If you work a 40-hour week, you’re spending nearly a quarter of your time in the workplace—so you might not be home when an emergency happens. In honor of National Emergency Preparedness Month, SAIF, Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation company, has tips for anyone who may be on the job during an emergency.
Have a reunification plan for your family
- Decide on a location where you’ll meet up after an emergency separates you.
- Have an out-of-state contact with whom everyone can keep in touch and relay information (while local phone lines are often knocked out during an emergency, you can often get through to an out-of-state phone number).
Have important information in writing, saved to the cloud, and on your phone
- A list of emergency contacts such as family and friends
- Medical conditions and details of prescriptions
- Family members’ names, dates of birth, email addresses, phone numbers, and social media handles
- Medical, home, and car insurance details
- Bank account details
Keep a back-up emergency kit in your car
- 72 hours of non-perishable food and water
- A basic first aid kit
- A back-up battery or way to charge your cell phone
- Printed local maps
- Sturdy shoes
- Warm gloves and a blanket
- Flashlight
- Wet wipes and sanitizing wipes
If you are a business owner, follow SAIF’s tips for how you can help your employees in an emergency:
- Know your Red Cross and emergency contacts in case employees need to use their resources.
- Make your Intranet available to help employees connect and share information and resources.
- Encourage your employees to sign up for emergency alerts such as OR-Alert and Watch Duty for wildfire information.
- Be aware if any of your employees are affected by evacuation orders.
Find more information at saif.com/prepare.
About SAIF
SAIF is Oregon’s not-for-profit workers’ compensation insurance company. For more than 110 years, we’ve been taking care of injured workers, helping people get back to work, and striving to make Oregon the safest and healthiest place to work. For more information, visit the About SAIF page on saif.com.