Baton Rouge – Over the next two weeks, employees from the Department of Health – Office of Public Health and agency partners will be visiting communities throughout Louisiana to educate citizens firsthand about how to prepare for emergency scenarios.
The effort, called “Operation Prepare,” aims to help citizens in vulnerable areas get prepared for an emergency. Emergency preparedness information will be distributed to assist residents in planning and remaining safe. Nurses will also be on hand to perform blood pressure checks and offer a variety of health-related information.
“Disasters usually strike when it’s least expected, which is why it’s so critical that residents create emergency readiness plans for their families now to be prepared for different urgent situations,” said M. Rony Francois, M.D., M.S.P.H., Ph.D., assistant secretary for the Office of Public Health. “Hurricane season is only two months away, and with two years of fairly quiet seasons behind us, we don’t want people to begin letting their guard down.”
April 4 – Lake Charles Area
DHH-OPH Regional Office
911 Hodges St.
Lake Charles, La.
8:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.
April 5 – Baton Rouge Area
West Baton Rouge Parish Health Unit
685 Louisiana Ave.
Port Allen, La.
9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
April 5 – Monroe Area
Ouachita Parish Health Unit
1650 Desiard St.
Monroe, La.
9 a.m. – 1 p.m.
April 10 – Hammond Area
Greater Turner Chapel Church
831 Turner Chapel Rd.
Greensburg, La.
10 a.m. – 2 p.m.
April 11 – Alexandria Area
First Baptist Church
911 Main St.
Colfax, La.
9 a.m. – 2 p.m.
April 11-12 – New Orleans Area
Louisiana Superdome
1500 Poydras St.
New Orleans, La.
10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. each day
In the Lafayette and Shreveport areas, Operation Prepare will be taken door-to-door to elderly residents in Vermilion, Bossier and Red River parishes in partnership with Meals on Wheels.
For more information on Operation Prepare, contact Ken Pastorick, public information officer for the Office of Public Health, at (225) 763-3558 or kpastor@dhh.la.gov.