P.O. Box 250, Charles
bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org July, 2006
The JCOHS Emergency
Planning for People with Special Needs Committee recognizes that when disasters
strike, that it is usually our poor, our elderly and our people who have
special needs that need assistance the most.
Therefore, we are launching a campaign to try to get 100 Basic Disaster
Supply Kits to give to the Meals on Wheels recipients by the end of National
Preparedness Month (September). It is
our hope that we can then distribute the boxes on the October 28th, which is
National Make A Difference Day. If more
than 100 boxes are received, they will go to other organizations that serve
elderly, poor, or special needs clients.
The following is the
contents for the Basic Supply Kits:
1. Clear Plastic Container w/secure lid with the
following items included:
2. Portable battery operated radio w/batteries
installed.
3. Flashlight with batteries installed.
4. Extra set of batteries for each of the above
5. Non-electric can opener
6. 2 rolls of toilet paper
7. Travel size shampoo, soap, toothbrush,
toothpaste, and deodorant
8. Small writing tablet and pen
9. Emergency Blanket (Silver, fold up kind)
10. Small first aid kit with bandaids, etc. (no
meds)
11. Whistle
12. N-95 mask.
To these boxes, we
will add:
Getting Ready
Book--Contains all local emergency numbers
Disaster Preparedness
for People with Special Needs Book
Disaster Preparedness
for Seniors by Seniors Book
Instructions for
putting on an N-95 mask
Fill in the Blank
Family Disaster Plan
All assembled kits
should be delivered to the Jefferson County Office of Homeland Security at
The Eastern Panhandle Medical Reserve Corps and the Berkeley County Chapter of the American Red Cross will sponsor a Disaster Health Services Course on July 26 from 6-9 p.m. in the auditorium of the WVU Health Sciences Center-Eastern Division in Martinsburg. This course is designed for healthcare providers and will provide training for the provision of healthcare in a shelter situation. The course is free of charge for all individuals interested in serving in the Medical Reserve Corps. The Medical Reserve Corps is a community-based corps of healthcare and public health volunteers who supplement the community’s health resources in time of need. For more information, contact Diane Gaviria at 263-5131 or Sharon Fouch at 263-5241.
The Jefferson County CERT will hold a refresher course for
Medical Operations I and II at the
CERT Training Class has been scheduled again in
Community Emergency Response Teams, or CERT, is a concept developed by the Los Angeles Fire Department. They recognized that citizens would very likely be on their own during the early stages of a major disaster. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has developed CERT into a nationwide effort as a part of the President’s Citizen Corps Program. CERT provides basic training in disaster survival and rescue skills. This improves the ability of citizens to survive until emergency personnel can arrive.
The training is designed for citizens with little or no
training in the areas listed below, but those with some skills in these areas
are also welcome to attend the training and participate in a CERT team. Homeowners or
neighborhood groups, PTA’s, service and social clubs, churches, businesses, or
a group of individuals from a neighborhood are ideal groups to form CERT teams.
Basic skills are taught in the
areas of: Disaster Preparedness, Fire
Safety, Disaster Medical Operations I
and II; Terrorism Preparedness and Crime Prevention; Disaster Psychology,
Special Populations and Animals in Disaster; Light Search and Rescue and CERT
Volunteerism. All students participate
in a final exercise at the end of the course.
Wednesday, September 6 Disaster Preparedness, Jefferson Memorial Hospital Community Room
Tuesday, September 12: Fire Safety,
Wednesday, September 20: Disaster
Medical Ops I, Bardane
Thursday, September 28 : Disaster
Medical Ops II, Bardane
Thursday, October 5: Disaster
Mental Health, Animals in Disaster, and
People with Special Needs, Jefferson Memorial Hospital Community Room
Tuesday, October 10 : Crime
Prevention & Terrorism Awareness, Bardane
Wednesday, October 18: Light
Search & Rescue, Bardane
Thursday, October 26: CERT
Volunteerism, Test, Final Exercise & Graduation, Bardane
Location: Location of the
classes are listed above. (Dates and
locations are subject to change due to inclement weather, scheduling conflicts
with either the instructors or the venue.
All attempts will be made to stick with this schedule and enrolled students
will be notified as soon as a decision has been made on rescheduling or changes
that are necessary).
Class Time: All Classes will
begin at 7:00 p.m. and will be completed by 9:30 p.m.
All classes are taught by
professionals in the corresponding field of expertise.
All Classes are provided at no
charge to the participants. All
participants who complete all sessions
and the final exercise will receive a certificate of participation and be issued
a hard hat, and a CERT Vest. Any
participant that does not attend all courses or that is late or leaves early
will have to make up that section of the course when the next round of courses
are offered.
Pre-registration is necessary and
can be done by calling 728-3329 to request a student enrollment form or email
to bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org
prior to September 1, 2006.
Are you and your organization prepared fro the next
disaster? WV VOAD and BHHF is sponsoring
four trainings throughout the state during the month of August, titled, “West
Virginians Preparing: Training Communities in All Hazard Preparedness.” Participants from the Eastern Panhandle of
West Virginia should plan to attend the August 16-17 training, which will be
held at
Each session will include two training tracks: Track One-two day FEMA training (Crisis Outreach Worker); Track Two-two day all hazard, community collaboration and citizen preparedness training.
*TRACK 1
TWO-DAY CRISIS OUTREACH WORKER TRAINING
This interactive two-day training event will provide an
overview of the FEMA Crisis Counseling Program (CCP). Participants who
successfully complete this two-day training event will receive a certificate of
completion that may be utilized to become a member of
Crisis Outreach Workers provide individual crisis intervention support to disaster survivors and responders within their own environment. Topics include: one-on-one intervention techniques (cognitive, emotional, behavioral, and spiritual supports); identifying and assisting special needs populations; stress management; avenues for enhancing coping skills and reconnecting people with their natural support systems. Group intervention topics include: facilitating support groups and utilization of natural community supports. This training is free and open to the general public.
*TRACK 2
American Red Cross Workplace Seminar: Pandemic Influenza & Business Continuity Planning
Purpose: To assist businesses and workplaces to advance their continuity of operations planning, and address workplace health and safety related to a potential influenza pandemic.
Audience: Business leaders, safety directors, human resource and risk management personnel, Chamber of Commerce members, faith-based and civic organization members, community leaders at every level.
Length: Approximately 3 hours
Disaster Planning for Special Needs Populations:
A Fresh Perspective
How do we define special needs populations and identify who should be
involved in planning their care in disasters?
What agencies should take the lead in this particular disaster planning
process? Find out about recent
An Introduction to
Disaster Preparedness
The beautiful hills of
One
Day Course: Trained Community Responder (TCR) Course:Psychosocial Impact of
Disaster and Terrorism
This training will cover best practices in responding to
disasters and bio-terrorism. The critical elements of this training include; behavioral health, self care, and peer care
and the psychosocial impact of disaster and terrorism. The training
components will provide participants with increased knowledge and basic skills
to recognize and assist their peers
and co-workers, during a time of
crisis, who may be experiencing common stress reactions to an abnormal event.
Trained Community Responders (TCRs) are professionals and first responders
within their own agencies and disciplines.
SPONSORED BY: Bureau for Behavioral Health & Health Facilities.
Register early! Space is limited! Registration is free and lunch is provided. For more information, contact Cheryl Ingraham at the WV Council of Churches. Phone 304-344-3141 or email to cheryli@wvcc.org
The Annual WV VOAD Conference has come and gone and still people are asking the question: What is WV VOAD?
WV VOAD is a humanitarian association of independent organizations that may be active in ALL phases of disaster. Its mission is to identify unmet needs and facilitate efficient, streamlined service delivery to those imperiled or impacted by disaster while eliminating duplication of effort through cooperation in the four phases of disaster: preparation, response, recovery and mitigation.
Each member organization maintains its own identity and independence while closely collaborating with other member organizations, faith groups, and local, state or federal authorities. WV VOAD takes no role in providing direct services. Direct services are provided by member agencies.
The role of WV VOAD: Cooperating among members and other agencies, coordinating services with members and other agencies, communicating among members and other agencies, collaborating on goals and projects at disaster sites, educating in preparedness and mitigation, training volunteer leaders, convening meetings, seminars and conferences, promoting good use of human, financial and material capital.
VOAD’s Regional Long-Term Recovery Committees: Recovery for families is usually a slow, up-hill climb. It is through the efforts of voluntary agencies, faith communities, and other efforts that disaster survivors receive assistance throughout the recovery period. WV VOAD helps to convene and facilitate regional long-term flood recovery committees that support the recovery process working as a single entity to bring resources to bear on disaster related needs.
Based on experiences gained in responding to the 2001-02
flooding, in 2003-04 WV VOAD’s faith-based and non-profit partners organized
six regional
Member agencies include: Mountain View Adventist Community Services, American Baptist Men Disaster Relief, American Red Cross, Appalachian Outreach, Inc., Catholic Community Services, Church of the Brethern Emergency Response, Community Lutheran Partners, Inc., Community Resources, Inc., Episcopal Diocese, Mountaineer Food Bank, Salvation Army, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Conference of Southern WV, United Way of Central WV, Volunteer WV, Inc., WV Conference, United Methodist Church, WV Convention of Southern Baptist, WV Council of Churches, WV Ministry of Advocacy & Workcamps, Inc, Presbyterian Church (USA), WV 211, World Vision. Associate Members include: Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, WVDHHR, Bureau for Behavioral Health & Health Facilities, FEMA, National Weather Service, WV Housing Development Fund, WV Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management, and WV Commission for National and Community Service.
For more information about WV VOAD, Contact VOAD, C/O WV Council of Churches, 2207 Washington Street, East, Charleston, WV 25311.
A new report, "We Can Do Better: Lessons Learned for Protecting Older Persons in Disasters," which contains working strategies, lessons learned and best practices, is available from the American Association of Retired Persons. The report shares findings from a national conference that brought together more than 100 government officials; emergency preparedness and response experts; relief organizations; and aging and disability advocates. It also includes results from a short survey of persons ages 50 and older conducted in November 2005. The report addresses three major topics as they relate to older persons:
Planning and communications
Identifying who will need help and what kind of help, including registries, tracking and medications
Evacuating older persons, including transportation and special needs shelters
A full report and a summary report is available from AARP at http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/il/better.pdf
The Preparedness and Respond to Agricultural Terrorism
course will be held August 29-31 at the WV Department of Agriculture,
The purpose of this course is to provide community planners, as well as, those in the food production chain, who would be among the first to note the effects of an attempted attack on the nation’s food supply, with information to respond to an act of agricultural terrorism.
Participants will gain an understanding of how to prepare for and respond to a terrorist attack on the nation’s agricultural industry, and which resources are available at the local, state, and national levels. In addition, they will learn how to implement an ICS according to NIMS for an attack to the local food supply. Finally, participants will understand how to effectively monitor plant or animal diseases and “farm-to-fork” food processing in order to prevent or deter agricultural terrorist incidents.
This course is designed to promote community response and recovery from agricultural terrorism. The information provided in the course materials will train participants to identify and recruit individuals in a unique position to identify potential threats to the cultivation, production, processing, transportation, or distribution of the nation’s food supply. To register or for more information, contact Roy McCallister, 1900 Kanawha Blvd., East Charleston, WV 25305. Phone 304-558-2214 or email to rmccalister@ag.state.wv.us
Its once again time for the Jefferson County Fair! At the JCOHS Booth, you will find a wealth of information on how to prepare your family, your home, and your business for disasters and emergencies. You can find out more about the CERT Program and how to get involved. You can find out information about how to prepare your domestic pets and your farm animals. We’ll have a display and thousands of handouts for adults and children. Best of all, we will have our volunteers there for people to talk to. Plan to make our booth a stop along your way at the Jefferson County Fair!
Below is the roster of those who have signed up to work the booth at the fair. If you haven’t selected your time yet, please take a look and email to bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org or call 728-3329 to sign up. Thanks to all of our fantastic volunteers!
2006
Friday, August 18—Set up Display---Barb Miller & Members of Jefferson County Commission Maintenance Department
12:30-5:00 p.m. Nancy
Dopson Jess
Ebersole
5:00-10:00 p.m.
_________________________
___________________________
4:00-7:00 p.m. Robert Spatola Joe Walter
Theresa Voellinger Sylvia Frye
7:00-10:00 p.m. ______________________ __________________________
______________________
__________________________
4:00-7:00 p.m.
7:00-10:00 p.m.________________________ ___________________________
(SENIOR CITIZENS DAY 11 a.m. – 3 p.m.)
11:00-4:00 Nancy Marmorella ___________________________
(11-2)
4:00-7:00 p.m. Diane Viands Sandy McDonald
7:00-10:00 p.m. Don Jones
___________________________
4:00-7:00 p.m. Janet Jeffries Jill Randlett
7:00-10:00 p.m. Shirley Evans Doug Evans
4:00-6:30 p.m. Katherine Dunbar ____________________________
7:00-10:00 p.m. Don Jones ____________________________
12:30-3:30 p.m. ________________________ _____________________________
3:30-6:30 Katherine Dunbar ______________________________
6:30-9:00 p.m. _________________________ ______________________________
Tear Down at 9:00 p.m.on Saturday—Barb & Steve Miller & Bill Polk
The WV Citizen Corps/CERT Program is going through
transition from the WV Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management
to the WV Commission for National and Community Service. Lynn Williams has been named the state point
of contact for the program.
Getting Ready for Disaster—One Family’s Experience, a citizen preparedness DVD from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), has been released to help people prepare for disasters. The DVD guides viewers through an important steps of disaster preparedness and addresses critical issues in seven segments: Getting Informed, Making a Plan, Assembling a Disaster Supplies Kit, Food and Water in an Emergency, Helping Children Cope with Disaster, Disability an Special Needs Populations, and Getting Involved—Citizen Corps. The DVD was designed to be used with the Are You Ready? An In-Depth Guide to Citizen Preparedness and the accompanying facilitator manual for teaching preparedness principles. Free copies of the DVD (FEMA #500) and the Are You Ready? Guides (IS-22 and IS22FG) are available through the FEMA Distribution Center at 800-480-2520. Requests are limited to one per caller. In the coming months, the DVD will be translated into Spanish and will be available in both languages on a single DVD. Video files, a transcript, and the guide can also be downloaded from www.fema.gov/areyouready/.
If your organization has a special activity for National Preparedness Month, please send the information to Barb Miller at bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org prior to August 15th so that we can include that in next month’s newsletter.
National Preparedness Month is a nationwide effort held each September to encourage Americans to take simple steps to prepare for emergencies in their homes, businesses and schools. National Preparedness Month 2006 is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The goal of the month is to increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and to encourage individuals to take action. Throughout September, Homeland Security will work with a wide variety of organizations, including local, state and federal government agencies and the private sector, to highlight the importance of family emergency preparedness and promote individual involvement through events and activities across the nation.
For additional information about National Preparedness Month, go to www.ready.gov/america/npm/organizations.htm
For what is going to be going on in Jefferson County during NPM, see our list of activities below!!
August, 2006
2 6-9
p.m. CERT Disaster Medical Ops I &
II Refresher Class at Jefferson Memorial Hospital’s Community Room. All CERT Members are encouraged to attend.
8 Counter Terrorism
Committee Meeting at 2:00 p.m. in the Jefferson County Office of Emergency
Management Meeting Room
9 Public
Awareness Committee Meeting at 9:00 a.m. at the Meeting Room next to the
Development Authority Office at Bardane.
14 Animals
in Disaster Committee Meeting at 9:30 a.m. in the Jefferson County Office of
Emergency Management.
14 Risk Assessment
& Mitigation Planning Committee Meeting in the Jefferson County Public
Meeting Room in the Old Charles Town Library.
2 p.m.
15 CERT Instructors’ Meeting, 7:00 p.m. in the County
Commission Administrative Office Building, Hunter House, 124 E. Washington
Street, Charles Town.
16 & 17 West Virginians
Preparing: Training Communities in All Hazard Preparedness. A collaborative effort of: WV Voluntary Organizations
Active in Disaster (VOAD) and Bureau for Behavioral Health & Health
Facilities (BHHF) at Priest Field Pastoral Center, Kearneysville, WV. For more
information contact: Cheryl Ingraham at the WV Council of Churches,
304-344-3141 or email to cheryli@svcc.org
19-26
Jefferson County
Fair Week. Sign Up to work our
Information Booth!
22
Steering Committee Meeting 9:00 a.m. at Hunter House Meeting Room.
4th Holiday, Office is closed.
6 Partnership Development Committee Meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the Development Authority Meeting Room at Bardane.
6 CERT Disaster Preparedness Class 7-9:30 p.m. at Jefferson Memorial Hospital’s Community Room. Pre-registration is necessary. Call 728-3329 or email to bmiller@jeffersoncountywv.org to request an application form.
12 Counter Terrorism Committee Meeting at 2:00 p.m. in the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management.
12 CERT Fire Safety Class 7-9:30 p.m. at Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room.
13 Public Awareness Committee Meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the Red Cross Meeting Room in Bardane.
18 People with Special Needs Committee Meeting at 9:30 a.m. at Bardane.
19 Quad State (VA, WV, MD, PA) Emergency Planning Committee Meeting. Details to be announced.
20 CERT Disaster Medical Ops Class I Class at Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room. 7-9:30 p.m.
25-27
LEPC/SERC Conference at
Charleston Marriott
28 CERT Disaster Medical Ops II Class at Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room. 7-9:30 p.m.
3
STEERING COMMITTEE MEETING 9:00 a.m. in the Hunter House Meeting Room.
5
CERT Disaster Mental Health,
Animals in Disaster, and People with Special Needs at Jefferson Memorial
Hospital’s Meeting Room 7-9:30 p.m.
8-14
NATIONAL FIRE
PREVENTION WEEK
9
Columbus Day
Holiday-Office is Closed
10
Counter Terrorism
Committee Meeting at 2:00 p.m. in the Jefferson County Emergency Management
Office.
10 CERT Crime Prevention & Terrorism Awareness, Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room. 7-9:30 p.m.
11 Public Awareness Committee Meeting at 9:00 a.m. in the Red Cross Meeting Room at Bardane.
16 Animals in Disaster Committee Meeting at 9:30 a.m. Place to be announced.
18 CERT Light Search & Rescue, Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room. 7-9:30 p.m.
26 CERT Volunteerism, Test, Final Exercise and Graduation, Public Services Facility at Bardane, Red Cross Meeting Room. 7-9:30 p.m.
28 National Make a Difference Day
November, 2006
7 Election
Day-Office is Closed
23
Thanksgiving Holiday, Office is Closed
28 Winter Storm Class at 6:30. Place to be announced. Reservations for this class will begin on
November 1st.
* Other Activities may be
added. Watch your email for updates!!
**
Classes may need to be rescheduled in times of inclement weather or
Emergency Operations Center activation.
If you have questions about JCOHS activities, call 728-3329.
**
If you have activities that you would like to have added to the Calendar
of Events, please get the information to the JCOHS Office prior to the 15th
of each month.