Disaster Podcast

Dan Zehner is back with us from the Design Safe Radio Podcast to give us updates on what they’re doing to research and create better and more resilient building materials. Dan works with the Natural Hazards Engineering Research Infrastructure (NHERI) program, funded by the National Science Foundation, which catalyzes advances in natural hazards engineering research.

Dan brings us some the latest updates in building materials design and testing to keep our communities safe and resilient in the face of disasters. In addition to testing of structures and structural materials, NHERI facilities test natural forces and events to better understand the phenomena at work in these events. The NHERI facilities are scattered in colleges and university research centers around the country. Each of them focus on specific types of events and structural components.

Here’s some more about those facilities: www.designsafe-ci.org/facilities/experimental

Also on the show this week were co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, along with Dr. Joe Holley from Paragon Medical Education Group and our disaster weather expert Kyle Nelson.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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This week Laura McGladrey a psychological nurse practitioner joins us on the call to share her work as the author of the chapter in the recently published Wilderness EMS textbook. Laura is accompanied on the show by the textbook’s organizer Dr. Seth Hawkins and they discuss the concept of stress and how it affects how we react to ongoing situations such as might be found in the wilderness or austere medical setting.

Laura shares the five methods to help manage a survivor of a wilderness stress situation, decrease arrival and reestablish safety. They are: Create a sense of safety in the scene, Create calm, Create a sense of self-efficacy, Create connection to family and loved ones, Create hope that the situation will resolve.

We also discuss the risks of increased suicide rates among responders and how it is increasingly important to identify stress injuries and intervene early to stop the progression of the stress event on a person. Laura mentions that different groups of responders (wildland firefighters, ski patrol, USAR teams, etc.) all have unique distinct patterns in how they present with stress injuries.

Also on the call are co-hosts Sam Bradley and Jamie Davis, along with our disaster weather expert, Kyle Nelson.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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Jason Friesen from TrekMedics.org joins us on the show this week. We’ve had Jason on the show before talking about his non-profit organization. To refresh your memory. Trek Medics International is a 501c 3 registered nongovernmental organization dedicated to improving emergency medical systems in communities without reliable access to emergency care through innovative mobile phone technologies.

Their hallmark system, called Beacon, is used to build out functionality in areas without sophisticated first world radio infrastructure using a dedicated mobile application. Beacon is a text message-based emergency dispatching platform designed specifically for communities with limited access to emergency care and transport. It enables to communities to leverage their own resources in order to design, launch, manage and sustain their own emergency response networks on any phone, with or without an internet connection, and anywhere there’s a mobile phone signal.

Also on the show this week with Jason are co-hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley, plus show regulars Dr. Joe Holley and our disaster weather expert, Kyle Nelson. If you want to join the conversation, check out our Facebook Group and ask questions or leave comments on each week’s episode posts.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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We dig into crush syndrome and a tie to the opioid epidemic for emergency responders in this episode of the Disaster Podcast with a clinical topic from Dr. Joe Holley. It’s a total body system-wide process that results from compression injury to muscle tissue releases toxins into the body.

EMS and disaster responders see crush syndrome more frequently than we might think we do. While we think about collapsed structures and heavyweights compressing the body for an extended period of time.

For example: consider an elderly person who falls and breaks a hip then is unable to call for help and remains in a static position for an extended period of time. This prolonged positional crush syndrome is often unrecognized in the field. Similar cases are seen in opioid and other unconscious overdose patients.

The primary cause of injury from crush syndrome is related to rhabdomyolysis and kidney function problems. It starts when muscle tissue becomes ischemic because of position, compression, or crushing injury. As the cells die, they rupture and release intracellular contents including large protein molecules like myoglobin along with potassium ions.

The myoglobin becomes lodged in the filtration system of the kidneys and causes renal failure while the flood of potassium has significant cardiac side effects. Overall acidosis from anaerobic metabolism during the crush incident causes a failure or reduction in the patient’s compensatory mechanisms.

Also on the show this week are Sam Bradley and co-host Jamie Davis, plus the Disaster Podcast disaster weather expert, Kyle Nelson.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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This week we talk with Chief Scott A. LaVielle, EFO, CFO, CEMSO, FM, MIFireE, from Tumwater, Washington, who was one the responding chief officers on the Washington State I-5 Amtrak Train Derailment incident. Scott talks about attending the NFA EMS Special Operations Course to develop skills and training on large-scale MCI incidents in March 2017 which prepared for him and his team for this event, though they couldn’t have predicted it ahead of time.

After attending the course, the local emergency response community in Thurston County, Washington started to organize their MCI plan for the county in April 2017. Thurston County had a plan in concept, according to Chief LaVielle, they just needed to put the plan into a document where they would all be on the same page.

After the plan was developed, the county agencies started training evolutions on it. As the plan developed, multiple agencies in Thurston County including Tumwater fire and police started training on such a plan with an active shooter scenario in June of 2017 at Black Hills High School.

Little did they know that the training would be put into effect less than a year later with the I-5 Amtrak derailment. Scott stresses the need for a “scalable plan” so that you can adjust from small to large to major mass casualty incident.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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We talk about mitigating natural disasters in this week’s episode of the Disaster Podcast. Coming on the show is Bryan Koon. Bryan is the former Director at the Florida Division of Emergency Management and currently Vice President of Homeland Security and Emergency Management with IEM. He also serves as Chair of the Multi Hazard Mitigation Council. The Council is comprised of leading experts in mitigation and serves as an independent, non-governmental, non-profit entity that advocates for smart mitigation practices nationwide.

Natural hazards present significant risks to many communities across the United States. Fortunately, there are measures governments, building owners, developers, tenants and others can take to reduce the impacts of such events. Natural disasters cause billions in damages and significant human suffering, much of which could be avoided by strategic local zoning, adopting more stringent codes and using FEMA Building Science Guidance and other tools for new and retrofit construction.

In this new Study, NIBS MMC examined 23 years of federal grants data to determine the BCR for mitigation grants, and examined an expanded set of mitigation tactics to determine the BCR of building new structures beyond code requirements. The hazard categories covered in this Study are Riverine Flood, Hurricane Surge, Wind, Earthquake, and Wildland-Urban Interface Fire.

The Study shows a savings of $15.5 Billion from one year of building new construction beyond code requirements and $158 Billion in savings from federally funded mitigation grant programs funded between 1993-2016.

Hazard mitigation program implementation saves our nation money. The new data shows that money spent exceeding select provisions of the 2015 model building code saves the nation $4 for every $1 spent & mitigation grants funded through select government agencies saves the Nation $6 for every $1 spent in losses avoided. The below monetary figures use 2016 dollars.

In addition to the benefits of losses avoided, approximately 87,000 jobs would be added nationwide. The study further estimates that mitigation investments would prevent more than hundreds of deaths,, injuries and cases of post-traumatic stress disorder.

Achieving resilience relies on actions and investments by both the public and private sector—with benefits also accruing to each sector. This 2017 Interim Report developed by The Institute shows an expanded look at the sources of mitigation and the numerous benefits for different stakeholders, beyond just federal spending impacts.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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In this bonus episode, we talk about the Ambulance EMS Strike Team program nationally available where extra ambulances are set up in storage around the country so they can be deployed to disasters on very short notice. AMR administers the program nationally though smaller EMS organizations participate providing EMTs and Paramedics to the program.

Joining us on the call are Bruce Evans, Chief of Upper Pine River Fire Protection District near Durango, Colorado, and Scott Barthelmass, the Public Information Officer (PIO) in the Eureka Fire Protection District near St. Louis Missouri.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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This week we talk about the revamping of the EMS Special Operations course at the National Fire Academy with paramedic Jim Logan. Joining Jim are Bruce Evans, Chief of Upper Pine River Fire Protection District near Durango, Colorado, and Scott Barthelmass, the Public Information Officer (PIO) in the Eureka Fire Protection District near St. Louis Missouri.

The National Fire Academy (NFA) works to enhance the ability of fire and emergency services including EMS professionals and volunteers, plus allied professionals to deal more effectively with fire and related emergencies. Free training courses and programs are delivered at our campus in Emmitsburg, Maryland, online and throughout the nation.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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Family Nurse Practitioner and paramedic Rene Steinhauer, MSN, FNP, EMT-P rejoins us for another visit this week to share his thoughts on what disaster volunteers should expect and not expect when they deploy to disaster areas. Rene talks with hosts Jamie Davis and Sam Bradley, along with Dr. Joe Holley about a recent article he wrote for the Sigma Theta Tau nursing honor society.

The article, “If it’s not disorganized, it’s not a disaster” looks at the disorganized chaos that defines a disaster. Rene is a volunteer with Remote Area Medical (RAM), has managed disaster responses that include the Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, the Haiti earthquake, Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, and Ebola in Liberia.

Rene writes in his article:

“They should expect complete and total chaos. They should expect to find themselves in the wrong location. They should expect their talents to be underutilized. They should expect to be both physically and mentally exhausted before they even start the job. It’s a disaster. It’s supposed to be this way!”

Disaster Podcast listeners may remember Rene came on the show to share his book Saving Jumani about his response to Haiti after the devastating earthquake there in 2010. You can find that book, an excellent read on Amazon here for Saving Jumani.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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In this episode, we look at the brand new Wilderness EMS textbook written by a few folks, most of whom have been guests on the show here before. We have Dr. Seth Hawkins, Dr. Ben Abo, Paramedic David Fifer, and nationally registered Wilderness EMT and Instructor Corey Winstead.

The Wilderness EMS textbook is designed for EMS providers and leaders who deliver medical care in the wilderness, and those practicing wilderness medicine as part of a formal team. The textbook is a comprehensive, expertly-written reference ideal for this fast-changing and multidisciplinary specialty.

This first-of-its-kind text provides specialized instruction and best practices for wilderness EMS practitioners and students – crucial information for the success of today’s rescue missions. A strong foundation in evidence-based medicine, clinical experience, and field applicability makes it especially useful for any EMS provider in a wilderness environment.

Disaster Never Sleeps, Neither Do We

We will be bringing you more special updates from our Disaster Podcast team members as we get them in from around the world.

Stay tuned here to the Disaster Podcast website at DisasterPodcast.com or on our Disaster Podcast Facebook group for updates and discussion.

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.

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