 Tulsa Partners
Newsletter
August 2009
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Program Updates
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| MILLENNIUM CENTER
GREEN BUILDING RESOURCE CENTER
WOODY'S WEB |
| Tulsa Partners Newsletter |
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| Greetings! |
Summer is almost over and Fall is coming soon! A lot has transpired with Tulsa Partners since our last update!
We hope to see you soon at one of these events! |
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Language and Culture Bank Receives Grant from
ONEOK Foundation!
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Our newest member program, the Language and Culture Bank has completed a strategic planning process, and had volunteers participate in booths at the Tulsa Hispanic Chamber Meeting and the Dare To Prepare Expo. Volunteers were included in a recent severe weather alert from Tulsa Partners and were encouraged to review their emergency plans. We are working on getting Spanish language videos from the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes on a Spanish language television program.
Tulsa Partners has received a grant from the ONEOK Foundation for the Language and Culture Bank. The grant provides for the American Sign Language interpreters and workshops.
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Tulsa Partner's Would Like to Know What's Important to You!
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Please let us know what you would like to receive from Tulsa Partners. If a certain topic interests you more then others, or would prefer to only hear about certain items, LET US KNOW! Click on this link and your preferences can be changed when receiving our monthly newsletter and topical emails: Preferences
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IBHS Open for Business® with the Tulsa Area United Way
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 Tulsa Partners, collaborating with the Tulsa Area United Way will be providing an 8-week course, beginning September 16th, to allow TAUW member agencies a practical way to prepare their business for an emergency situation. The pilot course will be structured around the online basic course created by IBHS (Institute for Business and Home Safety), supplementing it with volunteer subject matter experts and peer feedback. We are charging $320 per TAUW member agency to offset administrative costs, allowing each nonprofit to send two people.
After this pilot, it is our hope to expand this interactive classroom version of training to other nonprofits. For those who can't wait, there is available training online. Through our work with the Institute for Business and Home Safety® (IBHS) and the Association of Contingency Planners, the DRBC has been using the IBHS Open for Business® training. For more information on this training, go to:
http://www.disastersafety.org/text.asp?id=commlines
Other DRBC updates: The Tulsa Community Foundation had its final business continuity and emergency planning meeting with volunteers from the DRBC as well as Tulsa Area Emergency Manager Mike McCool. Jeff Stava with TCF felt the process in creating their plan was invaluable, and would recommend it to other nonprofit agencies. Tulsa Metro Chamber has also reported they have completed their plan as well, and DRBC chair David Hall is working with the Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce on outreach to its members.
For more information on the DRBC, including presentations at recent conferences around the country, go to www.tulsapartners.org/DRBC/ . | |
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Tulsa Partners Hosted A Day Without Hospitals in Oklahoma City
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Dr. Richard Wainerdi, President and CEO of the Texas Medical Center, was the keynote speaker at the Oklahoma City A Day Without Hospitals. (Picture is from Tulsa's A Day Without Hospitals in 2007.)
When the unthinkable happens, will hospitals be prepared to lead a city through the crisis? This was the topic of Oklahoma City's 2009, A Day Without Hospitals. During the course, over 50 personnel and administrators learned in times of large-scale disaster, hospital officials must ensure continuity of operations, implement response plans, navigate reimbursement programs, maintain adequate staffing and standards of care, assess the need for equipment and supplies, as well as communicate with multiple constituencies.
The class was well-received by all in attendance on Wednesday, June 10th and Tulsa Partner's is looking forward to offering the class again in Tulsa and Oklahoma City in the years to come.
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Woody's Web
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Hot Stuff! Did you know that on warm Summer days (and we certainly know about those, don't we???) a city can be 6-8° F warmer than its surrounding areas? These cities are called "Urban Heat Islands". Working and/or living in a downtown area that is made of concrete, asphalt and metal quite simple produce warmer temperatures because these surfaces absorb and then reflect their accumulated heat. For more information on this topic, visit http://eetd.lbl.gov/HeatIsland/ and check out the various pages there.
And while we're on the subject of heat...please pay close attention to the little ones while outside playing. http://eetd.lbl.gov/HeatIsland/ provides a story out of NYC discussing this urgent and often overlooked danger to our youth. Some other great information may be found at http://apartments.about.com/od/safetyrepairs/a/playgroundburns.htm.
Reading through an article from Westport, Conn, I found that synthetic athletic surfaces are also prone to higher temperatures than natural grass playing fields. Parents and coaches are encouraged to ensure all players (children and adults!) are well hydrated to help prevent heat related illness. http://www.synturf.org/heateffect.html (scroll down to Article #27)
Clean Air Club - Ran across this website in a magazine - and LOVE it! There is some good info here for kids interested in being earth-friendly, a newsletter you can download...and some good ideas for the adults as well. (Like school buses that run on Biodiesel Fuel!!) This project began when John Benish, Jr discovered that regular exposure to diesel fumes has been linked to cancer, respiratory problems and asthma in kids. His family owns the largest family-owned school bus company, based out of Illinois. Four years ago, he swapped the regular gas in nearly all of his 2,000 buses with biodiesel fuel made of soybean oil. Biodiesel can reduce harmful emissions by more than 30%...which of course means less pollution. He has also established the educational portion of this great cause with the Clean Air Bus that travels to schools in Illinois to educate kids about the benefits of alternate fuels. Check it out! http://www.cleanairclub.net/
Some other interesting tidbits I've run across in recent weeks:
Emergency Planning for Places of Worship is not discussed very often. Here are a couple of resources for those wishing to pursue this vital need more in depth:
From the Jewish Community Relations Council, their document on "Emergency Planning: Disaster and Crisis Response Systems for Jewish Organizations" - http://www.jcrcny.org/security/index.php#resources. Nicely put together document, providing links to more in-depth information.
I found this from Rick Tobin's "Road to Ready" Show - Please go to Show #35 of the Road to Ready, "Church Readiness", archives at www.ricktobin.com/roadtoready/ You will find a lot of information and data that will assist you. The entire show is available as an MP3 file when you click on the menu item "Past Shows." The web links from the show, for guidance and examples, and contacts to those who do this kind of work, is listed at "Hot Links." The First Ten Plays also give you specific guidance to get started on your project
For our Partners looking for ideas or examples demonstrating the adaptation of major public health operations to their exercises: http://www.mchealth.org/emergprep/ . Includes participant handbooks (with scenarios), after action reports, and a good collection of video mini-documentaries and time lapses of large scale rapid screening points, medical care points, and vaccination and medicine distribution POD operations.
A similar site offering information on Applied Incident Command for Public Health can be viewed at http://practice.sph.umich.edu/micphp/AIC/AIC_index.php .
http://www.emsa.ca.gov/HICS/external.asp - This Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) site offers hospital ICS planning guides and implementation-response guides for 15 national planning scenarios. Information is offered in PDF and Word format.
For those working with our vulnerable populations, I thought this might be interesting...
The Institute for Business & Home Safety recently released a white paper to underscore the importance of considering vulnerable populations - including poor, elderly, disabled, non-English speakers, and others needing special assistance - in disaster planning and property loss prevention initiatives in high-risk areas. http://www.disastersafety.org/resource/resmgr/pdfs/vulnerable_populations.pdf
And if you're looking for some additional Preparedness/Mitigation information check out http://www.preparednessllc.com/enewsletter/enewsletter_home.html .. this is geared more towards businesses, but of course helpful information for EVERYone!
September - National Preparedness Month!!!
Be sure to review your Family Emergency Plan (even if you're just a family of ONE!) and make sure all your supplies are up to date and meet the needs of those in your household. There are of course multiple websites that will assist you in this task - too many to list all of them here of course. But here are a couple: www.redcross.org (under Preparing and Getting Trained...left side of the banner); a new one I've come across http://www.ice-qube.com/be-aware-emergency-preparedness (get it...ICE Qube...In Case of Emergency...ok, I'll stop). Some good info and tips, a bit more pricey on assembled kits...but interesting. And I would be remiss if I didn't remind everyone of http://www.ready.gov/america/npm09/index.html , be sure to sign up as a NPM Coalition Member!!
A couple of items I wanted to share that are more along the line of providing us with a reminder of why so many of us do the things we do for our communities and country...
The first, is just one story of several from the Make A Difference Day Awards for 2009. http://www.usaweekend.com/09_issues/090419/090419diffday-colorado.html#aurora , a heartwarming story of how a lieutenant colonel in the Marine Corps turned a heartbreaking task into a celebration honoring our fallen soldiers and their families. For more of this year's awards, visit www.makeadifferenecday.com .
This final link is probably a story that many of you read in our own Tulsa World - but the story it tells is one of hope rising from the depths of despair, so I wanted to share it here, and say "thank you" to all those who do so much for their communities...it is our compassion and caring that makes us strong in the face of such tragedy. http://www.tulsaworld.com/opinion/article.aspx?subjectid=61&articleid=20090419_214_G1_Stuffe917724&archive=yes
Be Aware ~ Be Informed ~ Be Safe
jjw
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Welcome to Tulsa Partner's our new Intern, Megan Quickle!
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Beginning in August,
Megan Quickle has joined our team as a Graduate Intern from Oklahoma
State University's Emergency Management Master's Program.
We are
currently looking for two other college interns to help us with the
Language and Culture Bank, as well as the Millennium Center.
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4th Friday Green Bag Lunch Series
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Green Bag lunch series has out-grown our facilities! Previous luncheon discussions have been over "Low Impact Development," "Residential Lighting" and "Indoor Air Quality." We will now be having our lunch series at larger venues so more people can join this exciting series! We look forward to seeing YOU at one soon.
Our fifth Green Bag Lunch will be held on the fourth Friday, August 28th from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm at the Kendall Whittier Library, 21 South Lewis.
"Green Building and Energy Efficiency"
Craig Immel with Landmark Resources will talk about ways to incorporate energy efficient design into new construction and existing buildings. Craig will also highlight some examples from Tulsa's first LEED Gold certified single family residence, to be unveiled this fall in the Brookside area.
For more information call 632-0044.
September 25, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Tulsa Technology Center Lemley Campus, 3420 South Memorial Drive, Faculty Dining Room
"Geothermal Energy"
Instructors from TTC will talk about and show attendees their new geothermal training unit and what it can teach students about geothermal energy.
October 23, 11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Kendall Whittier Library, 21 South Lewis
"Xeriscaping"
Carl Szafranski with Szafranski and Pugh landscape architects will talk to people about how to use native plants which use minimal water and are appropriate for our local habitat and climate. |
Former and New Tulsa Partners Board Members
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| Tulsa Partners' board member Wallace Williams had to step down from our Board of Directors due to increasing time commitments with the Rotary Club. Kathy Williams, Ph.D. also had to resign due to the time required for a new position with Tulsa Public Schools working on alternative education. These valued board members will be missed.
Our president, John Westmoreland, has accepted recommendations from our Governance Committee to appoint two excellent candidates, Dr. Charles Stewart M.D. and Brenda Phillips, Ph.D., to fill these vacancies.
We welcome them to our board!  Dr. Brenda Phillips teaches emergency management and research methods courses, with particular expertise in disaster recovery and high-risk populations at Oklahoma State University in Stillwater. She is a researcher with the Center for the Study of Disasters and Extreme Events and a faculty member in the Fire and Emergency Management Program.
Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Geological Survey, and the Natural Hazards Center. She taught in Costa Rica through a Rotary Foundation International Grant, received a Fulbright-Hays Award to Pakistan, and participated in a National Science Foundation Researcher Exchange with the People's Republic of China.
She has given invited presentations in New Zealand, Australia, Germany, Costa Rica, India and at the U.S. National Academies of Science, Church World Services, National Weather Service Training Center, and to various state offices of emergency management.
Her work has been published in the Journal of Emergency Management, Disaster Management, Disasters, the International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, Sociological Focus and Humanity and Society.
Charles Stewart, M.D. is a emergency physician and has written extensively on his 25+ year experiences "in the pit." He is currently a Doctor with the Oklahoma Institute for Disasters and Emergency Medicine at the University of Oklahoma. An eclectic taste in reading and a passionate desire to put ink to paper have resulted in a wide variety of published articles, books, and computer programs. An engineering background led to an early interest in computers. Exposure in the military led to an interest in chemical warfare agents and blast effects.
A graduate of West Point in 1969, Dr. Stewart was a Lt. Colonel in the United States Army. He was the first cadet to be sent to Medical School by the United States Army. He is board certified in Emergency Medicine, has been a former oral examiner for ABEM, and has been an Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of Rochester. He recently received a Masters degree in Disaster Medicine from the European Master of Disaster Medicine program. He is a member of the American Medical Writer's Association.
Dr. Stewart is an associate professor at the University of Oklahoma School of Medicine and the Director of Research for the Oklahoma Institute of Disaster and Emergency Medicine. He was an emergency physician at the United States Air Force Academy hospital from 2005 to 2007.
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Green Building Resource Library Open House
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Tulsa Partner's had a fantastic Open House for the Green Building Resource Library. This picture is just one exhibit of many in the Library. The Green Building Resource Library has been created to provide on site and online information/product samples on local, green, and disaster resistant technologies and services. We are excited for the future of this resource library and what it can do for Tulsa.
Are you building green? Will your home stand up to the forces of nature? We want you to live safely and in harmony with nature. Find out How - Come by the Green Building Resource Library! Supporters: Tulsa Partners Millennium Center Project * Sustainable Tulsa * Tulsa Homebuilders Association * U.S. Green Building Council
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6th Annual Nania Awards Banquet marks 1984 Memorial Day Flood with Keynote Speakers on Sustainability and Disasters
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This year marks the 25th Anniversary of the 1984 Memorial Day Flood, a benchmark event for Tulsa's efforts in disaster management. To commemorate this event, Tulsa Partners' sixth annual Nania Awards Banquet was held on Tuesday evening, May 26 at 6:30 p.m., at the Tulsa Historical Society located at 2445 South Peoria.
The keynote speakers for this occasion were George and Kim Haddow, co-authors with Jane Bullock of the book, Global Warming, Natural Hazards and Emergency Management, which includes a case study of the work of Tulsa Partners and other local organizations since the floods of the 1970's and 1980's.
In photo, Chair of Tulsa County Commission John Smaligo with keynote speakers George and Kim Haddow.
Kim Haddow was formerly the national communications director for the Sierra Club. Kim is now the Director of Communications for Brad Pitt's Make It Right Foundation, which builds safe and sustainable housing in New Orleans, meeting "green" certification standards for LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and the National Association of Home Builders.
Her husband, George Haddow was Deputy Chief of Staff at FEMA in the Clinton Administration. He was involved in the national implementation of the "Project Impact" program, which promoted using public/private partnerships to build a disaster-resistant community.
"Nania" is a Cherokee word that means "All Together." The Nania Awards recognize the outstanding work of local corporate and nonprofit entities in building a disaster-resistant and sustainable community. We also recognize individuals who have done similar work on the national stage. Our awardees this year were the following:
Individual:
George and Kim Haddow (keynote speakers)
Corporate:
Tulsa City County Health Department, for their ongoing collaborative work with community partners on preparing for public health emergencies and other disasters.
Kendall Whittier, Inc., for their work with neighborhood and community partners in promoting emergency preparedness and response planning in the Kendall Whittier area.
Special Award:
Cherokee, Muscogee Creek and Osage Nations, for their leadership and participation with Tulsa County in the Integrated Emergency Management Course at the Emergency Management Institute in Emmitsburg, MD. This federal course allowed municipal, county and tribal jurisdictions to work together through an intensive functional disaster exercise.
The lead sponsor for this event was the Bank of Oklahoma. Other sponsors include Williams, PSO and Neal McNeill.
For more information on the Nania Banquet, contact Tulsa Partners, Inc. at 918-632-0044 or see www.TulsaPartners.org/Nania09.asp. More pictures of the event are available here.
Founding Director, Ann Patton wrote an article published in the Tulsa World regarding the 1984 Memorial Day Flood. Please follow this link to read her insightful article: "Worst Flooding in Tulsa: Looking back and ahead."
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"Resilient and Ready" at Tulsa Public Schools
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In April and May, Tulsa Partners offered Resilient and Ready Children's Workshops developed by Save The Children to area schoolchildren. Included in children's preparedness backpack were printed materials provided by the McReady program and the Oklahoma Insurance Department. 369 children and their families have received this training thus far in 2009. Pictured is volunteer facilitator Willene Leffall presenting at Skelly Elementary School.
A special thank you to the George Kaiser Family Foundation, as well as the Cox Connects Foundation for their generous financial support for these workshops.
Tenna Whitsel, Director of School Counceling for Tulsa Public Schools, publicised the workshops throughout Tulsa Public Schools and we had great response from all Tulsa Public Schools. Thank you Tenna!
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Tulsa Public Schools receives REMS Grant from
U.S. Department of Education
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Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) has received a $486,474 grant from the United States Department of Education. Working with a variety of stakeholders such as Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, Tulsa Police Department and Tulsa Partners, TPS was able to receive the same grant which years ago funded the Community Emergency Response Team program in the school system.
The Readiness and Emergency Management for Schools (REMS) discretionary grant program will enable TPS to improve plans that address all four phases of emergency management: Prevention-Mitigation, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery.
In addition to addressing the four phases of emergency management, plans must commit school districts to coordinate with officials in law enforcement, local government, public safety, public health and mental health; train school officials in emergency management; and provide a method for communicating emergency and reunification procedures to parents and guardians.
Funds may be used to coordinate with local emergency responders, including fire, police and public health agencies; conduct drills and exercises; purchase emergency supplies and equipment; and to train staff and students on emergency response procedures. To see the Press Release from Tulsa Public Schools, click here. To see the Press Release from the U.S. Department of Education, click here.
Tulsa Partners is honored to have participated in the grant development process with Tulsa Public Schools and we look forward to working more with TPS in the future!
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Partner Linda Muirheid Retires
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After many dedicated years with the Tulsa County Health Department, Linda Muirheid has retired in August of 2009. We wish her the best in her retirement and wish her smooth sailing wherever her boat--or cruise ship--sails!
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Kendall-Whittier Neighborhood Emergency Operations Plan Complete
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Pictured: Kendall Whittier, Inc., with Officer Tim O'Keefe and Tulsa Partners
Executive
Director Tim Lovell, recognized at the Nania Awards for their work with neighborhood and community partners in promoting emergency preparedness and response planning in the Kendall Whittier area.
The Kendall-Whittier Neighborhood Emergency Operations Plan is now complete and can be viewed at the Tulsa Partner's website. This is the first plan in the Tulsa area developed for a neighborhood community. |
St. Simeon's Recognized for Partnership in
Long Term Care Facilities Workshops
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Saint Simeon's Episcopal Home received the Excellence in Community Involvement Award, given to an organization for providing a benefit to their community and its residents, at the OKAHSA Annual Awards Program held March 11 in Midwest City. Each year the Oklahoma Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (OKAHSA) recognizes and honors the efforts of individuals and member communities for their dedication, innovation and commitment to the aging services profession. Saint Simeon's was recognized for their work with Tulsa Partners' annual Disaster Management for Long Term Care Facilities Workshops. Please click this link for more information regarding the award St. Simeon's received: Award for St. Simeon'sTulsa Partner's will be hosting the Fifth Annual Disaster Management for Long Term Facilities Workshops in Tulsa on November 19th, as well as in Oklahoma City on Decemeber 3, 2009.
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Upcoming Events with Tulsa Partners
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August
28th- Green Bag Lunch series
September - National Preparedness Month
25th- Green Bag Lunch series
October
23rd- Green Bag Lunch series
28th- Annual Meeting Lunch
November
19th- Tulsa Disaster Management for Long Term Care Facilities Workshop
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Your support is always welcome!
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