Blanco County Disaster Response Group (BCDRG): Current Status & Newsletter:

BLANCO COUNTY DISASTER RESPONSE GROUP (BCDRG)

CURRENT STATUS AND SCHEDULE (NEWSLETTER)

No missions in progress. Back to planning, preparation and training.

FROM THE 03/01/10 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group newsletter includes:

1. Flu thank-you
2. Homeland Security Conference
3. Planning for 2010
4. Other people's training

1. FLU THANK-YOU -- You'll recall some of us went north to Burnet and Marble Falls in January to help with flu shot clinics there. Last Tuesday, in the worst snowstorm in 20 years, we slogged back north to the county courthouse where County Judge Donna Klaeger started the Commissioners Court session by thanking us and their local volunteers for the shot clinic support. The delegation from Blanco County stood out in our new orange vests. Burnet County is putting its own volunteer group together, starting with a lot more organizational structure than we have, but we're ahead on training and experience...so far. We hope to work together cooperatively with them.

2. HOMELAND SECURITY CONFERENCE -- This was a multi-day series of classes and discussions in San Antonio on disaster subjects, some practical and some esoteric, some pertinent to our interests and some not. Learned enough to make it well worth spending the time, even if it did mean commuting in SA's rush hour traffic. Ran into some old friends and made some new ones, especially some who can help our Blanco group. Some things I learned:
-- Texas counties' attitudes toward disaster preparedness range from taking it very seriously to giving it token interest. Consensus was counties which have had disasters all are in the former category; the latter category is made up of those who haven't had one...but will...at which time they'll join the former category.
-- State planners are focusing on psychological effects of disaster: fear, uncertainty, even terror. We'll address that in Planning for 2010, below.
-- Biggest volunteer need in Texas right now is for shelter-trained volunteers who can deploy when needed through the Red Cross. We have some, but need more, and will address that this year, too.
-- More Special Needs people are going to be housed in general-population shelters beginning this year. They don't plan to send us those needing serious medical care, but we can expect some with less-intense needs. We're not ready for that and need to be by hurricane season.
-- The county will be responsible for Point of Distribution sites, the lines of cars receiving food, water, ice, and other aid. The state will provide supplies, but everything else...including staffing...is up to the local county.

With the H1N1 swine flu last year, we saw the value in identifying needs in advance and getting out ahead of them, so when the needs arise, we're ready to meet them. Now Special Needs, counselors and shelter volunteers are on our radar coming over the horizon, so we'll get out ahead of them, too.

3. PLANNING FOR 2010 -- Thanks for the input on 2010 planning. Based on what we already knew about our needs, and what we've learned about what others need from us, and the interests you've expressed, here's what we hope to accomplish this year:
-- NOVA counseling training. This free four-hour course in April will credential us to go into the big evacuation shelters in San Antonio (and perhaps elsewhere) to do one-on-one psychological intervention with people trying to cope with a disaster.
-- CPR/AED/First Aid. We'll continue to offer these to the general community about every 90 days. The more folks in the county who can save my life, the better.
-- Shelter Operations. The American Red Cross course that prepares a volunteer to work in a shelter when disaster strikes. You can choose to work only in our own shelters in Blanco County, or elsewhere in the Hill Country, or statewide, or wherever.
-- Special Needs. We're not going to run a medical shelter, but we do need to prepare for marginal special needs cases among our general population. It doesn't take much to qualify...lose your glasses, evacuate without your meds, or turn an ankle...and you're Special Needs.
-- Point of Distribution. These are the food, water and ice distribution sites the Guard has been running but are now being turned over to the counties. We ought to know how to step in just in case some county in our area fails to do so.
-- Volunteer registration. The South West Conference of the United Methodist Church has committed to manage the registration function at San Antonio's disaster volunteer center. We expect they're going to need to train some folks to come help with that before hurricane season.
-- Rural Search and Rescue. Last summer, we were set for a training class and a field exercise when we got hijacked by the swine flu. We'll try it again this year.

We also have connected with two other mainstream disaster response organizations which are interested in providing us training in return for being able to call on us for volunteers when needed. Both the Salvation Army and Texas Baptist Men represent church denominations, but neither is picky about the religious affiliation of reliable, hard-working their volunteers. My feeling is, the more we learn, the more able we are to do whatever's needed; the more organizations we connect with, the more likely we are to get a call. More on these as discussions progress.

4. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville, and are free, unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.

3/2 6-10 -- CPR/AED Adult. (Charge)
3/6 8-9 -- New Volunteer Orientation. How the ARC works and how the volunteer fits into it.
3/11 9-12 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic training for all ARC volunteers.
3/11 1-4 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.
3/11 9-5 -- CPR/AED Professional. (Charge)
3/11 6-9:30 -- First Aid (Charge)
3/23 9-12 -- Shelter Operations. Basic course in setting up, opening, running and shutting down emergency shelters.
3/23 1-4 -- Shelter Simulation. Exercise to apply what you just learned in Shelter Operations.
3/24 1-5 -- SFA/CPR/AED Adult, Child, CPR Infant. (Charge)
3/30 5-10:30 -- CPR/AED Child Infant. (Charge)

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.

3/2 6-9 -- Shelter Simulation. Exercise to apply what you learned in Shelter Operations.
3/9 6-10 -- Psychological First Aid. How to recognize and intervene to reduce stress and anxiety in disaster survivors and the responders helping them. Good companion to our NOVA counseling class.
3/10 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
3/16 6-9 -- MCAT Workshop. Intro to the Mass Care Action Team concept and how to support disasters in this area with distribution and logistics.
3/20 8:30-4:30 -- Disaster Frontline Supervision and Simulation. For experienced ARC responders; how to lead response teams, and an exercise to apply the skills learned in class.
3/24 6-9 -- Disaster Action Team workshop. These are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org.

It may just be a website aberration, but the SA chapter shows no training scheduled for March.

Austin-Travis County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) is starting its basic training class for new members at 6 pm 3/2...required for membership...and a good opportunity to join the group (both membership and the training are free). The basic series of classes is a general overview of disaster response and roles individuals may play. Good opportunity to see what parts you'd like to get involved in, and even if you don't connect with a particular response specialty, you'll know what they're doing when you encounter them in the field. Plus you get to take the classes in the emergency operations center and play with the high-tech toys. Contact Linda.Haynie@ci.austin.tx.us.

ONLINE LEARNING -- From the comfort of your own computer, at your own speed, on your own schedule. Free unless otherwise noted, although most require registration.

FLOOD PREPAREDNESS -- FEMA's flood experts will talk flood preparedness for an hour from 1-2 pm (Texas time) Wednesday, 3/3, in a free video session transmitted over the internet. No registration required, no special equipment...point your computer web browser toward http://www.citizencorps.gov/news/webcasts/floodwebinar.shtm and drop in. It would be wise to go to the website a little early to make sure you're working when it starts. You do know the Texas hill country is flash-flood capitol of the world, don't you?

NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON COMMUNITY PREPAREDNESS -- It actually was held last August, but lots of presentation texts, handouts and PowerPoint presentations are posted on line. The conference was a catch-all of preparedness topics, from the special needs of children after disasters to cooperation between local government and volunteers to decontaminating hospitals. Go to the conference website at http://www.citizencorps.gov/nccp/ and browse the topics.

POD POINT OF DISTRIBUTION -- If you'd like to get ahead of our training schedule, FEMA's Emergency Management Institute offers an online course to introduce you to PODs and how to set up, staff and run one. We may find ourselves doing that one of these days. It's free, but they'll want you to register. http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is26.asp

SPECIAL NEEDS SHELTERING -- Another way to get ahead of us is through this 3-hour, online course from The New York Center for Public Health Preparedness. Go to http://www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/default.cfm and click on the "Register" button for the course. It's free, but they'll want you to register.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 02/01/10 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group newsletter includes:
1. Flu shot clinics
2. Haiti relief
3. CPR training
4. Planning for 2010
5. Vested interest
6. Other people's training

1. FLU SHOT CLINICS -- I don't know about you, but I'm glad to see this one end. It has been a dead run through January. Back in December, the H1N1 vaccine was coming in so slowly there was talk we might not have a Department of State Health Services clinic to support before the holidays. Then the dam broke. We did one in December in Johnson City that vaccinated 402 people, which may be a 50-year record here. (The polio vaccinations of the late 50s and early 60s may have topped that number, but nobody seems to know that count.) Then in January we provided volunteers for two in Blanco and another one in JC, plus Lampasas, Burnet and Marble Falls, and helped DSHS set up one in Llano. We have one to go, Feb 9 in Blanco, and our scheduled clinics will be done.

Your work definitely was noticed. DSHS staff have been delighted with your performance, both the quantity and quality of volunteers. You made their lives a lot easier. They thank you very much. As one said, if a health emergency pops in Central Texas, we're the first call for volunteer support.

2. HAITI RELIEF -- As if the shot clinics weren't enough, the earthquake in Haiti provided a fulltime job in itself, and you came through like champs again. Our role was to acquire and pack the contents of personal health kits to help head off disease that everyone knew would follow. We partnered with the Kerrville District of the United Methodist Church (which brought several area churches to the table) and opened the campaign area-wide, which drew other churches and organizations. Together, we've already delivered almost 500 kits to the San Antonio end of the pipeline, and have almost 250 more packed to go, and enough parts for one last assembly that should take us over 900 by the end of this week. If you're thinking that's a lot, it is. The Kerrville District superintendent's reaction just to the first batch was "Wow!". He said you guys move mountains routinely, and especially so with this project, and he's right. Some big organizations in much bigger cities were proud to have done a fraction of what you did. You are definitely on the radar.

3. PLANNING FOR 2010 -- Our next event is a planning meeting at 10 Saturday morning, Feb 27, at the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City. We'll be in one of the classrooms in the back of the building. We've talked about learning to deal with special needs people, both in shelters and out. Last summer we had planned training in rural search and rescue, but got diverted by flu stuff, and we've discussed returning to that plan. We have a course semi-scheduled for April in counseling people after disasters, especially in shelters, which will qualify us to go to the big shelters in San Antonio and do one-on-one counseling. There are a couple more possibilities in the works, too.

What else? Got an idea? Something you think you'd like to do? Some capability missing in the community? 10 am Saturday, 2/27.

4. CPR TRAINING -- In the middle of all of the above came the long- scheduled American Red Cross CPR and First Aid training class. We've committed to do four CPR classes this year, two with First Aid attached and two with Infants and Children's CPR and the use of AEDs attached. The next class will be in April, and will be CPR, Infants and Children's CPR, and AEDs. We'll do First Aid again in the summer. If you need to get your CPR ticket punched, plan ahead.

5. VESTED INTEREST -- Have you noticed our bright orange vests around? You certainly have seen them -- worn them -- if you've volunteered with us this month, and you can't have missed them if you've been reading the local papers. They pop out for safety both in sunlight and after dark. They also identify us by organization with inserts front and back, and the inserts can be changed when we are representing someone else. Thanks to Hochheim Prairie Farm Mutual Insurance and the JC Lions Club for the funding that bought them.

6. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville, and are free, unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.
2/2 6-10:30 -- CPR and AEDs. (Fee)
2/11 9-5 -- CPR and AEDs for professional responders. (Fee)
2/11 6-10:30 -- First Aid. (Fee)
2/23 5-10:30 -- Adult and Children's CPR plus AEDs. (Fee)
*2/24 9-12 -- Mass Care. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.
2/24 9-5 -- In-Kind Donation Workshop. How the ARC solicits, accepts and uses in-kind donations in disaster response and day-to-day operations.
*2/25 9-12 -- Shelter Operations. Basic course in setting up, opening, running and shutting down emergency shelters.
*2/25 1-4 -- Shelter Simulation. Putting into practice what you learned in the morning course.
2/26 9-4 -- Fundamentals of Disaster Public Affairs. How to get the ARC story and information out through public media in a local disaster.
2/26 8-11:30 -- Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism. What a WMD or terrorist incident might look like (yes, even in the Hill Country) and how we and others might respond to the various situations.
2/27 9-5 -- Adult, Children's and Infants CPR plus AEDs. (Fee)

*This set of courses is assembled to get you from rookie volunteer to disaster-ready in two days.

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.
2/10 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
2/16 6-9 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.
2/17 6-9 -- Disaster Action Team workshop. These are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
2/20 8:30-12 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
2/20 9-3 -- ERVs; Ready, Set, Roll. How to drive and operate the ARC's Emergency Response Vehicles, those ambulance-looking trucks that carry personnel and supplies, or set up to feed people.
2/20 1-4 -- Disaster Action Team workshop. These are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
2/23 6-9 -- Shelter Operations. Basic course in setting up, opening, running and shutting down emergency shelters.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org/.
2/4 6-9 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.
2/11 6-8 -- Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
2/20 9-5 -- Logistics Overview. How to get needed supplies from here to there correctly and on time in a disaster environment.
2/25 6-8:30 -- Disaster Assessment Basics. How to assess the amount and nature of damage in an incident as a first-glance guide to planning what and how much assistance the community will need.
2/26 9-4:30 -- Fundamentals of Disaster Public Affairs. How to get the ARC story and information out through public media in a local disaster.
2/27 9-1 -- ERVs; Ready, Set, Roll. How to drive and operate the ARC's Emergency Response Vehicles, those ambulance-looking trucks that carry personnel and supplies, or set up to feed people.

HELICOPTERS -- There's a free helicopter landing zone class in Austin Saturday, 2/13. Granted, it's a skill you probably will never need, but you get to play with the big toys. They'll fly in several emergency-response choppers between 7:45 and 8:15. From 8:30 'til 12:30 they'll run an indoor class on how search, rescue, and ambulance helicopters operate and what they can do, and how to set up a safe landing zone for them out in the middle of nowhere. They'll build in plenty of time for guided tours of all the toys, plus mobile command post, search dogs, etc. It's on the big parking lot of the Shoreline Christian Center, which is waaay up MoPac at 15201 Burnet Rd. If you want to go, or might go, pre-register (they need a headcount, plus it puts your name in the drawing for door prizes) by going to www.mset-tx.org and clicking on the LZ Class Registration link.

SPIRITUAL AND EMOTIONAL CARE -- When disasters strike and the big shelters in San Antonio open, there is a need for spiritual and emotional care counselors to work with survivors one-on-one. Many of us know how from the fill-day UMCOR course, but it is this half-day version that gets us credentialed to work in the shelter. The training is free, but if you want a box lunch at the start it is (I believe) $5. This class will be at 1 pm at the first Presbyterian Church in downtown San Antonio. It will be offered again in March, also in San Antonio (date not yet set) and it is semi-confirmed for April for us in Johnson City, which should be the most convenient for you. I plan to take the class this month, just to get ahead of the schedule. If you want to do so, you're welcome to ride down with me, but I have to be there for a regional disaster responders' meeting in the morning (which you're welcome to attend) so it'll be a long day. It's free but they want a headcount (especially for lunches); call Patricia at 210-525-9954. Or let me know if you want to go, either with me or independently.

TEXAS HOMELAND SECURITY CONFERENCE -- Weeklong conference in San Antonio on homeland security and disaster response. There's a registration fee: $35 for members of a volunteer agency, which ought to include us. It's from 1 pm Monday to 11:30 Thursday in the Henry B Gonzalez Convention Center. Monday is formalities and the keynote speaker. The rest of the week is workshops on lots of topics. For details, go to https://www.preparingtexas.org/viewConferenceWorkshop.aspx?instanceid=1684459c-445b-41c5-8634-f864e603dd55&home=1 and get the word directly. You can pre-register online, too. From Blanco County we can commute in, but if you want to avoid the traffic, there are special hotel rates.

ONLINE LEARNING -- From the comfort of your own computer, at your own speed, on your own schedule. Free unless otherwise noted, although most require registration.

How prepared were we for the H1N1 pandemic? Now that the danger appears to be past, 20-20 hindsight kicks in and questions and accusations arise and fly. This knowledgeable assessment says we actually did pretty well, with the bad luck mostly hitting where it didn't matter much, and the good luck coming where it was most critical, and sound decisions in between. Read the details for yourself at www.nwcphp.org/training/hot-topics.

A year ago, the county extension office took over the job of setting up an emergency animal shelter in conjunction with any disaster shelter we might open. If you have an interest there, the School of Public Health at the State University of New York at Albany has an online course for you: Emergency Animal Sheltering. Go to http://www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/default.cfm.

Want to work with children and youth after a disaster? This isn't intended to be an online course, but the Community Arise disaster ministry has its instructor guide, participant's workbook and PowerPoint slides available on line at http://www.communityarise.com/CMChildYouthDisaster.htm . Download and educate yourself.

Food Safety -- If you're one who suffered through the norovirus from hell this past month or so and are wondering whether you might have picked it up from a food handler, here's your answer: maybe. For more details on how food processing and food-borne diseases are changing, drop in on this one-hour internet presentation from the State University of New York at Albany, School of Public Health, from 8 to 9 am NEXT Thursday, 2/18. Free but allow time to register at http://www.informz.net/ualbany-sph/event.asp?eid=3523&uid=189354592&minst=938362.

Management of Epidemic Disease -- Curious about how the swine flu response stacks up? Or how the lessons learned in that pandemic will affect future responses? The Alabama Department of Public Health will do a 90-minute webcast on the subject which you can watch on your computer at 12 noon NEXT Thursday, 2/18. It's free but you have to register, so don't wait 'til the last minute. You can register any time at http://adph.org/ALPHTN/Default.asp?id=4019. Thanks to Jacque Hagerty at DSHS for the tip on this one.

Early Response Team -- These are the teams the United Methodist Church sends into disaster areas to help people clean up and patch up their homes so they can start serious repairs. This day-long course will teach you how to do that and credential you to go with a team when disaster strikes. It's at Dripping Springs UMC, 28900 Ranch Road 12 in Dripping Springs, Saturday, 2/13, at 8:30 am. Contact is Eugene Hileman at aehileman@umcswtx.org.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 01/03/10 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group newsletter includes:

1. Flu shot clinics
2. Close call for Christmas
3. World famous!
4. January class
5. February meeting
6. Other people's training

1. FLU SHOT CLINICS -- The Texas Department of State Health Services has been saying very nice things about you behind your back again.

In December, we supported DSHS with two H1N1 swine flu shot clinics, one for Lampasas County in Lampasas and one in Johnson City for Blanco County. We had fewer of our volunteers who could go to Lampasas on short notice, but enough, and we worked through the First United Methodist Church there to add some local volunteers, who did a very good job. A few days later, we were doing another one on our home turf with our own volunteers. Both clinics went very well from our perspective, and we learned a lot in both cases. In addition to providing a first pass at vaccinating the populations against flu, the clinics were learning opportunities for DSHS, too. They know what their plans said would work, but this was the chance to see how that would play out in reality. Even in the few days between Lampasas on Monday and JC on Friday, both they and we made adjustments in our plans. One result was that in the second shot clinic, we helped DSHS vaccinate 402 of our neighbors, which may have been a record for Blanco County. One important lesson learned: it really helps to have a well-organized, enthusiastic, trained volunteer group for support. You should have received the list of lessons-learned our volunteers sent forward to DSHS based on these first clinics.

Notice I said "these first" clinics. There are more coming for Blanco County, and DSHS wants our help again. The tentative schedule is:
1/12 -- Students at Blanco Elementary
1/20 -- Open to all, Trinity Lutheran Church, Blanco
1/28 -- Open to all, First United Methodist Church, JC
2/2 -- Students in Johnson City schools, held in First United Methodist Church, JC
2/9 -- Students at Blanco Middle and High We are not sure yet what support will be needed from us in the Blanco schools. The rules on background checks for all volunteers in the schools may or may not get in the way, and we don't know from DSHS what they'll need from us. The clinic on the 20th will be a repeat of the ones we we've already done, just in a different place and probably with fewer people coming through. The one on the 2nd will be in the church in JC again, but with smaller patients. On the 9th we're back in Blanco schools, also with unknown needs and issues.

All that means you're needed again. If you can help us on one or more of these dates, your help will be valuable and appreciated. I'll get another memo out when we know more about the needs.

2. CLOSE CALL FOR CHRISTMAS -- You almost got called to duty over Christmas. The Christmas storm in the Panhandle was fiercer than expected and surprised some communities with blocked highways, lost power, and frozen water pipes. Then there were the nine tornadoes that went through a residential part of Lufkin Christmas Eve. We were asked to "stand by to stand by", but it never got to the point of even a real alert. In the Panhandle, the shelters and warming stations opened and closed before the roads cleared, and in Lufkin the Red Cross was able to close its shelter quickly, too.

3. WORLD FAMOUS! -- You already know that we work closely with the United Methodist Church. One thing we do with them is maintain an H1N1 flu information section on the UMC's Kerrville District website, which we started building last summer and continue to expand today. The webmaster tells me we get 500-600 hits a month on the pages, most of them from the Hill Country (as you'd expect), but others from all over the world...China, India, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, etc. Not bad for us hicks in the sticks of Central Texas! If you haven't taken a look, you'll find it at http://home.ktc.com/kdumc/DisasterPlan/flunew.htm.

You may get a warning that the website contains malware or computer virus (ironic for a flu information site) but go ahead anyway. The webmaster has been tearing his hair out trying to figure out what's causing it...multiple scans of the website find no such toxic material...Google, which posts the warning, can't find out what's tripping its alarms...and nobody's reported any infection problem from the site.

4. JANUARY CLASS -- This month we'll do the American Red Cross First Aid and Adult CPR classes at 9 am Saturday, January 23, in the Activity Building of the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City. This is a health-and-safety class, not a disaster class, so the ARC charges for it: $20 for Adult CPR and $10 for First Aid. You can take one or both. CPR is from 9 to 12:30, then we'll send out for sandwiches, and resume with First Aid from 1 to 3. This is part of the plan to do shorter ARC training sessions and more frequent, rather than trying to do CPR, First Aid, AEDs, etc all on the same day, once a year. Plan now is to offer CPR again in April, so if you know someone who needs to renew their certification, it's now or then.

5. FEBRUARY MEETING -- This probably will be a planning meeting, perhaps with some outside expertise imported to help us figure out what we want to be when we grow up and how to get there. On the table for this year are special needs people, emotional care in disasters and rural search and rescue. Your thoughts on those or any other topic welcome. Deets in the next newsletter.

6. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville unless otherwise noted. Charges apply unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.
1/12 6-10:30 -- Adult CPR, AED
1/14 6-9:30 -- First Aid
1/21 9-5 -- Professional CPR/AED
1/23 9-3 -- Adult CPR ($20) with First Aid ($10) First UMC, Johnson City
1/23 9-5 -- Adult/Child/Infant CPR, SFA, AED
1/26 5-10:30 -- Adult/Child CPR, AED
1/29 1-5 -- Child/Infant CPR Review
1/29 6-10:30 -- FIT
1/30-31 9-5 -- Lay Responder Instructor

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.
1/20 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
1/21 6-9 -- Mass Care Action Teams. Introduction to MCATs and how they respond to disasters in Central Texas.
1/23 9-5 -- Foundations of Disaster Mental Health. Basic course on applying theory to real-world disaster response situations.
1/26 6-9 -- Bulk Distribution Operations. Getting the goods from here to there in disaster relief.
1/28 6-9 -- Disaster Action Team (DAT) Workshop. How to deliver immediate aid to survivors of personal disasters, such as housefires.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org/.

(It may just be an internet glitch, but the SA ARC shows no disaster classes offered in January.)

Online training -- free unless otherwise noted, although you may have to register.

American Red Cross online courses are available through the Centex Chapter in Austin. Send your name, address, email address and phone to Melissa Payne (mpayne@centex.redcross.org) to create a student registration. Courses include Introduction to Disaster Services (the basic disaster response course) and Logistics During a Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism Event (which is pretty much as it says).

Want to get your church or church group involved in disaster ministry? Step one takes about an hour and a half, and it doesn't have to be all at once. Community Arise offers an online course in Basic Disaster Ministry, including who plays what roles in disaster response and how faith-based organizations fit in. Works for a civic club or church committee, too. Go to http://www.communityarise.com/online.htm and click "Launch Course".

Winter and spring make for exciting weather in the Hill Country (summer and fall can be stimulating, too) so it's timely that a course on Anticipating Hazardous Weather and Community Risk is being offered by the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (COMET). Online course covers how to interpret and use weather forecasts for hazard preparation, recognizing potentially hazardous weather and it includes a basic introduction to meteorology. Go to http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is271.asp and follow the instructions.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 12/05/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:

1. Flu shot clinics
2. What else we're doing
3. Planning for 2010
4. Other people's training

1. FLU SHOT CLINICS -- Saddle up, flu fighters! We're going to work. The Department of State Health Services has scheduled the county's first H1N1 flu shot clinic for Friday, December 18, from 11 to 7 and they're counting on us to provide volunteer support. We'll need at least seven people at all times, but nobody needs to be there all the time. You can sign up for as much or as little of the day as you can give. The early shift needs to plan to come early...about 10...to open up and set up for the clinic; the late shift needs to plan to stay late because they expect to run late to shoot everyone who's in line by 7. It's at the First United Methodist Church in JC. There will be a second shot clinic in Blanco, but not until after the first of the year. We'll be asked to help there, too.

To sign up for the 18th, please email me with the time you expect to be available. If you have to change that between now and the 18th, that's fine, but I need to be making up the schedule to make sure we're covered. I'll be out of town for a few days, so if you need to ask a question, please do it by email r call my cell: 713-252-2288.

There's also a possibility we'll be asked to help with shot clinics elsewhere. Not many places have the pool of POD-trained volunteers we do, so we look like a good resource. San Antonio, for example, plans to run shot clinics through the city-county health department, the Metropolitan Health District. Problem is, they have no POD trained volunteers, and when their rep talked to me, they didn't know when they might be able to train some. Lampasas also is concerned about finding enough volunteers there. Once we get into January, there will be lots more shot clinics around the Hill Country. They'd rather use local folks, of course, but we're on their speed-dial if they can't recruit 'em.

2. WHAT ELSE WE'RE DOING -- Gretchen Sanders, the Texas AgriLife Extension Service's county agent for Family and Consumer Services, did a session on foods to feed a flu patient, including some things you already knew and some that were news to us. A DVD of the presentation has gone to each of the county's two libraries as a resource for whoever's interested, and two copies are in the office of the First United Methodist Church in Johnson City for the same purpose.

The fall wave of H1N1 flu appears to have peaked and is declining, but don't let mere numbers fool you. The peak in numbers of cases means half the people who are going to catch it have done so, but the other half are yet to come. Another fact is that numbers of serious flu cases and flu deaths tend to lag behind case numbers, because it may take a week or two for a case to turn bad. So the peak in hospitalizations comes along a couple of weeks behind the case peak, and the peak in deaths is another week or so behind that. Today, for example, the CDC announced the number of flu cases is down again, but the number of deaths continues to rise. An American child dies of flu- related illness every 4.8 hours.

And although we're in a lull for the moment, there's more to come. Regular seasonal flu starts its climb in mid-December, and we've seen very little of that yet. Will swine flu continue at a low level while seasonal flu peaks in February? Will H1N1 ride the favorable winter weather to another peak then, too? Will there be another swine flu wave this spring? Nobody knows. On that last question, CDC queried the world's leading flu experts. Half said yes, half said no, and one honest soul said he had no idea...and recommended flipping a coin.

3. PLANNING FOR 2010 -- We'll have more details in the next newsletter, but we plan to offer the American Red Cross certification courses in CPR and First Aid on Saturday, 1/24.

Also details to come, but a group in San Antonio will offer training there in disaster psychological and emotional intervention and support. The main course, to come later in the spring, is 40 hours long and will be broken up into five consecutive Thursdays. A shorter, 5-hour version, though, will be offered once each in January, February and March in SA...and they've agreed to bring the course to you in Blanco County, too. Don't know when yet. Stay tuned.

The other things we've talked about are still cooking, too: special needs sheltering, rural search-and-rescue...what else? Something you'd like to see us do? Let us know.

4. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- Actually, there isn't a lot of classroom training in December because of holiday conflicts, but you're welcome to attend what there is. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 512-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.

12/16 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org.

12/12 9-2 -- Disaster Casework: Providing Emergency Assistance. How to connect disaster survivors with the support they need for immediate needs.

12/15 9-12 -- Weapons of Mass Destruction: Terrorism Overview. Real- world planning and response for terrorist attack.

Children are not just short adults...they're different...and so is the way we help them following disasters. The Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health offers a free online course in how they're different and what we need to do to help children in disaster. You'll need to register, but the course is free. Start at http://www.ncdp.mailman.columbia.edu/childrentrauma/index.html and go from there.

At the other end of the age spectrum is another group with special needs in disasters: the elderly. Yale University's New Haven Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response has a short course on line titled Geriatric Preparedness, Triage and Treatment in Disasters, and it includes how the elderly are physically different from the rest of the population and what we as responders need to do differently to help them better. Free, but you'll need to register. http://ynhhs.emergencyeducation.org/flyers/EM260_CourseFlyer.pdf

In the Hill Country, agriculture is our big industry (after selling antiques to tourists). FEMA's Emergency Management Institute will teach you about responding to disaster involving agriculture and natural resources, how ag disaster response works, how and where to get help. It's free on line, although they'll want you to register. Go to http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS811.asp.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 10/06/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:

Yeah, I know it's late. Mea culpa.

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group newsletter includes:
1. Current weather
2. Swine flu: It's here
3. Other people's training

1. BAD WEATHER FORECAST FOR TONIGHT -- A warm front passed over our area today, moving south to north, dragging in a lot of warm, moist air. Overnight, a cool front is supposed to cross northwest to southeast, bringing cool air behind it. When they meet over Blanco and surrounding counties, the weather bureau says there could be severe thunderstorms, heavy rains, and flooding. Could make for an eventful Wednesday for us. Stay tuned.

2. SWINE FLU: IT'S HERE -- If you don't know anyone who's had the swine flu yet, you're one of the few. It's a bit worse in the south end of the county than in the north, but it's present in both places. Some nearby communities have been hit hard. Here's what we're doing:

The Department of State Health Services trained almost 40 of us to help in DSHS shot clinics. We'll put that training to work from 9 to noon Wednesday, Oct 21, in a shot clinic at the 1st United Methodist Church in Johnson City. It will offer regular seasonal flu vaccine for $10 and pneumonia shots for $20. Medicare covers both. If you can't afford the fees, the shots are free. DSHS tells us they'll call on us for volunteers again when they do swine flu shot clinics, beginning later this month or early next.

We trained more than a dozen people to be call-takers at a flu information phone bank, then dropped the idea. The state has beefed up its 2-1-1 system and the amount of additional benefit we could offer just isn't worth the man-hours. To access the state system, just dial 2-1-1 from any phone in Texas, 24-7, in English or Spanish. Option 6 gets you swine flu, so to speak.

We sponsored a presentation on H1N1 prevention and treatment by Mark Rogers, from the Hill Country Memorial Hospital System in Fredericksburg. We made a video recording and burned it to disk to lend out, and will offer a copy to the libraries in Blanco and JC.

We continue to provide the county's two weekly papers with local stories on swine flu. Other area papers have picked up stories occasionally. We've also had a couple of pieces on Austin TV and have one working with the Wall Street Journal. Meanwhile, the flu website we built and maintain through the Kerrville District of the United Methodist Church continues to draw hits by the hundreds. It's at http://home.ktc.com/kdumc/DisasterPlan/flunew.htm .

We're ready to start taking calls to run errands for people home-bound with flu, such as runs to the grocery or pharmacy. Need more volunteers on the list who may be able to make some of those runs for us.

We also are collecting names and numbers for people who live alone or for other reasons need a call now and then through the flu season to check on them. They might be widows or widowers, sole caregivers to a chronically ill relative, or a single parent. If you know someone who ought to get a call, or are willing to take a couple of names yourself, let us know.

Yet to come: classes in medicating the flu with over-the-counter products, home remedies and prescription meds, and a non- denominational class on doing pastoral care by telephone.

As should be obvious, swine flu is pretty well filling our plate for the foreseeable future.

5. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville, and are free, unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.

10/7 6-10 -- CPR and Managing Your Stress. $25

10/14 9-10 -- H1N1 Swine Flu Overview, Prevention and Treatment. Yours truly stars in this one. Come get a front-row seat and heckle. Free and worth every penny.

10/15 1-5 -- First Aid and Slips, Trips and Falls. $25

10/24 9-5 -- First Aid with Adult, Child and Infant CPR. This is the full course. $40 10/30 1-5:30 -- CPR/AED Professional Renewal. For healthcare pros who need the certification. $35

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org .

10/13 6-9 -- Psychological First Aid. Why stress happens in clients and disaster workers, and what to do about it.

10/15 6-9 Disaster Action Team (DAT) -- these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

10/17 9-2 -- Client Casework. Forms and paperwork and the work that goes behind them to connect those in need with the help available.

10/19 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.

10/24 9-4 -- Fundamentals of Disaster Public Affairs. Overview of the media relations job and how ARC volunteers respond to media contacts.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org/ .

10/7 9-5 -- Logistics Overview and Logistics Simulation. How the Material Support Group gets disaster supplies and equipment from Point A to Point B, followed by a practical exercise.

10/8 6-8 -- Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

10/9 6-9 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.

10/10 9-12:30 Disaster Frontline Supervisor and Simulation -- how to guide the work of disaster response teams so they and the clients are better served.

10/14-15 9-5 -- Mass Care II. How to be a Mass Care supervisor or manager on a major disaster. Must attend both days for credit.

10/17 1-4 -- Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.

10/21 6-10 -- Psychological First Aid. Why stress happens in clients and disaster workers, and what to do about it.

10/24 9-3 -- Shelter Operations and Shelter Simulation. How to serve clients in a disaster shelter, how shelters work, how to set them up and take them down.

Now that the flu vaccines are coming out, getting people to come get them is the next challenge. Many people refuse to get the shots for reasons that are, for the most part, bogus. An online presentation titled "Vaccine Acceptance" will explore why, and what to do to boost acceptance of the shots. It's sponsored by the State University of New York, University at Albany, School of Public Health. To register, go to http://www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/registration/tab.cfm and follow the leads. It's free but you'll need to register.

You often hear disaster response professionals urge audiences to take the Incident Command System (ICS) courses, which teach you how disaster response is organized and who's in charge of what. A knowledge of ICS lets you go anywhere in the country and work at any level of disaster response, and know where you fit in the organization the first minute you walk in the door. It also tells you where to go to get what help. The basic course is ICS-100, Introduction to the ICS, available as an online course from FEMA's Emergency Management Institute at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100A.asp . It's free but you have to register.

I think we've mentioned it before, but many of the seminars and discussions and speeches from the 2009 National Hurricane Conference are available online. Why is an inland county interested in a hurricane conference? Because it's not just about hurricanes...its a good overview of lots of aspects of disaster response through dozens of presentations. Go to http://content.041072.com/viewer.php?tid=177483< /A> and pick a category. You'll have to watch the sponsoring company's video to get in, but after that, many hours of classes are all free.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 08/28/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:
1. August ARC Shelter operations class
2. Swine flu: It's here
3. Swine flu: Local
4. Our training schedule
5. Other people's training

1. AUGUST ARC SHELTER OPERATIONS CLASS -- We had 14 people in the class in Blanco, some new to the subject and some re-taking it for the refresher. Always glad to have both, especially with the hurricane season getting active after a slow start.

Everything else has sort of gone on hold until we finish with the swine flu.

2. SWINE FLU: IT'S HERE -- A presidential panel says half of all Americans may get swine flu this season; the World Health Organization says it'll only be a third. That's so much quibbling over fractions. The consensus is everyone is vulnerable to the disease...millions will get it....and as many as 100,000 will die. The optimists think it won't really hit until cool weather. The pessimists think we lit a short fuse when school started. What all the experts agree on is it's coming soon. The fear is not that the swine flu is so bad, because it's not, it's no worse than a regular flu. The fear is because nobody's immune, so a huge number will get it. Although the death rate is a small number (less than 1% of all flu cases), a small percent of a huge number of cases means a big number of dead, and a bigger number that come close. And no one can stop it. It takes six months to produce a flu vaccine, so starting from the April appearance of this one, the vaccine would be due in October, which is when the first deliveries are expected. But not for any of us. Top priorities for the small supply will be pregnant women, children under five, children through post-adolescence with chronic risk factors (like asthma), medical workers, etc. Healthy older adults are at the end of the line, probably getting our shots after the first of the year. The reason is that it hits pregnant women hardest, then children, and older folks are affected least.

MEANWHILE, the regular flu DOES hit us old folks hardest, and all the swine flu concern comes on top of the regular flu, which kills 36,000 Americans in an average year, almost all of them retirees. We're at the front of the line for that shot.

SHORT VERSION: don't panic about the swine flu, but do take it seriously, and don't forget the regular flu, and help us take care of those who get sick.

3. SWINE FLU: LOCAL -- We can't stop the flu, but we still can do something about it, and we are. You can help. A Blanco County coalition of churches, non-profits, government agencies and individuals are building a support net for residents who have to cope with the flu -- either as patients or caregivers -- without much outside medical help. We're starting with information -- you may have read the stories we've had in the two weekly papers in the county -- making people more aware. We're starting a series of training classes on flu topics, beginning this weekend and running through September and maybe beyond (schedule below).

There are projects where you can play a direct role, too. We're setting up a telephone call center with flu information, and need volunteer calltakers (we'll provide the information). We'll also make calls out to people living alone to keep up with their well-being, and need callers. We'll run simple errands, such as picking up groceries or prescriptions, for those who can't get out to do it themselves, and need runners. We need people to train to help in shot clinics when there is enough vaccine available to hold them (training classes will be this Saturday and the following Wednesday).

We created a database of guidance for churches, businesses and families and the Kerrville District of the United Methodist Church posted it on its website at http://home.ktc.com/kdumc/DisasterPlan/flunew.htm. The information is not exclusively for Methodists. We continue adding to the section on how to care for a swine flu patient at home.

4. OUR TRAINING SCHEDULE: still flexible, with some classes moving as needs and problems arise. At this moment, here's how it looks...

Saturday, 8/29 -- Shot clinic volunteer training at the New Hope Lutheran Church, in the All Faiths Chapel building, 9th and Elm, in Blanco -- 9 am to 12 noon. (You only need to attend one of these classes to be certified; we're doing three to make it more convenient for you.)

Saturday, 8/29 -- Shot clinic volunteer training at First United Methodist Church Activity Building, 105 North LBJ at Pecan, in Johnson City -- 2 to 5 pm.

Wednesday, 9/2 -- Shot clinic volunteer training at St Luke's Episcopal Church, 263 Spur 962 in Cypress Mill -- 6:30 to 9:30 pm.

Saturday, 9/19 -- Call center volunteering; how to be a telephone question-answerer on swine flu and related topics. We provide the information, you provide a few hours of time. 10 am. Fellowship Hall, First United Methodist Church, Johnson City.

Saturday, 9/26 -- How to care for a swine flu patient at home without much outside assistance. This will be taught by Mark Rogers from Hill Country Memorial Hospital System in Fredericksburg. Location to come.

Monday, 10/5 -- Pastoral care, emotional support, spiritual support by telephone to flu patients and their caretakers. This is one of the topics you can use in a variety of situations for the rest of your life. 7 pm, location to be determined.

Topics yet to be scheduled: How to make phone calls to check on people and ease the stress of the afflicted; how to medicate a flu case with over-the-counter products (and what NOT to take); and more as we find topics and presenters.

All training and classes will be free. For more information, watch the local papers. I'll try to get email notes out on all of them. And you can always call or email me.

5. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

Austin/Travis County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) -- Most training is in the Emergency Operations Center. Free.

9/8 6-9 -- Flu Clinic support training. Similar to the training we're doing in Blanco County this weekend and next Wednesday, but specific to Travis County, where the county health department does the shot clinics. Enables one to volunteer in a shot clinic, which earns the volunteer a free flu shot.

9/12 1-5 -- Austin Amateur Radio Club HAM technician license class; first of four classes. Class is free, manual costs $25. St David's Medical Center, 1025 E 32nd St, Austin. Free parking in the garage. (General HAM license class coming when they get enough takers to fill a class. To get on the waiting list, contact AARC at n5mnw@arrl.net.

9/22 6-9 -- CERT class kickoff. Series of weekly classes qualifies graduates as CERT members.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville, and are free, unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.

9/3 9-5 -- First Aid with Adult, Child and Infant CPR. This is the full course. ($40)

9/10-12 9-6 -- First Aid/CPR/AED Instructor. Qualifies you to teach the courses. Three days; second and third days are shorter. ($130)

9/17 9-4 -- Adult/child CPR with First Aid ($35)

9/25 1-5:30 -- CPR/AED Professional Renewal. For healthcare pros who need the certification. ($35)

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.

8/1 9-12:30 Disaster Frontline Supervision -- how to guide the work of disaster response teams so they and the clients are better served.

8/5 8:30-3:30 Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan: Shelter Manager Training -- how to manage a shelter in Austin's regional shelter program. Requires FEMA's ICS-100 online basic Incident Command course. Fire Station 2, 1570 Cypress Creek Rd, Cedar Park.

8/6 6-9 Disaster Action Team (DAT) -- these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

9/12 9-4:30 -- Logistics Overview and Logistics Simulation. How the Material Support Group gets disaster supplies and equipment from Point A to Point B, followed by a practical exercise.

9/16 6-9:30 -- Fulfilling Our Mission. Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.

9/22 6-9 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.

9/26 9-2 -- Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV). How to drive, maintain and work out of one of those ambulance-looking vehicles the ARC uses to distribute food and other supplies in a disaster area.

9/29 6-9 -- Mass Care Action Team (MCAT) Workshop. How to support the ARC response to moderate and large disasters.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org/.

9/4 9-5 -- Disaster Fundraising. What if they gave a disaster and there was no money? These are the folks who keep that from happening. It's also a skill you can transfer to other organizations.

9/10 6-8 -- Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

9/11 9-5 -- Client Casework. Forms and paperwork and the work that goes behind them to connect those in need with the help available.

9/17 6-9 -- Mass Care Overview. Intro to the Mass Care function of the ARC; what it is and how it works.

9/19 1-4 -- Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.

9/23 6-10 -- Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment. How to gather and assemble data that tells who needs what assistance in which area.

Lloyd Madison, who obviously needs more to do, found a promo for a computer game called "The Great Flu", in which players go up against a new flu virus and try to use modern epidemiological tools to prevent a global pandemic. The demo is at http://www.thegreatflu.com/. It also links to a TV show demonstration, but it's all in Dutch.

It wasn't specifically prepared for swine flu, but the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center (NERRTC) offers an online course called "Introduction to SNS and Mass Prophylaxis". SNS is the Strategic National Stockpile of medications that can be immediately dispatched to an area threatened by disease, whether from pandemic or terrorism. Mass Prophylaxis means getting those medications into enough arms or mouths to halt or prevent the spread of the disease. Takes the process from identification of the disease up to the shot clinic training we'll be doing this weekend and Wednesday. Does that fit together or what? Free, but you have to register.

Can't make it to one of our three shot clinic training sessions? FEMA offers a generic course covering the material, although it isn't specific to Texas and the Department of State Health Services, as our live classes are. A good second-best, though. Don't be put off by the POD Training title; POD means Point of Distribution to FEMA and Point of Dispensing to DSHS; both translate to shot clinic in English. Start at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is26.asp and follow the connections. Free, but you have to register.

For more than you ever wanted to know about swine flu, go to the United Methodist Church's website at http://home.ktc.com/kdumc/DisasterPlan/flunew.htm and read up on the background and history of flu pandemics and guidance on how to treat swine flu at home. The "Hot Links" section will connect you with scads of authoritative websites for more details. In our humble opinion, it's the best site on the web for the audiences it serves. The weekly "Flu News" roundup is as good as anything in the media and better than most.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has a free course called "Disease and Society in America" covering the history of diseases and epidemics in this country, from before Columbus right into the 21st Century. It was put together in 2005, so it covers bird flu but not swine flu. Start at http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Science--Technology--and-Society/STS-005Fall-2005/CourseHome/index.htm and go to all the links on the left to get all the materials, including downloading the lectures. Free.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 08/01/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:
1. August ARC Shelter operations class
2. Swine flu: imminent
3. Swine flu: local
4. Other people's training

1. AUGUST ARC SHELTER OPERATIONS CLASS -- Hurricane season is on us, and the peak period for tropical cyclones on the Texas coast is beginning. We've had no activity yet this year, but anyone betting it means we won't have any in the coming months is woefully ill-informed. And, of course, hurricanes kill more people in inland counties (like ours) through flash flooding than in coastal counties with wind and surge. If it happens, the need for shelter-trained people in Kerrville and San Antonio and Austin will be high, and we may even need to open a shelter in Blanco County for a short time. Either way, we never have enough people who know what they're doing.

In addition, the state has a new program to help people without cars evacuate from vulnerable counties. The Lions Club summer camp in Kerr County would be the nearest host shelter, and our Hill Country Chapter of the American Red Cross, in Kerrville, would be responsible for their care...in addition to their normal sheltering job. They need trained volunteers, especially who speak Spanish. The ARC has asked us to help recruit and train more folks.

St Ferdinand Catholic Church in Blanco has agreed to host the training session in their Parish Hall from 9 to 1 on Saturday, August 22. Father Nich Ejimabo says likes the idea that if the tornado hits one town, we'll have people ready in the other to open up the shelter. As he says, it makes good sense for us to be ready to take care of each other, because one of these days, we'll need to do it.

The training is free and takes only four hours. If you haven't had it, this is a good time, before the need is upon us and nobody has time to train you. If you have, consider refreshing your memory by going through again. You can never know too much. To put your name on the list, call George at 713-252-2288 or email george@bnpr.com.

2. SWINE FLU: IMMINENT -- Since the last newsletter, the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control have declared the Swine Flu Pandemic definitely is coming to the US this fall. The only question is when it will hit. It may be as late as November, when flu normally takes off, or it could be as soon as school starts, August 24. The CDC predicts millions of cases nationwide and tens of thousands of deaths. Applying their percentages to Blanco County, it could mean thousands of cases here over the season, perhaps hundreds at a time, and dozens of deaths. Of those cases, the biggest chunk would be young people. Teenagers have been hit hardest, with sub-teens and 20-somethings close behind. A concern is that while the epidemic is expected to become widespread some time in September, October or November, no swine flu vaccine is expected until mid-October, and then only in small quantities for top-priority groups. The last average citizens may not get ours until March. And this is all IN ADDITION TO the normal seasonal flu. We should note that the hazard is not that the swine flu is an especially dangerous strain. It isn't. The hazard is that there is almost no immunity to it, so the total number of cases will be huge. A less-than-one-percent fatality rate in a normal flu year kills about 36,000 people; when the number of cases is huge, so is the number of deaths.

3. SWINE FLU: LOCAL -- Our Disaster Response Group, local churches, social service organizations and government agencies are teaming up to provide support to residents with -- or concerned about -- the swine flu. Our telephone-based program includes (1) a call center where a person can get accurate, current information about the flu and the community's response to it, (2) volunteers to call out to check several times a week on those living alone or otherwise vulnerable, (3) callers trained in emotional and psychological techniques to comfort the fearful, frustrated and tired, and (4) runners who can pick up groceries and prescriptions for the sick and deliver them.

We'll train volunteers for all those jobs. We'll also train for and help the Texas Department of State Health Services do flu shot clinics, like we did successfully last year. We'll bring to the county a class for potential caregivers on how to care for a swine flu patient at home, with little medical support. Some churches, groups and agencies already are on board with us and we expect many more.

You -- the members of the Disaster Response Group -- will help make up our core volunteers, because you already have learned to think like a disaster responder. Your neighbors will be leaning heavily on you this flu season.

The Kerrville District of the United Methodist Church has information on preparing for swine flu on its website at http://home.ktc.com/kdumc/DisasterPlan/flunew.htm. The information is specific for churches, though not exclusively for Methodists, and much of the advice applies to families and businesses as well. By the end of August, the website also should include information on home health care for the swine flu patient.

4. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville, and are free, unless otherwise noted. To register, call 830-257-4677.

8/8 9-5 First Aid with Adult, Child and Infant CPR -- This is the full course. ($40)
8/18 6-10 Adult CPR/AED and Your Heart Matters -- focus on heart attacks. ($30) 8/20 6-10 First Aid ($20)
8/22 9-1 Mass Care Overview and Shelter Operations -- how to set up, open, run and close down an emergency shelter. St Ferdinand Catholic Church Parish Hall, Blanco. (Free)

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.

8/1 9-12:30 Disaster Frontline Supervision -- how to guide the work of disaster response teams so they and the clients are better served.
8/5 8:30-3:30 Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan: Shelter Manager Training -- how to manage a shelter in Austin's regional shelter program. Requires FEMA's ICS-100 online basic Incident Command course. Fire Station 2, 1570 Cypress Creek Rd, Cedar Park.
8/6 6-9 Disaster Action Team (DAT) -- these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
8/11 6-9:30 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
8/11 8:30-3:30 Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan: Shelter Manager Training -- how to manage a shelter in Austin's regional shelter program. Requires FEMA's ICS-100 online basic Incident Command course. Austin- Travis County EOC, 5010 Old Manor Rd, Austin.
8/13 8:30-3:30 Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan: Shelter Manager Training -- how to manage a shelter in Austin's regional shelter program. Requires FEMA's ICS-100 online basic Incident Command course. Hays County location to be determined.
8/17 6-9 Psychological First Aid -- recognizing and dealing with stress responses in clients and fellow disaster responders. Good supplement to our Spiritual and Emotional Care training.
8/17-8/18 6-9 (both nights required) Capital Area Shelter Hub Plan: Shelter Manager Training -- how to manage a shelter in Austin's regional shelter program. Requires FEMA's ICS-100 online basic Incident Command course. WILCO Juvenile Justice Center, 1821 SE Inner Loop, Georgetown.
8/25 6-8:30 Disaster Assessment Basics -- how to assess and report damage after a disaster, so needed aid can go where it's required.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to www.saredcross.org. 8/13 6-8 Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
8/15 1-4 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
8/19 6-10 Psychological First Aid -- recognizing and dealing with stress responses in clients and fellow disaster responders. Good supplement to our Spiritual and Emotional Care training.
8/22 9-5 Emergency Operations Center/Incident Command Liaison -- how to be the interface between the ARC and the command structure for the disaster. Requires knowledge and experience in ARC disaster response.
8/29 9-1 Emergency Response Vehicle (ERV) -- how to drive, maintain and work out of one of those ambulance-looking vehicles the ARC uses to distribute food and other supplies in a disaster area.

Anna Tangredi, Volunteer Agency Liaison in the Governor's Division of Emergency Management, recommends an online course from FEMA: Mass Care, Emergency Assistance, Housing, and Human Services. It's the federal perspective on assistance to disaster survivors, from sheltering to housing to other supplemental assistance. It's free, but you'll have to register. http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS806.asp

We mentioned above that we plan to establish a call center for swine flu information for Blanco County. The US Department of Health and Human Services' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality has a guide to "Adapting Community Call Centers for Crisis Support" online at www.ahrq.gov/prep/callcenters. Sure would be helpful if someone other than me would spend some time with it and find ideas we can use to make ours work better. Downloads as a .pdf document.

For more than you ever wanted to know about swine flu, go to the United Methodist Church's website cited above and select "Hot Links". You'll find lots of authoritative online resources to choose from...whether you want information for our local response, for your church or business, or for you family's preps.

Another online course that would help with our current effort is "Preparedness and Community Response to Pandemics" from the State University of New York, University at Albany, School of Public Health, Center for Public Health Preparedness. It doesn't specifically include H1N1 swine flu -- it was last updated in 2007 -- but the principles are applicable today. Should take you about six hours. Free, but you have to register. www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/registration/tab.cfm?course=pandemics&s=Overview

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 07/08/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:
1. June ICS-NIMS class
2. Hurricane outlook
3. Swine flu, continued
4. Border violence
5. Heat, drought & earthquakes
6. Other people's training

1. JUNE ICS-NIMS CLASS -- George Cofran did the class introducing most of the attendees to the Incident Command System and National Incident Management System, the structures used in all disaster responses in the US and much of the rest of the world, too. Although it feels a bit strange at first, and there is a little jargon, the systems are simple and effective, and with them you can walk into any disaster response in the country and know who's in charge of what and where you fit in it.

The short version is this: the incident's stakeholders (mostly political officials but also including business and citizen representatives) "own" the incident and agree to oversee it together in one unified command group, avoiding dueling agendas and conflicting instructions. They appoint an incident commander (or coordinator), who is the hands-on boss. He or she has a command staff of advisors, but the real work is done by four section chiefs and their staffs. The four sections are (1) operations, which does the actual response work, (2) planning, which figures out what the next shift will do and what resources they'll need, (3) logistics, which provides those people and resources, and finance/administrative, which handles the paperwork and pays the bills. Everything fits into one of those categories and reports to one of those people. Really simple.

Because everyone doing any job other than the most basic is required to be ICS-trained (national rule, not ours), you may want to do that the easy way and take the course on line at http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100a.asp . It's free and you get a certificate of completion after you pass the test, but you will have to register.

Coming training: still trying to book a heat-related class for this month; working on an August class in home care for the swine flu patient.

2. HURRICANE OUTLOOK -- Most of the talk is about the lack of likelihood of a hurricane just now, but that talk is mostly about storms in the Atlantic, where the water still isn't warm enough to feed a cyclone like it needs. The Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, however, are plenty warm, so the "Don't worry, be happy" talk doesn't apply here. We're as vulnerable as ever in Texas, and you remember that inland flooding from hurricanes kills more people than in coastal counties. It's not somebody else's problem.

This year a new state program for counties near the coast will round up people who cannot evacuate on their own and bus them to shelters in inland counties. One of those will be the Lions Camp near Kerrville, where the American Red Cross will be host. To do that, though, the ARC needs lots more shelter volunteers. They're doing shelter training classes this summer. We'll do one in Blanco County, too. Even after you're trained, though, you need to register as a potential volunteer with the ARC. It gets you on the list, but doesn't obligate you to go when called. To register, contact us or the ARC at the number below under item 6.

3. SWINE FLU, CONTINUED -- It hasn't gone away. It's not an immediate threat, but the disease is spreading fast and wide in the southern hemisphere, where it is winter, the flu's favorite season. What will the virus be like when flu season returns here? Nobody knows yet, but they're watching intensely. More than 300 variations of the virus have been identified so far, and none is the killer feared by health authorities. It may turn out to be nothing to worry about, but if so, it'll be pure luck. The coin is still in the air.

Because luck is a poor basis for disaster planning and preparation, we're working with the United Methodist Church on guidance for churches and pastors preparing to take care of their members and neighbors if a disastrous flu pandemic comes to Central Texas. We're also preparing a booklet for families on how to care for a swine flu patient at home with little or no support from an overloaded medical industry. None of that is peculiar to Methodists, of course, so we'll be publishing it on the Kerrville District's website for anyone who wants to be better prepared. We'll let you know when it's up and ready for viewing. Meanwhile, suggestions and sources welcome.

4. BORDER VIOLENCE -- The state still is concerned enough about the potential for increased drug violence across the border that they have the state's Emergency Operations Center staffed and open in Austin. Mexican citizens who can afford it continue moving their families to the US, with San Antonio as a hot choice. One enclave of large homes just off 281 in north SA is referred to as "La Zona Norte" by its residents...a large percentage of whom are new arrivals from Mexico.

There is a possibility it would affect us if the Mexican army and the drug cartels get into an all-out shooting war, which could drive civilians across the border into Texas seeking safety. The state and federal authorities plan to take them in and bus them to secure shelters -- especially in San Antonio -- until the violence dies down, then return them. Depending on the numbers and urgency, some with their own means of travel may be allowed to sprint for inland destinations on their own. In either case, we may be asked to provide volunteer shelter workers to help out.

5. HEAT, DROUGHT & EARTHQUAKES -- Despite our little rain this week, authorities are increasingly concerned about our continuing drought and the unusually hot, dry summer we're already in. Heat illness and injury tops the worry list. Healthy individuals can push their bodies too far without realizing it until they collapse. Low income elderly and chronically ill persons who find their situation worsened by the economy may suffer without air conditioning -- or fans -- or even electricity if they can't pay the bill. There is a state program to help such people get cooling aid, but they have to apply for it, which usually means someone has to find them and help them through the process.

The other two concerns are wildfires and water. Wildfire season generally is spring and fall. The statewide fire-watch kept in Austin has gone home for the summer, but dry conditions and dying tress, brush and grass still present a high fire hazard. The water problem is the drying up of water sources...wells, rivers and aquifers. Some cities already are restricting water use and some well-dependent residents are finding themselves dry. Most of the concern so far is in counties south of us and along the coast. but Blanco and contiguous counties are feeling the heat, too. And it's barely July, with the hottest months ahead of us.

We're trying to book a heat-and-drought related class for July 25, but we're not there yet.

Earthquakes? There has been a flurry of small ones (no damage) southwest of Dallas, where new natural gas drilling has been going on. There may be a connection...or not. A team of researchers from SMU is trying to find out. The possibility is strong enough, though, that state officials from Louisiana, which has begun gas drilling in a similar formation, is looking over SMU's shoulder.

6. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville. To register, call 830-257-4677.

Our local chapter is hoping to recruit 100 new volunteers for sheltering because of new demands asked of the Hill Country. Think of it this way: would we rather go to Kerrville to help care for refugees, or have to host them here? There is better. If you're not already shelter trained, call Mary Haney and register pronto, please. Shelter Operations and Mass Care classes will be:
Sat 7/11 9-1
Thurs 7/16 10-1

We're trying to arrange a shelter class in Blanco County, too, probably the first half of August. Mary may also schedule a class on what to expect when you deploy for the ARC. Will advise if either happens.

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org.

7/15 6-9:30 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
7/18 9-4:30 Fundamentals of Disaster Public Affairs -- How to convey the ARC's messages through the news media in a disaster.
7/20 6-9 Mass Care Overview -- how the ARC delivers mass care in a disaster.
7/22 6-9 Mass Care Action Team Workshop -- basics of supporting bulk distribution and warehouse activity in a disaster as part of an MCA team.
7/29 6-9 Shelter Operations -- how to set up, open, run and close an ARC emergency shelter.
7/30 6-9:30 Shelter Simulation -- fin out whether you were paying attention during yesterday's class.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to www.saredcross.org .

7/11 9-3 Shelter Operations, Shelter Simulation -- how to set up, open, run and close an ARC emergency shelter.
7/16 9-12 Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
7/18 1-4 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
7/24 1-4:30 Disaster Frontline Supervisor --- prepare you to lead a disaster response team to meet the needs of the clients and care-givers.
7/25 9-12:30 Disaster Frontline Supervisor Simulation -- fin out whether you were paying attention in yesterday's class.
7/25 9-5 Client Casework: Providing Emergency Assistance -- How to interview those in need and connect them with appropriate help...mostly filling out forms, but this is where the rubber meets the road in disaster response.

ADDITIONAL TRAINING LOCATION -- We now have listings for training offered by the SA ARC at the New Braunfels Branch Training Institute. Register through the SA ARC office.

7/17 2-5 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
7/17 6-9 Mass Care Overview – how the ARC delivers mass care in a disaster.
7/18 9-3 Shelter Operations, Shelter Simulation -- how to set up, open, run and close an ARC emergency shelter.

Remember that gruesome-sounding on-line course -- what if people die faster than they can be buried, producing more bodies than funeral homes are prepared to handle? (It happened in the Spanish Flu.) It's another place volunteer help might be needed. It was supposed to have been last month, but they postponed it to this month. Learn more in "Fatality Management During a Pandemic" on Thursday, 7/9, 10:00-11:30 p.m. Go to www.adph.org/ALPHTN/index.asp?id=1884< /A> and look down the list. Free, but you need to register.

The Austin/Travis County CERT meeting at 6:30 7/23 features Kelly Hibbs from the Sheriff's victims services office on disaster psychology. It's in the A/TC Emergency Operations Center near the old airport.

The National Center for Biomedical Research and Training at Louisiana State University is offering an online course in preparing the community for Agroterrorism -- a terrorist attack on the food supply. Registration required. Start at www.ncbrt.lsu.edu/elearn/Courses.aspx .

Another online course is on Assisting Persons with Disabilities During an Emergency, from the University of North Carolina's NC Center for Public Health Preparedness. It's a half-hour and audio-only, so you can download it to your iPod for convenient listening. Free but you have to register.

Finally, 'tis the season -- a course in Community Hurricane Preparedness with an emphasis on the natural phenomenon of the hurricane, from COMET, the Cooperative Program for Operational Meteorology, Education and Training (which has too many words for the COMET acronym to fit, but I don't make these up, I just report 'em). They'll want you to register.

Ideas, suggestions, comments . . . see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org,
or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

FROM THE 06/06/09 BCDRG NEWSLETTER

This issue of the Blanco County Disaster Response Group includes:
1. What's all the confusion?
2. Swine flu, Part A
3. Swine flu, Part B
4. Hurricane season
5. Other people's training

1. WHAT'S ALL THE CONFUSION? -- It's less confused than it may appear, and while things are still flexible (Semper Gumby!), they're in hand.

We were set to do Search-and-Rescue training in May, then a big SAR exercise in June. But along came swine flu, and when we had to make a decision, the flu still looked like it might turn into something big. We chose to push SAR back to fall and stay clear for flu, which immediately shrank as an immediate threat. SAR is still on the schedule, just later.

Then I discovered the source of all that loose blood was a malignant kidney tumor, and had to have that removed. They got it all, no further treatment needed, but I'm still trying to get my strength back. Sure chewed up the month of May.

2. SWINE FLU, PART A – The H1N1 swine flu has dropped out of the headlines but not off our radar screens. All three of the big flu pandemics of the 20th Century started the same way as this flu...warning blips in the spring, when flu seasons are supposed to be winding down, then using their summer dormancy to evolve into vicious killers to come roaring back in the fall. This flu may not do that...we should know by the end of the summer...but responsible preparers can't wait 'til they're sure to begin preps. Neither will we. For the United Methodist Church, I'll be doing a series of newsletters on swine flu preps for small churches. If you want to get on that email list (Yay! More to read!) let me know.

3. SWINE FLU, PART B – We're not medical professionals and won't be by fall, but there are things we can do that would be immensely valuable in a flu pandemic. A team will spend the summer prepping for that; if you want to be part of it, let me know. We'll support the medical professionals with volunteers if they need us, such as with shot clinics. There's no swine flu vaccine yet and won't be much by fall, but there may be a rush for regular flu shots. We can be a contact point for information about the flu and treating it, and a source of non-medical help for flu victims. Did you know some 1918 Spanish flu victims died not of flu but of starvation? Their neighbors and relatives were too afraid of the disease to bring them food. We have a plan to fix that. With luck, it all will turn out to be a big waste of time, but if it doesn't, we need to use the summer to be ready for fall. Watch for swine flu support training in the next couple of months

4. HURRICANE SEASON – It started this week. Nobody knows what the season will bring, but last year we had one to the south and one to the east. We got lightly involved but not much. This year we're better connected to be called on if needed, and better positioned to act on our own. We'll do some hurricane preps this summer, too. George Cofran is putting together a class on the Incident Command System -- the universal structure for who's-in-charge-of-what in a disaster. I've been working under the ICS almost 20 years, and it is wonderful, but it takes a little learning. We'll do that and another activity...maybe training, maybe flood buckets. Got a preference?

5. OTHER PEOPLE'S TRAINING -- which you're welcome to attend. Free unless otherwise noted.

ARC Hill Country Chapter -- Courses are at the Chapter House, 333 Earl Garrett at Jefferson, in Kerrville. To register, call 830-257-4677.

Our local chapter is hoping to recruit 100 new volunteers for sheltering because of new demands asked of the Hill Country. Think of it this way: would we rather go to Kerrville to help care for refugees, or have to host them here? There is better. If you're not already shelter trained, call Mary Haney and register pronto, please. Shelter Operations and Mass Care classes will be:
Sat 6/6 9-1
Thurs 6/11 1-5
Sat 7/11 9-1
Thurs 7/16 10-1

ARC Centex Chapter -- All training is at the Austin ARC chapter house at 2218 Pershing Drive unless noted. To register, call Melissa Payne at 5112-929-1294 or email mpayne@centex.redcross.org .

6/9 6-9:30 Psychological First Aid -- Recognizing and addressing psych needs after a disaster, both in survivors and caregivers. Good supplement too our Spiritual and Emotional Care.
6/13 9-12:30 Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism Overview – basic information on how weapons of mass destruction and other terrorist tools are used, and how disaster workers respond to them.
6/17 6-9:30 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
6/24 6-9 Mass Care Overview – how the ARC delivers mass care in a disaster.
6/29 6-9 Disaster Action Team (DAT) Workshop – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.

ARC San Antonio Chapter --All training is at the SA ARC chapter at 3642 E. Houston St. unless noted. To register, call 210-224-5151 or go to http://www.saredcross.org/.

6/11 6-8 Disaster Action Team (DAT) Orientation – these are the ARC’s first responders to small-scale disasters, such as house fires, to help the victims in the first hours and connect them to other aid later.
6/13 9-12 Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism Overview – basic information on how weapons of mass destruction and other terrorist tools are used, and how disaster workers respond to them.
6/17 9-12 Psychological First Aid -- Recognizing and addressing psych needs after a disaster, both in survivors and caregivers. Good supplement too our Spiritual and Emotional Care.
6/20 1-4 Fulfilling Our Mission – Basic Training for all ARC disaster volunteers.
6/24 6-9 Mass Care Overview – how the ARC delivers mass care in a disaster.
6/27 9-5 Serving People with Disabilities Following a Disaster -- ARC policies and practices, plus other thoughts on responding to temporary or permanent special needs.

The Austin-Travis County Community Emergency Response Team is doing a map-and-compass training exercise this month. The classroom portion is in Austin on 6/13; the field exercise is in Bastrop State Park 6/14. The training is free but you need a good compass (your Cracker-Jack prize doesn't count) in order to follow the trail they'll have laid out for you. Don't have one? They also can tell you where to get one for as little as $5. Questions to Chris Lehman at Lehmanck@aol.com. Must register in advance through Tiffany Taylor at Tiffany.Taylor@ci.austin.tx.us .

It's a gruesome idea, but as long as swine flu pandemic is a possibility, somebody needs to think about it: what if people die faster than they can be buried, producing more bodies than funeral homes are prepared to handle? (It happened in the Spanish Flu.) It's another place volunteer help might be needed. Learn more in an on-line course "Fatality Management During a Pandemic" on Wednesday, 6/17, 2:00-3:30 p.m. Go to www.adph.org/ALPHTN/index.asp?id=1884 and look down the list. Free, but you need to register.

There's a new animal sheltering course on-line, and it's short...only an hour to an hour-and-a-half...but it provides a good overview of the subject. "Emergency Animal Sheltering" is from the Center for Public Health Preparedness, School of Public Health, University at Albany, State University of New York. Start at www.ualbanycphp.org/learning/registration/tab.cfm?course=eas&s= Overview and go from there. You'll have to register but it's free.

The San Antonio VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters) is doing a full day of training in the role of volunteers in hurricanes in SA Thursday, June 11, from 7-5 in the Frontier Room of the Joe Freeman Coliseum at 3201 East Houston. It's part of HUREX 2009, the annual hurricane preparation exercise. Oriented to volunteer groups and managers rather than individual volunteers, but individuals can learn how the system works in SA and find a role in it. Free, but it starts early.

Ideas, suggestions, comments...see our website, www.blancocountydisasterresponsegroup.org, or contact me at: George Barnette, 830-868-0808, george@bnpr.com

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