20 Weeks to Preparedness (Week 1)

While putting together an emergency kit is important, it can also be a bit overwhelming. Instead of trying to build your kit in a couple of days, many professionals suggest breaking it up over a period of time. For the next 20 weeks we are going to highlight Lake Cumberland District Health Department’s “20 Weeks to Preparedness: Weekly Shopping Guide." The idea is to buy a few items each week as part of your regular shopping. This makes the cost and the time investment less overwhelming.

Keep in mind the items listed are only suggestions. MRC volunteers may find they want to include additional or different items in emergency preparedness kits for themselves and their family members.

Week 1

• 1 gallon of water (ultimately you will want 1 gallon per person, per day)
• 1 jar peanut butter
• 1 large can of juice
• 1 can of meat
• Hand operated can opener
• Permanent marking pen

National Vaccine Plan

Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued a new National Vaccine Plan. It includes strategies for advancing research and development, financing, supply, distribution, safety, global cooperation, and informed decision-making among consumers and health care providers. The National Vaccine plan consists of two phases: a strategic plan with overall goals and objectives to achieve over a 10-year period, and an implementation plan with measurable outcomes and process to achieve the goals of the plan. More details about the plan coming this spring. See the plan and more information by clicking here.

Information source: FEMA

Davis County Health Department Social Media

This month the Davis County Health Department launched a number of free social media information sources. MRC members who would like to learn more about the health department, programs offered, primary projects and more should bookmark the following links:

Twitter:
www.twitter.com/DavisCountyHlth, @DavisCountyHlth

Facebook:
www.facebook.com/DavisCountyHealth

YouTube:
www.youtube.com/daviscountyhealth

When Do I Activate?

From our Winter 2010 Newsletter

MRC volunteers only respond when they are officially activated.

During an emergency, MRC volunteers will be activated by the Davis County Health Department through Utah Responds when and if they are needed.

If you are not activated by the health department and given a specific response assignment under the incident command system, you do not have liability coverage or workers compensation protection. This is true for any emergency, exercise, drill, or other event. MRC volunteers do not self-deploy like CERT volunteers.

If a partner agency (city or hospital, for example) needs MRC volunteers they will contact the Davis County Health Department and make a formal request. The health department will then determine how many volunteers to activate and contact them through Utah Responds. Remember, other jurisdictions in the county do not have the authority to activate MRC volunteers.

Utah Responds: The 2011 MRC Summit

Davis County MRC volunteers can now register for Utah Responds: The 2011 MRC Summit.

This year's summit will be held at the Provo Marriott Hotel on April 9, 2011. Registration is through U-Train, details and instructions can be found at http://sites.google.com/site/utahmrc/2011-summit.

The summit is FREE and is available on a first-come first-serve basis. Some of the topics to be covered at this year's summit include:

• Disaster Responses
• Preparing for Deployments
• Utah Responds
• Psychological First Aid
• Earthquakes
• Triage
• Ethics in Disasters
• Sheltering for those with Limited English
• Pets in Emergencies
• Utah DMAT

If you plan to attend this training please remember to register as soon as possible because space is limited.

New Blog Posts

Unfortunately our blog has been silent for many months due to time, staffing and access considerations. However, we are now back up and running and will be able to provide MRC members valuable information on a weekly basis.

Thank you for your patience.

Book Recommendations

The national Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (OCVMRC) offered a list of suggested reading in their latest newsletter this month. Below is a summary of the recommended books:

From the Top Down - The Executive Role in Volunteer Management by Susan J. Ellis
This book addresses the senior decision-maker's role in developing strategy and resources for high-quality volunteer engagement.

Blink by Malcolm Gladwell
In Blink, the author explores how decisions are made, specifically those instant decisions that seem easy, but in reality are not.

Disaster Medicine by Gregory Ciottone, MD
Disaster Medicine offers readers a comprehensive guidance on the preparation, assessment, and management of a wide range of disasters. Reading this book may help you to prepare and manage your response to various disaster situations in your community.

Slide:ology: The Art and Science of Creating Great Presentations by Nancy Durate
In Slide:ology, Nancy Durate applies her experience and research on visual communication in order to create effective slide presentations. The book focuses on getting information across to audiences effectively, and there are plenty of examples for inspiration.

The Gendered Terrain of Disaster Through Women's Eyes by Elaine Enarson and Betty Hearn Morrow
This book looks at the different ways that disasters impact women and men, and how disaster managers and crisis-relief providers must address these differences in disaster preparedness and planning. Understanding gendered differences can help planners, organizers, practitioners, and residents alleviate the effects of a disaster, as well as make the community more resilient.

The First 72 Hours: A Community's Approach to Disaster Preparedness by Margaret O'Leary
The First 72 Hours explores the creation of the Suburban Emergency Management Project by leaders in the Chicago area. The book looks at various community perspectives on community resiliency and their roles in a disaster. It is a great resource for MRC leaders to identify and work with key stakeholders.

The New Breed: Understanding and Equipping the 21st Century Volunteer by Jonathan R. McKee and Thomas W. McKee
The New Breed talks about adapting to the changing world of volunteer management. It addresses the benefits of embracing both old and new school techniques that can be used to recruit and engage different types of volunteers.