SMC MRC NEWSLETTER
October 2, 2010
This newsletter will summarize some of the items that were discussed at the SMC MRC meeting on Saturday, October 2nd.
MEMBERSHIP:
· We have 2 new applicants.
· Our commitments change and some of our members may no longer have time or the desire to remain active on the MRC team. We now have 5 inactive members who have not attended a meeting, training session, or exercise in the past 12 months. In compliance with the Steering Committee’s guidelines, they have been notified and will be removed from the active roster, but will be encouraged to maintain their profiles on the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California website.
RECOGNITION AWARDS:
· Dr. Eric Shapira received the 2010 Humanitarian Award by the Academy of General Dentistry. This is a national ward. Congratulations Eric!
· Chief Don O’Keefe has resigned from the HMB Police Department as he has been appointed the U.S. Marshall for Northern California. He will be honored by the City of Half Moon Bay at the City Council meeting on October 5th. MRC members are encouraged to attend and thank Chief O’Keefe for his many years of support of the MRC and disaster preparedness on the Coastside. He was our strongest ally and will really be missed. Chief Lee Violett has been appointed the interim police chief until the November elections determine the fate of the police department. I have met with Chief Violett and he will also be very supportive of our efforts.
FINANCIAL UPDATES:
· We have applied for another $5,000 NACCHO CBA grant for next year. The total funding amount has not changed, however the number of MRC units continues to increase each year so there will eventually be a reduction in the funds available for each unit.
DHVC (Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California) WEBSITE:
· Please remember to periodically update your profile if you are a nurse or are qualified to give injections, have had to renew your professional license, or have any changes in your contact information.
DSW ID CARDS:
· We have been researching online ID card services as well as obtaining our own ID badging system ($2,000-$3,000). We will investigate a cooperative effort with the City as well as the possibility of grant-funding.
· Thanks to Jeffrey Matthews for taking digital photos of those at the October meeting. We now have photos of 50% of our membership. These will be used with the new ID cards.
· Those at the meeting also received red stickers to update their current ID cards to June, 2011. You must sign the ID card update roster to receive your sticker and these will be available with Elizabeth at the HMB Police Station from Monday-Thursday.
· New cards will not be made until after the November election and the status of the HMB Police Department is established.
TRAINING:
· CERT TRAINING: CERT training is still required for all MRC members. A CERT class was started on October 5th and another will start on February 2, 2011. They will be in San Mateo. Courses are also offered by the many Fire Departments on the Peninsula. Mark Chidester (cscert@chidesters.com) is the Coastside CERT coordinator and efforts will be made in the future to have a CERT class on the Coast.
· CPR TRAINING: As many of you are aware, several years ago, the American Heart Association (AHA) recommended new CPR procedures for non-professional responders. The new procedure, Cardio-Cerebral Resuscitation (CCR), involves only chest compressions and has been shown to be more effective than traditional CPR. Some of the studies and information was discussed at the meeting. The formal training guidelines will be released November 12th and we will be scheduling CPR classes after that date. Classes will be for MRC members and will be arranged with Battalion Chief Ari Delay of the Cal-Fire Department in HMB.
· FIRST AID TRAINING: Laurie Agrillo, RN is still working on another first aid class with the Woodside Fire Department staff.
MERCHANDISE & SUPPLIES:
· The Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California have obtained a grant to supply active MRC units in California with a cache of medical supplies. The SMC MRC will receive these supplies, but no delivery date has been announced.
· Kevin Rose has applied for a grant to obtain funding for a mobile trailer as well as a 10x10 tent and other supplies. Hopefully we will have a decision by the end of the year. If not, we may purchase the trailer with SMC MRC funds and store the trailer at the HMB Public Works yard.
SAN MATEO COUNTY EMSA UPDATE: Kevin Rose gave an update on EMSA activities.
· There will be a state-wide Hospital Disaster Exercise on Thursday morning, November 18th. It will tentatively be at the San Mateo Medical Center in San Mateo and involve setting up a disaster tent and paper triage of patients. We will be involved and those wanting to participate may contact me.
· Kevin has applied for grant-funding for a trailer, tent, and other supplies for our MRC.
· The County has included in its grant application for the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP) funds for a Local Partnership Coordinator position within the County that will be able to provide some assistance to the three existing MRCs.
FLU CLINICS:
· The SMC MRC will be conducting seasonal flu vaccination clinics for first responders, City and County employees, Police, Fire, MRC members, CERT-team members, etc. The clinics will be from 9:00 A.M. until noon at the HMB Fire Department on October 8, 13, 15, and 18th. We will have 1-2 nurses and 1 support person for each clinic. Thanks a million to all of you that are participating!
· The national H1N1 publication was released and it included a picture of our MRC vaccination clinic with Joan Ross, RN and Marilyn Dittes, RN. Congratulations.
MEETING REPORTS:
· Jim Howie reported on the California MRC meeting in Sacramento. There was not a lot of significant information but a good chance to network with the coordinators of other MRC units in the state.
· The Region IX MRC Summit meeting was held in San Diego and only 1 representative of each MRC was allowed to attend. The 3-day meeting was very interesting but because of time constraints, a review will be given at our next MRC meeting.
ACTIVITIES:
· SILVER DRAGON V BIOTERRORISM EXERCISE: March, 2011. We will need 1-3 people to help with the organization of the event. Please let me know if you can help.
· SAN MATEO COUNTY CRIME LAB TOUR: This was arranged with the help of HMB Police Chief Don O’Keefe. Approximately 15 people attended and it was very interesting.
LEGAL ISSUES: The House of Representatives has recently passed HR-1745 which is the Family Healthcare Act of Accessibility of 2010. This bill provides liability protection for volunteers working at community health centers. It only mentions doctors and clinical psychologists and is rather vague. It is now going to the Senate. The National MRC staff are trying to initiate legislation that is specific for MRC volunteers and will protect them in training exercises and non-disaster situations as well as real disasters. These issues move slowly and it would help to stress to our congressman or women (congress.org) that we need liability protection for all of those volunteers that are working within MRC units.
PRESENTATIONS: Tim Campbell, Deputy Chief of the Menlo Park Fire Protection District and Program Manager of the CA-TF3 Urban Search & Rescue (USAR) team gave an excellent presentation about the USAR program and their deployments in various disasters.
DISASTER MEETING SITE: In the event of an emergency or disaster, we will alert all SMC MRC members by the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California website and information will be provided on your cell phone, land line, pager, or computer. In the event that a disaster occurs and all means of communications are disrupted, the SMC MRC WILL MEET IN FRONT OF THE HMB POLICE STATION.
COMMUNICATIONS: Please feel free to contact me with any questions or suggestions to improve our MRC unit. When replying to email messages, please click “Reply” and NOT “Reply All.”
VOLUNTEERS: Thanks to all of you for volunteering and participating in our MRC meetings, training and disaster exercises, flu clinics, etc. We have an unbelievable group of people and are one of the top MRC units in the State. We are also well-known in both the Regional and National MRC offices. Unlike the vast majority of MRC units, we are all volunteers and thus we do not have any salaried people to manage any of our activities. Thus, it is essential that we all share in the on-going operations of our unit. Elizabeth Yano has dedicated a lot of her free time to our MRC membership issues and Laurie Agrillo, RN has been working on our training program. Marilyn Dittes, RN will be working on our medical supplies and go-packs. It would be great if a few others could find some free time so that they could help organize and coordinate some of our up-coming disaster drills, flu clinics, ID badging program, etc. Please let me know if you would like to help out.
HOLIDAY PARTY: Those at the meeting were very interested in having another holiday party this year. It will probably be on Saturday or Sunday, December 11-12, but the date is not finalized.
NEXT SMC MRC MEETING: The next meeting will probably be in February, 2011 and on a Saturday morning.
Michael Klass, MD | 
