Disability and Communication Access Board
State of Hawaii
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Emergency Preparedness E-News
for Individuals with Disabilities and Special Health Needs
November/December 2009 Issue 3
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Greetings!
November and December are the 2009 Holiday season. Important holidays such as Veterans Day and Thanksgiving lead us into the yuletide season. Staff at DCAB wishes everyone a safe and happy holiday season. Please forward this e-mail newsletter to your friends and family if you feel they may be helped by any of the information included in it. If you are just visiting this page and wish to subscribe, click on the "Join our mailing list" option at the bottom of the page and add yourself to the E-News mailing list. Any information you would like featured in future editions of the E-News are welcome. Please e-mail items to me at debbra.jackson@doh.hawaii.gov. Your feedback and comments are also appreciated!
Aloha,
Debbie Jackson
Planner
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Emergency Readiness in Schools
The Department of Education, through the Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) grant, sponsored a half-day conference titled "Special Needs Populations in Emergencies" on November 13, 2009 at the Japanese Cultural Center of Hawaii from 10:00 A.M. until 2:00 P.M.
Featured speakers at the event included Mark Behrens and Bill Patterson from the Department of Education, as well as Debbie Jackson from DCAB. Also included in the conference was a panel of individuals with disabilities who spoke about their experiences in school with emergency readiness drills and what they suggest for inclusion in a schools emergency preparedness plan to assist students with disabilities. Panelists were Mark Yabui, Donald Haumea, Ed Chevy, Randy Hack, and Sheryl Nelson.
Charles Naumu, principal from Anuenue School was the keynote speaker at lunch. He shared what Anuenue School did to prevent the spread of the H1N1 (swine flu) virus at their campus last Spring and this Fall. Mr. Naumu and the DOE were very proactive with their approach to prevent an outbreak of H1N1 at their school. He also distributed pamphlets about the H1N1 virus, displayed tools he used such as masks, and encourage schools to have their students vaccinated for H1N1. Following lunch the participants were involved in a tabletop exercise tsunami drill to apply the information that they learned.
The conference was videotaped for school personnel who were unable to attend. The tape can be used for in-service training for DOE staff to benefit from the information provided at the conference. Contact Mark Behrens for more information about the videotape at (808) 586-3457.
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National Council on Disability (NCD) Takes Emergency Management Report to Capitol Hill
NCD, in partnership with the Bipartisan Disabilities Caucus, held a congressional briefing on its emergency management report on October 13, 2009, at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center in Washington, DC. The briefing included an overview of the report's findings, promising practices, and suggested interventions and recommendations as well as a question and answer period. More than 25 Hill staffers attended.
The report calls on federal, state, and local authorities to make sweeping changes in emergency management practices for people with disabilities. NCD's report offers information and advice to assist all levels of government in their work to establish evidence-based policies, programs, and practices across the life cycle of disasters.
Presenters included NCD Chairperson John R. Vaughn, NCD Vice Chairperson Pat Pound, NCD contractor and principal report researcher Elizabeth Davis, and FEMA Senior Advisor Marcie Roth.
On October 20, Chairperson Vaughn testified on emergency preparedness before the House Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management at a hearing entitled "Looking Out for the Very Young, the Elderly and Others with Special Needs: Lessons from Katrina and other Major Disasters." He addressed the procedures and plans currently in place for aid to children and people with disabilities during and after a natural disaster.
Additional information about people with disabilities and emergency management can be found at NCD's Lessons Learned page and in NCD's 2005 report, Saving Lives: Including People with Disabilities in Emergency Planning. (From the NCD Bulletin, October 2009 issue)
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Mock Evacuation Drill
Part of planning and preparing for a disaster is practice. Once an agency has established a plan, it is important that everyone involved practice to make sure the plan works.
On November 3, 2009, Keaukaha Elementary School, Kamehameha Preschool and Ka 'Umeke Ka'eo Public Charter School in Hilo were involved in a mock evacuation drill when the tsunami sirens went off at 11:45 a.m. More than 700 students and staff of the three schools left their classrooms and headed to Hilo International Airport in a drill that occurs every three years.
The half-mile walk took the more than 700 students and staff 11 minutes. The route went across 2 main highways and a taxi runway at the airport with the final destination at the fence near the passenger terminal. Transportation was included in the plan for students who couldn't walk. Reports were that the exercise was successful for all involved. In the event of a tsunami, students and staff will know what to do because of the practice.
(excerpted from the Hawaii Tribune Herald, 11/3/2009)
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New Website for Accessible Emergency Information
 The Northeast Texas Public Health District invites you to view a new website, developed to assist special needs populations in preparing for emergency situations.
Click on the words Accessible Emergency Information to view the Texas website.
The website includes videos with American Sign Language interpreters providing information about how to prepare for 18 topics. The videos also have audio voice over and text along side the interpreter. Also included is the Emergency Preparedness Guide formatted in braille, large print and pdf regular font to download. All of the information is free for public use, anyone or any organization may link to the website and use the information to inform the public. The braille documents are formatted for reprint using a braille printer.
Feedback is crucial to the project's success, please see the discussion page to post comments. Two surveys are included for those viewing the videos to assess preparedness levels before and after experiencing the video. After viewing the videos you are encouraged to complete the surveys.
For more informaton e-mail Accessible Emergency Information.
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Contact Information
Disability and Communication Access Board
919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 101
Honolulu, HI 96814
Phone: (808) 586-8121 (V/TTY)
Fax: (808) 586-8129
E-mail: DCAB General Delivery
Website: DCAB Home Page County of Hawaii: 974-4000, ext. 6-8121# Couny of Kauai: 274-3141, ext. 6-8121# County of Maui: 984-2400, ext. 6-8121# Molokai & Lanai: 1-800-468-4644, ext. 6-8121# | |
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