Disaster Podcast

Dr. Norman Itkowitz, PhD joins us to discuss mental health resilience among first responders. Norman himself was a disaster survivor as a resident of New Orleans during and after Hurricane Katrina struck the city. He talks about how dealing with that event helped him in his practice talking to police and fire departments about stress injury disorders and how to deal with them.

Disaster Meteorologist and Emergency Management expert Becky DePodwin and her husband and fellow meteorologist, Dan DePodwin open the show with a review of all the severe winter weather striking the U.S. south, especially the power and water supply issues facing the state of Texas.

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Disaster Meteorologist and Emergency Management expert Becky DePodwin is joined by her husband and fellow meteorologist, Dan DePodwin to talk about the continuing active winter weather pattern over the United States and Canada. They discuss the dipping arctic air causing record cold temperatures.

We also discuss many of the specific weather events including ice storms in the American south, multiple chain-reaction motor vehicle accidents on interstate highways, and nor’easters off the Atlantic coast.

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Disaster Meteorologist and Emergency Management expert Becky DePodwin is joined by her husband and fellow meteorologist, Dan DePodwin to talk about the week of extreme disaster weather from across the country. They started off covering the recent fatal tornadoes to strike the U.S. south.

The worst was an EF-3 Tornado that struck the Birmingham, Alabama suburbs this past week. Becky mentions a photo on Twitter linked in this article from a man who got out just in time before a 2×4 piece of lumber was driven through his bedroom wall.

They shifted focus to the atmospheric river effect funneling moisture into the central Pacific coast and into the Rockies. Extreme amounts of rain and snow fell into California and into Colorado and other mountain states. The front is forecast to eventually bring a large amount of snow to the mid-Atlantic and northeastern U.S.

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Disaster Meteorologist and Emergency Management expert Becky DePodwin came on the show to talk about a recent training class she took on community resilience in disaster planning. The LabX Extreme Event Game is designed to give participants a taste of what it takes to build community resilience in the face of disaster. Players work together to make decisions and solve problems during an engaging, fast-paced disaster simulation.

Developed by the National Academy of Sciences’ Koshland Science Museum (now LabX) in collaboration with the ResilientAmerica Roundtable, Extreme Event’s content draws on recommendations from the seminal National Research Council report Disaster Resilience: A National Imperative and has been reviewed by experts and staff of the National Academies.

Also on the show were meteorologist Dan DePodwin, Dr. Joe Holley, and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Dr. Joe Holley returned recently from a training exercise for USAR teams to work out new training routines for disaster responders during the COVID-19 pandemic. They looked at ways to keep team members safe from infection while performing their essential duties during major disaster events.

We also looked at recent and upcoming weather forecasts for the country and talked about how weather impacts both training and response for disaster teams. Dr. Joe gives an update on COVID infection rates and hospital resilience in Memphis, Tennessee.

Also on the show were meteorologist Dan DePodwin and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Meteorologist Becky DePodwin, and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, got together for this episode to look back the many episodes covered over the previous year that was 2020 on the Disaster Podcast. Each of the team picked a few stand-out episodes as well as talked about what they looked forward to covering in 2021 as the new year kicks off.

Here are the picks for each team member:

Meteorologist Kyle Nelson sent in his picks even though he couldn’t be on the recording.

* Wildland Fires, Smoke and Effects on Air Quality

* Wilderness EMS Burnout with James Corbin and David Bremson

* Favorite Guest: Bobbie Merica and her book on building resilience in children, If I Have to Grow, It’s Good to Know.

Becky DePodwin’s picks were:

* Preparedness and Planning for 2020 Winter XGames with Kyle Nelson

* Stress Management in the Face of COVID-19 Response and Treatment

* First Responder Mental Health and Stress Injury Awareness

* Using Modular Custom Shelter Systems from Harbor Wellness

* StEER Data from NHERI Reviewed Following Hurricane Laura

Jamie Davis’ picks were:

* COVID-19 Patient Presentation Update with Dr. Joe Holley

* Disaster Information Management and Readiness with Rob Neppell from CEDR Digital Corps

* First Responder Mental Health and Stress Injury Awareness with Dr. Randy DuPont PhD.

Sam Bradley’s picks were:

* Weird Winter Weather Test with Dan DePodwin

* USAR Doc In Training with Dr. Sam Ni

* Boots on the Ground in Cookeville, Tennessee Post-Tornado

*

The Disaster Podcast team is joined by Yedidya Benavie, NREMT. He comes on the show to discuss different ways to approach preparedness drills. He specifically compares the school active shooter drills with routine fire drills, saying neither should be a source of fear or dread.

We talk about when it’s a appropriate to do different levels of drills from tabletop roundtable drills all the way up to unannounced “reality” drills. When should we subject staff and teams to the various types of drills? We discuss in depth on the show.

Also on the show were Dr. Joe Holley, meteorologist Becky DePodwin, and co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Dr. Joe Holley comes on the show this week to talk about the hospital surge happening due to COVID-19 cases. He relates his experience in the ER in Memphis and talks about the situation on the street with EMS providers, too.

With the situation fast approaching a saturation point where patients may stop receiving optimal care due to bed and staff shortages, it is imperative all healthcare professionals and first responders work to educate the public on the necessity of the five Ws:

* Wash Hands

* Wear a Mask

* Watch Your Distance

We can also be part of the initiative to get people vaccinated by talking about the science behind the safety and efficacy of the vaccines coming on the market. We must set people’s fears at ease by answering their questions and understanding where they’re coming from so we can best counter misinformation.

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Meteorologist Dan DePodwin steps in to help us look at winter weather after his weekly look back at the last week. Sam Bradley tests his knowledge of weird winter weather terms in this episode on the lighter side of Disaster Podcast coverage. With terms like hoarfrost, blenky, and more, we try to stump Dan and see if he’s as up on his winter weather terms as he thought.

Check out this episode and see if you know some of the more obscure terms Sam found for weird winter weather.

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.

Dr. Joe Holley shares his expertise with the Disaster Podcast crew as we look at the realities of patient care in the midst of the current increase of COVID-19 cases around the world. One of the biggest things that affect that care is the ability of a region’s hospitals to surge capacity in beds and staff.

While creating new bed spaces and acquiring new beds to fill them is relatively easy, you cannot create new staffing the same way. Early in the pandemic response when most of the cases were isolated in the Northeastern U.S. and then later in the south, critical care staff were able to move from other areas to help cover gaps. Now, with COVID surging everywhere, there is no excess staff to be found and that will ultimately affect care as the number of patients exceeds a hospital’s ability to care for them.

Also on the show were co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, along with disaster meteorologist Becky DePodwin.

Join the Discussion

Join the discussion after the show with co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, the Podmedic in our Disaster Podcast Facebook Group now!

Paragon Brings “The Experience”

Paragon Medical Education Group specializes in bringing what they call “The Experience” to jurisdictions around the country. They bring together police, fire, EMS, and hospital teams to train together and learn what to expect from each diverse group in the response team so that each knows what to expect from the other and how to back the other groups up. Visit Paragon’s site at ParagonMedicalGroup.com for more information on how this can be brought into your system.