It's the economy.....

Whew, it's been a while...

Public health agencies in Colorado have been busy. The water problem in Alamosa was a real activation for what we all have been practicing. The water agencies that helped to respond to the problems were incredibly helpful. The worst of the crisis was over within the week. Economic recovery is the next challenge for the Alamosa area, a small community of people with deep roots in the San Luis Valley.

If something like this would happen in your community, whether you live in Denver or in Wray, how would the financial stability of the area fare?

The Trust for America's Health estimates that Colorado's economy could take a hit of $11.7 billion during a flu pandemic, what many public health leaders consider the ultimate disaster. Planning for pandemic flu amounts to anticipating a worst-case scenario -- if we can manage a pandemic, we can handle anything.

And that places Colorado 38th in the state rankings (by percentage of projected gross domestic product GDP decline), so we aren't even one of the worst economic impacts. (The worst state is Nevada, followed by Hawaii.) Sources indicate that the US gross domestic product index could fall by 4 to 6 percent, throwing the economy into a recession.

What is your business, or the businesses you rely on, doing to minimize the economic impact of a disaster? Continuity of operations (COOP) plans are important for the small business that sells gifts or pet food, to the large multi-national corporations that manage data systems.

And what is your personal financial forecast during a pandemic? Could you weather out the storm of a pandemic with no pay check? With no gasoline? How about groceries? (Food for thought...)