Northeast Ohio Public Health Volunteer Newsletter

Transcription

1 Volume 1, Issue 1 FALL 2008 Northeast Ohio Public Health Volunteer Newsletter IN THE SPOTLIGHT Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) 101: Who We are and What We Do September is National Preparedness Month In This Issue In the Spotlight: MRC 101 CRI MRC Regional Meeting Stakeholders Conference In Every Issue In the Spotlight Education and Training Hot Links (Right click to open link) USAOnWatch Citizen Corps Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Fire Corps Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Volunteers in Police Service (VIPS) Ready.gov Serve Ohio Ohio EMA Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Home Land Security According to the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) homepage, MRC began after President Bush s 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. MRC is a partner program with Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Go to if 1. You are an OHIO MRC VOLUNTEER, and you have not updated your volunteer information in the last 30 days, please log on to update your information. 2. You would you like to become an OHIO MRC VOLUNTEER. Eligibility: 1. Practicing, retired, or otherwise employed medical professionals. 2. Public health professionals. 3. Community members without medical training can assist with administrative and other essential support functions. 4. U.S. citizenship is not required to be part of the MRC. Non-citizen, legal U.S. residents also are welcome to volunteer their time, knowledge, and skills to protecting and improving their communities. During emergency events, Ohio MRC volunteers have the security of liability protection, under Ohio Revised Code Liability Protection Includes: 1. Liability protection during local, state or federally declared emergencies, disasters, drills and trainings. 2. Personal information is not subject to public disclosure. Partnership is encouraging everyone to celebrate National Preparedness Month by spreading the word out about emergency preparedness throughout the entire month of September! See the last page of this newsletter for creative and community engaging National Preparedness Month ideas. The Cleveland Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines the Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) as a federally funded effort to prepare major US cities and metropolitan areas to, effectively, respond to a large-scale bioterrorist event by dispensing antibiotics to their entire identified population within 48 hours of the decision to do so. CRI Successes It has enhanced communication and collaboration across state and local boundaries, resulting in optimal use of shared resources. Local and state planners have identified capability, strengths, and shortcomings through preparedness planning and technical assistance reviews. It makes federal resources available to local areas. Population, geographical location, and potential vulnerability to a bioterrorism threat determine which cities become CRI cities and metropolitan areas (MSAs). For more information about CRI go to t/08/cri.asp. Page 1

2 IN THE NEXT ISSUE: IN THE SPOTLIGHT Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT) How to Make a Disaster Kit We Are Our Brothers /Sisters Keeper: Helping Our Special Populations in an Emergency Event Training Opportunities EDUCATION AND TRAINING Stakeholders Conference Review By Monique Witherspoon, CDPH Partnership hosted their first Stakeholders Conference July 30 th and July 31 st. The conference was designed to provide current and vital emergency preparedness information to first responders. The July 30 th conference was held in Eastlake, Ohio at the Radisson Hotel and Suites, and the July 31 st conference was held in Elyria, Ohio at Lorain County Community College s in the Spitzer Conference Center. Conference participants learned how Federal, State, and Local agencies plan to dispense medications to the public during a major public health emergency. The breakout sessions highlighted the following topics: Alternate Dispensing Modalities Hospitals and Treatment Centers First Responders and Security Public Information and the Media According to Matthew Carroll, Director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health, These meetings provide a rare opportunity to learn about preparedness activities underway in Northeast Ohio, and to network with other professionals in the field. Partnership is a collaborative effort between Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, and Medina Counties. The Northeast Ohio Public Health Partnership is dedicated to preparing Northeast Ohio for all types of emergencies. Cleveland, Ohio CRI MSA EDUCATION AND TRAINING Region V, MRC Regional Meeting By Monique Witherspoon, CDPH Columbus, Ohio was the host city for Region V s regional MRC meeting. The two-day event took place on August 7 th and 8 th. MRC leaders, volunteers, and guests converged to learn, share ideas and experiences. There are 780 MRC units and 165,519 MRC volunteers across the continental U.S. Region V is the largest MRC region in the U.S., and it accounts for 25% of the MRC units nationwide. There are 195 MRC units and 23,000 volunteers in Region V. Region V Coordinator, Melissa Watt, is quite proud of her MRC leaders and volunteers. Melissa stated that her MRC leaders willingness to develop partnerships with various community agencies and local health departments, is a major factor in Region Five s success. Commander Brad Austin, from the Office of Civilian Volunteers, expressed the importance of MRC s volunteer component. According to Commander Austin, volunteerism is the key to Community resiliency before during and after an emergency event. Commander Austin also stated, We [MRC] can t do it without volunteers. Support of local leaders is also a key component in MRC s continued growth and success. When asked what local leaders could possibly do to better support MRC, Jack Herrmann, Public Health Preparedness Senior Advisor with the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), stated that local health officials could help by, finding opportunities to fully integrate MRC in their emergency planning process, and to consider MRC as a vital part of their emergency preparedness resources. Region V includes the following states; Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin. Workshop participants actively engaged in a discussion. Page 2

3 EDUCATTI ION AND TTRAI INING Free Online Training Information courtesy of Rebecca Hysing, CCBH Northeast Ohio Public Health Partners Websites For more health and emergency preparedness information, visit your local health department s website: The American Medical Association Center for Public Health Preparedness & Disaster Response and the National Disaster Life Support Foundation are offering a free online Core Disaster Life Support (CDLS ) training course to members of the Medical Reserve Corps. The course is available at - Course ID # The course host site is (You must register and then receive a password via to access the course.) Core Disaster Life Support (CDLS ) is a nationally recognized all-hazards course designed to increase emergency responder awareness of basic skills, competencies, knowledge, and resources that are critical for a coordinated and effective local emergency response effort. For more free training, and CEU opportunities, visit the following sites: Do you have information about other FREE webbased trainings? If you do, please the information to Monique Witherspoon at MWitherspoon@city.cleveland.oh.us. Ashtabula City Health Department ashtabulacountyhealth.com Ashtabula County Health Department Cleveland Department of Public Health Conneaut City Health Department Cuyahoga County Board of Health Elyria City Health Department Geauga County Health District geaugacountyhealth.org Lake County General Health District Lorain City Health Department Lorain County General Health District Medina County Health Department Shaker Heights Health Department Page 3

4 September is NATIONAL PREPAREDNESS MONTH WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? Know what threats exist for your community. Know your community s or City s preparedness plan. HOW CAN I PREPARE FOR AN EMERGENCY? Develop a communication plan for your family. Attend emergency preparedness training seminars in your community. Prepare a to-go kit of important resources for you and your family. WHAT SHOULD I DO DURING AN EMERGENCY? Stay calm and listen to the television or radio for information about what to do and where to go. Follow instructions and advice. Sign up to be an Emergency Preparedness Volunteer. Plan a festive community event, conduct a drill, or teach a preparedness class!

5 National Preparedness Month Activity Ideas Run an article in organization s newsletter or bulletin Pandemic flu preparedness Stocking food and supplies Good health habits How to get involved Make a presentation about preparedness to your community/organization Talking points Set up a table-top display of materials from the Take the Lead toolkit Display Cover Your Cough posters around your community or organization Hold a supply drive Send s to your community/organization Pandemic flu preparedness Stocking food and supplies Good health habits How to get involved Chain Show the new HHS pandemic video vignettes [The URL will be available later in August]. Host meetings/workshops with speakers from local government or from community groups.