Being prepared to respond is the key message for Emergency Preparedness Week…

A video message from your Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Robert Kyle

Read the message

May 5 to 11 is Emergency Preparedness Week and I remind everyone that being prepared to respond, whether an emergency is big or small, is important in handling any urgent situation.

For the Health Department, our focus for this week is to promote the availability of potassium iodide tablets, also known as KI pills, to ensure our community is prepared in the highly unlikely event of a nuclear emergency occurring in Durham Region.

Durham Region is home to two nuclear generating stations – one located in Darlington, the other in Pickering. All area residents and businesses located within 10 kilometres of these nuclear stations are encouraged to ensure they have a supply of KI pills available. KI is a stable iodine salt that is effective in reducing the risk of thyroid cancer in the event of a radioactive iodine release.

Newborns, infants, children, adolescents, and pregnant and breastfeeding individuals are at the highest risk of negative health effects to the thyroid from radioactive iodine. These individuals should be the first to receive KI tablets in the highly unlikely event of a nuclear accident.

The Health Department has developed several videos to help increase awareness of the availability of KI pills. These videos can be viewed on the Health Department’s YouTube channel, Youtube.com/DurhamHealth.

Area residents can also find information about KI pills in 10 different languages at Preparetobesafe.ca. For more information or to obtain a free supply of KI pills, visit Preparetobesafe.ca, or call Durham Health Connection Line at 1-800-841-2729.

The month of May also includes acknowledgements to two health care professional groups who are key members of the Health Department. May 6 to 12 is National Nursing Week and May 19 to 25 is Paramedic Services Week.

We recognize all our nurses working in public health and our paramedics delivering out of hospital care throughout Durham Region, for their commitment and dedication to the health, safety, and well-being of all members of our community.