will provide tools, resources, and recommendations for local health departments to provide disability inclusive emergency and disaster preparedness and response. Sessions take place: September 7, 2:00 PM ET; September 19, 2:00 PM ET. Click here to register.

Discussion-Based Activities

CDC is also launching a series of discussion-based activities to help public health departments develop “whole community” plans that consider the impacts of social determinants of health on personal health preparedness and response. Click here to learn more the series and tools to bring it to your community.

Additional Resources and Activities

• Webinar on September 25, 12:00 PM ET: Successes and Challenges of Coordinating Across Sectors to Enhance Preparedness and Response to Environmental Health Disasters from the National Environmental Health Association
• Preparedness Month graphics from Ready.gov
• Preparedness Month social media toolkit from Ready.gov
• 30 Days of Preparedness During National Preparedness Month from the American Red Cross, Southern California
• Emergency management-related resources and data tools from the U.S. Census Bureau
• Disaster & Emergency Preparedness for Caregivers from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

If your health department or MRC is planning activities to promote preparedness, NACCHO would like to feature your work through its publications. Please let Communications Specialist Beth Hess ([email protected]) know if you have activities planned.