 NEWSLETTER - Dec. 18, 2008
Hello to everyone,
I was going to send out personal emails but our numbers have grown too fast, so blind copies of a group emailing will have to do.
Unfortunately, this is a non-paying job that does not allow for any secretarial staff, although Elizabeth Martinez-Yano has done an incredible job with all of the applications, paper work, setting up meetings, etc. Thanks also to Don O'Keefe, the HMB Police Chief, for all of his support and allowing Elizabeth to do some of this work for us.
Thanks to all of you for volunteering for the San Mateo Coastside Medical Reserve Corps (SMC MRC). I think that you will find it an interesting and rewarding experience. Elizabeth and I have been working on all of the applications and setting up email lists, databases, and other organizational systems. We will now be able to forward on to you some of the newsletters from the national MRC office as well as other information that might be of interest to you.
The interest in our MRC has been truly amazing. I have been asked to do 5 presentations in the last 3 weeks to local health care groups, disaster committees, non-profit organizations, and city organizations. It seems that every disaster group wants us to participate. Our biggest advantage is that we are not caught up in all of the local bureaucracy and red tape and we can make our own decisions and be activated on a moments notice through the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California (DHVC or CalMed) network.
Before our orientation meeting last month, I sent out 160 emails and personal letters to healthcare workers that lived or worked on the Coast. As a result, we have increased from 22 members to 43 members and we will probably add another 15-20 in the next 3 months. There are, however, many people that will only learn about the MRC by word-of-mouth, so it will require that each of you inform your colleagues about the MRC and encourage them to join. The only caveat is that I prefer people to volunteer that are truly interested in actively participating. I prefer quality to quantity.
ORIENTATION MEETING - NOVEMBER 15, 2008
We had 32 people attend the meeting. That is 2-3 times the turnout of previous meetings. At the meeting, we had a presentation about the MRC and Kevin Rose, our coordinator at the San Mateo County Emergency Services Agency, gave a nice presentation about the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California network. At each meeting, I would like to have some type of educational presentation and for this meeting, I gave a short presentation on the S.T.A.R.T. triage procedures.
FUTURE MEETINGS - We will probably have another meeting in February. The educational component has not yet been determined.
NEW MEMBERS -
We have had some great additions to our organization and another 15-20 that are currently submitting applications.
Please welcome:
Laurie Agrillo (RN-PHN)
Barbara Lambert (MFT)
Jeffrey Wolf (Medic-EMT)
Elizabeth (Beth) Myers (MFT)
Marilyn Dittes (RN-PHN)
Juliana Barr, MD
Rebecca Dennison (RN)
Jo Stroud (DC-MFT)
Charles Quest, MD
Arlene Lindberg (MFT)
Shirley Madden (MFT)
Andy Zanoff (Paramedic - SF Fire)
STEERING COMMITTEE -
We will be establishing a steering committee to help make decisions about future meetings, operating procedures, merchandise, community projects, educational training, budget expenditures, etc. We already have 5 people interested so please contact me if you would like to be an active part of the steering committee.
CERT TRAINING - Some of you have already had CERT training and I would like everyone in the SMC MRC to be trained. It involves 22 hours of training and is well worth the time. Currently, there are no training classes scheduled on the Coast, but I am currently working with Chief Paul Cole of the HMB Fire Department (Cal Fire) to put on a CERT class for us. If that is not possible within the next 2-3 months, and as a last resort, we may have to carpool to train in another community.
MERCHANDISE - Many of you have already received your MRC vests. They are available to those that have completed the application process. Currently we only have "large" sizes available. In the upcoming months, we will be purchasing some MRC logo items (i.e. polo shirts, caps, sweatshirts, back packs (go-packs), etc). We are also considering a tent, cots, banner, and first aid supplies. We want to use our money wisely so we will decide on the most practical and useful items.
ID CARDS - Some of you have already received your ID cards. There will be a delay in distributing others as we are having a few problems with getting them made.
FUTURE TRAINING DRILLS
SILVER DRAGON III - March 11, 2009 - This exercise will be a county-wide simulated response to a pandemic flu or bioterrorism attack. Prophylactic medications (brochures) will be picked up at the SM County Health Dept and brought to the Coast for distribution in a designated neighborhood. The details have not been totally worked out but the county would like the SMC MRC to participate.
OTHER DRILLS - There has been some thoughts about the possibility of holding a disaster drill on the Coast in the fall. Other MRC units in California will also be holding disaster drills and we may decide to participate.
SMCMRC.ORG WEBSITE - Remember to go to our website for information about the MRC, applying for membership, educational links, contact information, etc. This is also a great place to refer other healthcare professionals to get more information about the MRC.
DISASTER HEALTHCARE VOLUNTEERS OF CALIFORNIA (DHVC or CALMED) - PLEASE be sure that you have registered on the website. This is our means of contacting you for drills or an emergency. Information about signing up can be found on our website under the "Application Process" tab.
EMERGENCY ALERT
- One month ago (about November 13th), some of you may have been shocked to receive an emergency alert that was sent out through the DHVC system. Our San Mateo County Emergency Medical Services Agency coordinator, Kevin Rose, was participating in a live disaster drill in Southern California. As a test, we decided to activate the alert system and sent an alert to 29 of our SMC MRC members. Even though the message was not clear, we were amazed at the response. Nearly 1/2 of you responded within 1 hour! In addition, 22 of 29 responded within 24 hours. Some of you got the alert but did not respond because you could not decipher the message in the alert. So, the system works and thanks to all of you for the great response.
APPLICATION COMPLETION
- Some applications lack signatures, photos, professional certificates, ICS/NIMS certificates, etc. Some of this can be completed at our next meeting. In some cases, I may contact you to submit the necessary documents.
The SMC MRC is a collaborative effort and we come from many different professions and we all have different educational backgrounds and experiences. Thus, it is helpful if we can exchange information and ideas. Please let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.
Michael Klass, MD | 
