Temporary Medical Facilities: What to Consider for Their Setup

Temporary Medical Facilities: What to Consider for Their Setup

Factors to Consider in Setting up Temporary Medical Facilities

by Sharon Jones

The number of confirmed COVID-19 patients in the Philippines continues to rise. The problems related to the pandemic continue to worsen, including the full capacity of hospitals, lack of proper isolation facilities for persons under investigation (PUIs) and persons under monitoring (PUMs), and lack of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for frontliners.

To help assist hospitals that handle COVID-19 related cases, the Philippine Red Cross put up a medical field tent at the National Kidney and Transplant Institute in Quezon City. The city administration of Imus, Cavite, put up at least five field hospitals, each equipped with ten beds, an oxygen tank, and other health amenities.

If the needs arise, local government units (LGUs) and hospitals might need to modify their interior space or set up more temporary medical facilities. In this case, they must consider the following elements outlined by the U.S. Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response Technical Resources, Assistance Center, and Information Exchange (ASPR TRACIE).

Planning

The surge of patients is expected to continue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. For this issue to be addressed, it is critical to have a hospital-wide approach and integration with concerned departments and supervisors. Hospitals and healthcare facilities must discuss the emergency department volume versus the expected amount of patients, coordinate discharge plans, and address staffing issues. The cost of operation must also be considered. Additional expenses may include lighting, security, additional staffing, and rental or acquisition of tents.

Thresholds

Advance planning and analysis of data from previous similar events will help hospitals establish their thresholds in their additional temporary facilities. Considerations may be made based on the volume of the emergency department or patients that need to be admitted. LGUs can expand their hospital capacity by renting or acquiring medical tents with the help of trusted tent manufacturers in the Philippinesthat can cater to their diverse needs.

Coordination

Hospitals, LGUs, and the national government must be well-coordinated, especially if they plan to set up the temporary facilities in locations that might potentially affect traffic flow. Moreover, they should work well with the local barangays to help minimize the influx of patients by educating citizens about proper health care and alternative options to a hospital visit.

Considerations for Staff and Patients’ Behavioral Health Needs

This pandemic has claimed lives and caused anxiety, worry, and fear. With the rising number of PUIs and PUMs and the lack of testing kits and hospital facilities, it is understandable that the patients, along with their families and the hospital staff, feel stressed and tired.

Patients and their families are concerned about their health and their healthcare, and receiving treatment in a non-traditional setting may add to their stress. Meanwhile, hospital staff might be working extra shifts or might know the patients, so they are likely overworked and stressed. They might feel more stressed when they need to provide care in an unfamiliar environment, such as a temporary field hospital.

Thus, LGUs and hospitals must provide for the behavioral needs of patients and staff. They can do this by encouraging short breaks and stocking hospital break rooms with healthy drinks and snacks. They can also provide antibacterial wipes or alcohol and post self-care and proper hygiene reminders. Maintaining an adequate supply of PPEs, encouraging its use, and providing on-site faith-based support for both patients and staff can aid them in this situation.

With these considerations in mind, LGUs can set up better temporary medical sites and be a step closer to winning the battle against COVID-19.

Understanding The Problems You Could Face On Modern Roads

Understanding The Problems You Could Face On Modern Roads

black Ford car

(Image Source)

Roads can often feel like extremely chaotic places. Despite the order which the laws surrounding roads are supposed to create, it can often be very difficult for people to feel comfortable when they are driving, and there is good reason for this. A lot can go wrong when you’re driving your car, and having a good idea of all of these areas will be crucial if you’re going to have a successful life on the road. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the biggest problems you can face while driving, enabling you to handle them perfectly.

Road Rage

No matter how careful you are, it is all too easy to find yourself at the wrong end of road rage. Whether you’re angry or another driver is angry with you, this sort of emotion has no place on the road, and can prove to be extremely dangerous. Quelling someone else’s aggression will be difficult, and the best way to handle something like this will be to simply ignore it. People have been known to get angry enough to cause accidents in the past, though this is usually when their anger is made worse by other drivers responding in kind to their wrath.

Breaking Down

Cars are complex machines and it doesn’t take much for them to stop working. Breakdowns can often come as a surprise to car owners, shocking them to find that their car isn’t as robust as they thought. Without adequate breakdown cover, this could leave you stuck by the side of the road for a very long time. There are loads of companies out there which offer breakdown cover. While this will cost a little bit of money, it will be far better to pay this than to find yourself unable to drive when you’ve had a long day at work.

Breakdowns can often occur when people make mistakes or ignore the crucial car maintenance they should be carrying out. If your car has a rotary engine, for example, you will need to replace your oil on a very regular basis. Knowing your car and what it should feel and sound like will also play a big role in keeping it from breaking down.

Accidents

Car accidents happen on a daily basis, and it’s becoming increasingly common to cross paths with them as modern roads get busier and busier. You shouldn’t have to live in fear of something like this impacting you, but it also makes sense to be very careful when you’re on the road. Following the rules of the road will make it much easier to avoid an accident, but having a good car accident attorney on hand can be even more valuable.

Accidents can occur for a number of different reasons, but the most common are always user errors. For example, junctions like roundabouts throw many drivers off, and they will often find themselves in the wrong lanes. This can make turning extremely dangerous, especially with traffic pressed around you. In this sort of circumstance, you need to be able to assess the road around you, making choices which will result in as little contact with other cars as possible. Of course, learning how to properly perform an emergency stop is also very useful.

Getting Into Trouble

The rules you have to follow on most roads are extremely strict. You have to drive near-perfectly to avoid getting into trouble, and a lot of people are surprised to find just how easy it is to get into a bad position when you’re on the road. It doesn’t even take a police officer to catch you; modern cameras can do all of the work. You need to avoid speeding, performing illegal maneuvers, and causing dangerous issues on the road. Along with this, though, you also need to make sure that you’re up to date with things like insurance payments and car maintenance. As times goes on, the police are only getting stricter, and this is something drivers have to be wary of if they want to keep their place on the road.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling ready to take on the challenge of avoiding the problems which can impact you when you’re on the road. Many people ignore these areas, letting themselves get stuck in a cycle of being taken on and off of the road. Of course, though, this should be easy enough to avoid.

3 Effective Tips for Simplifying Your Life

3 Effective Tips for Simplifying Your Life

Pixabay CC0 License

Have you ever felt as though your life was just becoming far too complicated, to the point where you barely have a moment to pause, catch your breath, and get a deeper sense of perspective on things?

If you have felt that way, you’re definitely not alone. Various polls consistently seem to show that people are becoming more stressed, more anxious, and are feeling more overwhelmed as time goes on, even in spite of the various striking conveniences that characterise life in the modern era.

A big part of the problem seems to be the fact that there is just too much to keep track of, and too much to get done – meaning that simplicity is often lost in a vortex of activity and chaos.

Here are a few effective tips for simplifying your life and rediscovering a sense of balance.

  1. Outsource some of the tasks that you have to deal with on a regular basis

Pretty much irrespective of what your particular circumstances are in life, there are no doubt a least a few activities that you’ve got to engage in on a regular basis, that nonetheless take up a lot of your energy, time, and attention.

Instead of becoming completely bogged down while trying to juggle these sorts of tasks alongside the various other obligations of everyday life, why not outsource some of those things to third parties?

If you’re a landlord, contacting a property management agency like GRG Property Management, Inc, for example, might well save you from all sorts of headaches, while simultaneously making it quite likely that the job will get done to a higher and more efficient standard.

  1. Make a point of focusing your attention on one thing at a time

You should probably expect that you’ll always feel overwhelmed and stressed, regardless of how taxing your everyday routines actually are, if you are trying to multitask and juggle a variety of different jobs and chores at the exact same time.

Research has quite clearly found that multitasking – or rather, trying to multitask – make people more stressed and anxious, while simultaneously making them less effective at what they are trying to do.

Focusing your attention on one thing at a time, on the other hand, can potentially make you significantly calmer and more optimistic, while also allowing you to get things done more quickly and efficiently.

  1. Be more selective about the kind of information you take in

If there is one thing that there is absolutely no shortage of these days, it’s information – ranging from news articles, to opinions shared freely on social media, to TV shows and films, YouTube videos, Wikipedia pages, and plenty more besides.

The thing is, if you constantly have huge amounts of information flooding your awareness at every waking moment, you’re bound to feel overwhelmed, and to lack the sense that you’re in control of things.

In addition to the fact that information overload can weigh you down, it’s also true that taking in too much negative information can really darken your mood and outlook.

To simplify your life, be more selective about the kind of information you take in. Firstly, try to limit information overload. Secondly, try to take in more information that uplifts you in some way, than information that brings you down.

Three Things You Should Do For Picking An Online Course

Three Things You Should Do For Picking An Online Course

Image by StartupStockPhotos from Pixabay 

If you have decided that you want to learn a new skill/ improve your skills in a particular subject or you have decided that you want to learn a whole new topic that you know nothing about then there are various ways that you can go about this. Today, with so much technology surrounding us an excellent way for you to go about learning is to do so online. There are so many options these days, for courses and platforms to use for online learning. So, how do you go about picking the right one for you? Here are some tips on choosing the right online course for you, so you can stop trying to figure out which course is right for you and start learning the material that you want to learn.

What Are You Looking For?

The first step to picking the right online course is to take time and figure out the details of what you are looking for. Make sure you know what topic is of interest to you. If you need inspiration, then look up fun things you can learn online. Also, think about your goals for taking the course, what kind of learning experience you want, etc. Writing down a list of questions and making sure you have clear answers to them can help you in making sure you know exactly what you want from a course, so you can make sure that when you begin researching options you know the criteria that you are looking for.

Do Your Research

Once you know what you are looking for in a course, it is time to start doing your research. While researching, make sure you have your list of criteria that you made beside you so you can easily refer to it. Taking notes of which courses catch your eye is also a good idea so that you can review them later and remind yourself about your different options. Make sure you research your options thoroughly as there are probably many options out there.  

Reviews/ Expert Opinions

Once you have narrowed down your options, make sure you look at reviews before deciding if a course is right for you. Researching to see what other people who took the course have said can be very valuable. You can see whether the course has gotten good reviews or bad reviews and by reading what people have said they may discuss details about the course that you were wondering about, but wouldn’t have known until you tried it. You can also see if people who are knowledgeable about the subject have written articles/blog posts reviewing or comparing different courses. By looking at their article, it may help you figure out which course is right for you. For example, let’s say you have decided that you want to learn more about IT and you are looking for a course on INE, then you can read a review article about ine training programs that can help you give you information to help you decide which program will work best for you.

Remember taking the time to do each of these steps thoroughly can make sure that you find the course that is right for you. Good luck with your search.

How to Spend More Time In the Outdoors

How to Spend More Time In the Outdoors

We should all be grateful that we live in an age that allows us to live so comfortably and conveniently. However, there is a downside to all this convenience. We very often end up spending much more time indoors than we should. In the olden days, we’d find shelter during inclement weather. Now, we spend virtually all of our time indoors! And the truth of the matter is that we all need the outdoors more than we realize — it can make us happier, less anxious, and healthier, after all. Below, we take a look at a few tips that’ll help you to spend more time outdoors. 

Pexels – CC0 Licence

What’s Local?

If you live in a city, then you might think that the whole world is one big concrete slab, but this is not the case! No matter how human-made your world might feel, it’s important to remember that, no matter where you live, there will be beautiful outdoor spots nearby. So do a little digging, and see what’s around. It could be that you have a beautiful State Park just an hour’s drive away from your home. All you’ll need to do is get in the car, and you’ll soon be immersed in nature. Perfect!

Find a Hobby

One of the reasons why people don’t spend as much time outdoors as they’d like is because they find it, well, a little boring. And that’s fair: sitting and admiring a view isn’t for everyone! In that case, then it’s worthwhile finding an outdoor hobby, one that’ll have you spending time outdoors and also having fun. If you’re looking for a calming activity, then get some equipment from Delta Net and Twine, and take up fishing. Alternatively, those that like their activities a little more adrenaline filled could take up mountain biking or surfing.

And a Group

As well as a hobby, it’s also recommended that you find a group of people who also like the outdoors. It’s much more fun to spend time in nature when you’re doing so with people that you like. And it’ll also help to make your outings more frequent, too. If you’re left to your own devices, then you might lose some interest in a while. But if you have other people motivating you to join them on an excursion, then you’ll be more likely to keep it up. 

Taking Longer Trips

Of course, you’ll be living your daily life, and that means your opportunities to spend hours in nature will be few and far between. One good way to up the ante is to look at taking longer trips in nature. For your next vacation, why not look at going on a multi day hiking trip? Something strange happens after you’ve spent a few days and more in the great outdoors; it feels as if your body gets in sync with nature. You’ll return to your regular life feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. Don’t underestimate just how good nature can make you feel! 

First -Time Skier? Take These Tips for a Super Time on the Slopes!

First -Time Skier? Take These Tips for a Super Time on the Slopes!

by Jerry Mooney

When winter comes in, the skis come out. Skiing is a great way to enjoy your winter holidays. However, you may be a bit intimidated if it is your first skiing trip. Here are some tips that you can do to prepare for it properly.

Get Fit

A lot of people think that you can hit the slopes even if you haven’t done anything to prep yourself, physically. But, skiing can be a physically demanding task, especially since it requires muscles that you do not usually use. It would be best if you started doing cardio at least two months before the trip to help you manage the lack of oxygen since you will be at a higher altitude. It would help if you also focused on your balance and coordination. You can try specific ski fitness exercises by using in-line skates and balance boards.

Boots

One of the first pieces of equipment that you should buy is boots. In fact, you should buy them before you buy skis. You need to make sure that you get boots that fit properly; otherwise, it can be a waste of time and money. Make sure that they are flexible, and your boot’s shell are appropriate for your level of skiing. Do not forget to get a pair of boots for post-skiing that are waterproof, warm, and sturdy.

Skis

Maybe you bought your own skis, at some point, in your excitement to one day conquer the slopes, but never used them. Get your skis serviced if you own a pair. The least that you can do before a skiing trip is to sharpen the edges and wax the bases. Get a base grind safety check of your binding done by a technician a week before your trip. If your skis are appropriately taken care of before your trip, it will make them more responsive to turning. Plus, it will help improve your overall skiing experience and safety. If you do not own a pair, then carefully weigh whether you will rent or buy, at this point. Many people prefer to wait until they have gained more experience at skiing before buying their own skis. But, if you choose to purchase a pair, get some expert help from a reliable ski shop.

Clothing

If you want to perform well, then you need to get the right clothes to stay warm and comfortable. Thermal underwear and a wool or light fleece top to wear under a jacket are basics you must have. When buying a jacket, check out appropriate outerwear. While there are numerous styles, designs, and brands out there for women and men, Arc’teryx ski jackets are among those that offer high-performance and the latest tech. Don’t forget to protect your feet, too-snowboard and ski socks are manufactured differently from your regular pair, so make sure to look into those.

Avoiding Altitude Sickness

Altitude sickness can put a damper on your ski trip; even a bit of fatigue or a headache can ruin your trip. You should limit alcohol consumption and drink a lot of water. The high altitudes can also make you feel dehydrated, so make sure you get electrolytes from drinks such as coconut water. Snack on foods that are complex carb-heavy and high in protein to keep your energy levels up.

It would be best if you were prepared to make the most out of your skiing trip. You can follow the tips above to get ready and have fun on the wintry slopes!

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