Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

 

February 25, 2005

Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

Civic leader pushes emergency preparedness

By Nick Buglione February 24, 2005

Traffic would pose a considerable obstacle in the event of a large-scale evacuation, according to Richard Bivone, an East Meadow civic and business leader.

The tsunami that slammed South Asia, claiming some 250,000 lives, resoundingly affirmed to the world that Mother Nature can sometimes be an overwhelmingly destructive force.
It has also prompted myriad questions on a local level -- specifically, how would we respond if a natural disaster of that magnitude struck Long Island?
It-s a question Nassau County officials admittedly don-t have an answer to yet, though they say they-re working on it.
We are on an island, and we are basically cut off from the rest of the country, said Richard Bivone, an East Meadow civic leader and president of the Nassau County Council of Chambers of Commerce. We-ve become complacent. We think that nothing can hurt us, but that-s not true.
Since the Dec. 26 tsunami, Bivone has ardently lobbied elected officials to consider the issues that would arise on Long Island if such a disaster were to strike -- particularly the coordination of a mass evacuation.
Nassau County is home to some 1.3 million people, and another 1.5 million live in neighboring Suffolk County. Factor in the population of approximately 5 million in Queens and Brooklyn, and the notion of a swift, orderly evacuation of Long Island seems impossible, Bivone said. The answer right now is we can-t evacuate Long Island, he said. There are only two egresses, the Throgs Neck Bridge and the Whitestone Bridge, that are in proximity to Nassau County. Three, if you want to count the Triborough Bridge. We are an island unto ourselves.
Richard Cardozo, a longtime East Meadow Fire Department volunteer, echoed Bivone. It could never happen, he said of a Long Island evacuation. Basically, on Long Island you have two ferry boats and two bridges. Where do you go? You-re not going to leave.
While scientists debate the likelihood of a tsunami striking the U.S.-s eastern seaboard, hurricanes similar to the four that hit Florida last year would pose the same problem, Bivone said.
The complications that would arise should a mass evacuation become necessary, however, are no secret to county officials. An evacuation is a near impossibility right now, said Richard Rotanz, commissioner of the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, based at the Nassau County jail in East Meadow.
Rotanz went on to note, however, that his office is examining evacuation alternatives, including airlifting people off the island, but a viable plan is several years away.
Bivone believes officials also need to devise better emergency warning systems, evacuation routes, transportation alternatives and shelters. Stepping up education on what to do in the event of a catastrophe is imperative as well, he said.
According to Rotanz, the county has been working hard on this. In the last two years, we-ve done an array of things, he said, including the creation of the Office of Emergency Management and a task force dedicated to emergency planning. We still have a long way to go. It-s tough to get people to move.
Nassau and Suffolk counties are also working together, and are considering creating one emergency-management body to cover both regions, the commissioner said.
Rotanz previously worked for the Office of Emergency Management in New York City, where there is one fire department and one unified school district. In Nassau County, where there are some 71 fire departments and 45 school districts, coming up with a plan to shelter and feed victims, administer health care and ensure the continuity of government emergency can prove a daunting, he said.
Funding poses yet another issue, said Nassau County Legislator Norma Gonsalves (R-East Meadow), and the state and federal governments need to offer additional aid to the county, since it-s so vulnerable and financially strapped. Long Island should secure additional money, because it-s so difficult to protect and evacuate, Gonzalves said. It-s extremely important that we get more money from the federal government.

Comments about this story? NBuglione@liherald.com or (516) 569-4000 ext. 236.
©Herald Community 2005

Super Bowl Emergency Operations Relied On E Team To Protect Region In Case Of Emergency Or Disaster

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School nurses rue their lack of disaster training

 

School nurses rue their lack of disaster training. Few prepared for shootings, terror

Thursday, February 24, 2005
School nurses rue their lack of disaster training
Few prepared for shootings, terror

The Associated Press

YOUNGSTOWN - Long associated with treating playground scrapes and tummy aches, school nurses nationwide say they need to be more prepared for emergencies such as terrorist attacks.

Many are trying to work around tight school budgets and a lack of respect as front-line responders to get the training they need to prepare for the worst.

"Because of 9/11, so many things have changed," said Kathy Steffey, a school nurse at Lakeview High School in Cortland. "We have to be prepared for almost anything."

Nearly half of the nurses who responded to a National Association of School Nurses survey listed emergency preparedness as their highest priority.

"They're really on the front line before even the EMT person gets there," said Wanda Miller, the association's executive director. "They are the person that has to react, has to be prepared and must have some kind of plan in place to manage the situations that occur."

While most nurses are eager to get training, disaster preparedness trainer Deborah Strouse said many schools don't even have a full-time nurse or health services.

Ohio is one of several states that does not require a nurse in every school. A lack of first-aid supplies is another issue, she said.

Schools were recognized as potential terrorist targets long before the seizure of a Russian school in September in which 330 hostages were killed.

Many schools developed disaster plans following the Columbine school shootings or the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, but they don't have the funding to train administrators and teachers on how to carry out the plans, said Julie Underwood, general counsel for the National School Boards Association.

"There's a great unmet need for training and additional security," Underwood said.

Columbus Public Schools is an exception. The district is using a $454,000 grant from the Homeland Security Department to train a team of school personnel in each of its 140 schools to respond in an emergency, spokesman Greg Viebranz said.

Counselors, nurses and security personnel are receiving further training in CPR, triage and the use of defibrillators. Training is expected to be completed by the end of the school year.

"We'd like to be considered a model for our efforts," Viebranz said.

Homeland Security funnels grants through state governments and doesn't have an estimate of how much has reached schools, spokesman Marc Short said.

Bill Modzeleski, associate deputy undersecretary for the Education Department's office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools, said there's still more work to do.

"We've really encouraged schools to look at crisis planning from A to Z. We have to plan for everything," Modzeleski said. "I don't think we should ever be satisfied."

The National Association of School Nurses, which has about 12,500 members, has developed a disaster preparedness program to meet the demand for training - more than 2,000 school nurses have participated.

At a session this month in suburban Youngstown, many of the 100 nurses in attendance responded with a collective sigh as Strouse displayed photos of a baby covered with smallpox.

Strouse told the nurses they don't need to know how to treat victims of biological weapons such as smallpox and anthrax, just how to identify early symptoms.

"The school nurse is in a unique position to pick up on trends almost before anyone else does," she said.

Steffey, a school nurse for five years, said she's concerned about a school shooting, hostage situation or terrorist attack.

"You will be the first to respond. You have to be prepared," she said. "You can't wait for 911 to respond in an emergency."

Posted by Melody at February 25, 2005 11:46 AM