News and Updates
CNY MRC Special Needs Shelter Teams Plan to Participate in April 5th 2008 Evacuation Drill
Posted on February 13, 2008
The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) will hold its next communications drill on Saturday April 5th from 0800 - 1200 EDST. The drill scenario will be based on a Category 3+ hurricane striking the east coast from Virginia to Maine. The Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the Army, Navy, and Air Force. The program consists of licensed amateur radio operators who are interested in military communications on a local, national, and international basis as an adjunct to normal communications. These operators have been cleared and approved to use military frequencies when the emergency requires it.
Participating agencies will likely include Army/Navy/Air Force MARS, Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service (RACES) in several states. Other agencies who have expressed interest include the Air National Guard, Army National Guard, NY State Guard, and Rome Labs.
The CNY MRC is participating in the drill as a means of practicing the newly developed special needs shelter teams. Specifically, we intend to test our ability to accept, to triage and to register evacuated patients with pre-existing medical conditions. More details about the drill will follow soon. Until then, save the date.
Community Outreach
The Central New York Medical Reserve Corps (CNY MRC) responded to a Request For Proposal (RFP) from The Onondaga County Department of Emergency Management. The RFP seeks a professional organization to perform community outreach focusing specifically on Home Emergency Preparedness. The Home Emergency Preparedness Community Outreach program proposal, designed to provide citizens with the education they need to shelter in place for 72 hours and provide emergency first aid and emergency care until professional help arrives, is currently under review by the Onondaga County Department of Emergency Management.
The CNY MRC is dedicated to serving its partners in the emergency preparedness community by providing this education to lay citizens. Our application for funding, if successful, will allow the MRC to increase its instructor pool, schedule and administer classes, provide organized advertising and reach a greater number of people within our community.
Central New York Regional Medical Reserve Corps News Briefs
Posted on November 13, 2007
November 2007
CNY MRC provides medical screeners for Emergency Responder Drive-Through Flu Clinic
Five CNY MRC Registered Nurses provided medical screening for the second annual Onondaga County Emergency Responder Drive-Through Flu Clinic. The clinic, held at the Regional Market, Park Street, Syracuse, provided flu vaccinations for 427 police, fire and EMS personnel in a 6 hour time span. “We vaccinated 427 people but we could have easily done more” Said Jean Smiley, Deputy Commissioner of the Onondaga County Department of Health.
The primary goal of the exercise was to give first responders hands on experience using a drive-through venue to deliver mass vaccinations. The exercise was a huge success as vaccinations were delivered in a timely and efficient manner. “The MRC nurses involved were critical to this success” said Smiley.
A formal after action report will be available in the near future.
National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) training available on-line
NIMS implementation will not end in FY 2007. State, Territorial, Tribal, and Local jurisdictions will be required to meet the FY 2007 NIMS implementation requirements as a condition of receiving federal preparedness funding assistance in FY 2008.
The NIMS is a dynamic system, and the doctrine as well as the implementation requirements will continue to evolve as our prevention, preparedness, response, and recovery capabilities improve and our homeland security landscape changes. It is critical NIMS baseline training becomes an integral part of the organization’s training program.
MRC volunteers should complete ICS 100 and NIMS 700 training. Both courses are available for free at the Onondaga County Department of Emergency Management web page. Simply click on this link, scroll to the bottom of the page and select the course you need.
Once you’ve completed a course, print the associated certificate and fax a copy to 315-464-6220. We’ll keep a record of your NIMS course completions in the CNY Regional MRC database.
CNY MRC establishes Special Needs Shelter Teams:
The Onondaga County Department of Health has worked to establish a special needs shelter (SpNS) for citizens whose medical or mental health conditions require regular medical evaluations. This plan will be activated when the number of special needs citizens requiring shelter exceeds the availability of existing resources through family and friends, nursing homes, and/or hospitals.
The Commissioner of the Department of Emergency Management of Onondaga County and the Human Needs Task Force (HNTF) will determine if a SpNS is needed or if evacuees with special needs can be accommodated by family members or friends, or at local nursing homes and/or hospitals.
In September of this year, MRC volunteers received a letter seeking volunteers to participate in SpNS teams. The response to our survey was overwhelming. In all, 162 medical professionals from Central New York have offered to participate. We have received sufficient responses to allow for at least one team in Madison, Cayuga, Cortland and Tompkins Counties; two teams in Oswego County and eight teams in Onondaga County. Team Leaders have been identified for each of the established teams.
Team drills, training and SpNS Plan evaluations be begin in the near future. Be sure to check here for regular updates.
Ham Cram set for December 1, 2007
Twelve members of the CNY MRC have registered to participate in Ham Cram, a one-day concentrated ham radio operators course and test. Several MRC members have expressed an interest in Ham Radio operations. This course, sponsored by the Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) will allow MRC members to gain valuable first hand knowledge of radio operations.
“The goal of this course is to cross train MRC members in ham radio operations” said William Grant EdD, Executive Director of SUNY Upstate’s Center for Emergency Preparedness. “One of the consistent lessons of disaster medicine is that effective communications is key to successful patient outcome. In some cases where basic communication infrastructure is destroyed, safety and lives are dependent on effective wireless communications”.
The Amateur Radio licensing course will begin the process of developing the communications capability within the MRC that will be extremely important for
future deployments. MARS and The Civil Air Patrol have Emergency Services-qualified members who have personal experience in military and civilian deployments. Both agencies are available and willing to assist with training of MRC teams.
