Minutes of the Meeting of the
Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee
14 November 2007
7:30 PM
The Sarpy County Local Emergency Planning Committee convened in open and public session on November 14, 2007 at 7:30pm at the Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness. The following members or alternates were present according to the sign-in sheet: Nancy Braswell, Rod Buethe, Ron Clark, Chris Coville (for Jason Johnson), Keith Deiml, Veon Dillon, Capt D. Hauly (for Capt Jim Palensky), Jim Jenkins, Scott Keep, Brenda Konfrst (for Capt Tom Schwarten), Larry Lavelle, Nicholas Leach (for Bill Bowes), Travis Mayer, Jane Nitchals, Maria Reiter, Lisa Rink, Rich Uhl, Greg Wilch, Dick Williams, Louie Wilson, Rolly Yost, John Young, and Carol Zimmer. Guests were Ms. Johni Mak from the 55th Medical Group (55MDG), Offutt AFB, Curtis Rainge representing Sarpy CERT and Ms. Monica Ulses from Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness.
Advanced notice of the meeting was published in the Bellevue Leader and Papillion Times. Copies of Proof of Publication are on file in the Sarpy County Clerk’s Office. All proceedings were taken while the convened meeting was open to the attendance of the public.
Before the meeting got started, Secretary Reiter went over some housekeeping items. She pointed out the location of the restrooms, the emergency exit, and thanked the Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness for providing refreshments. She also welcomed back Chairman Wilson who had been recovering from a serious vehicle accident.
Chairman Wilson thanked the members for attending tonight’s meeting and called the meeting to order. Roll call was done by sign-in sheet.
Chairman Wilson asked for any additions or corrections to the meeting minutes. Hearing none, Chairman Wilson asked for a motion to approve the minutes as written. Dick Williams motioned, seconded by Rod Buethe to approve the minutes. All were in favor, none opposed and motion passed unanimously.
BOARD REPORTS:
Chairman Report: Chairman Wilson reported that he received no written or verbal information on any reportable HAZMAT incidents during the last quarter. He asked if anyone knew of any HAZMAT incidents that may not have been recorded. There was no response from the membership.
Vice Chairman: Vice Chair Lavelle provided the report. He commended Secretary Reiter for getting informational brochures to the members in regards to State Emergency Response Commission (SERC) activities. He introduced Curtis Rainge as the new Sarpy County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) representative. Vice Chair Lavelle noted that Incident Command System (ICS) training continues and classes fill to capacity almost as soon as offerings are announced.
Information Coordinator: Coordinator Rink indicated that the Sarpy County Radiological Program needed men and women decontamination volunteer personnel. A health physicist agreed to assist with ongoing training, but a team of volunteers must be put together. Chairman Wilson asked Coordinator Rink if flyers were sent out to recruit volunteers with a contact name and number for those interested in joining. Secretary Reiter asked Coordinator Rink about the time commitment involved and how often training would be scheduled. Coordinator Rink explained that training would be conducted periodically throughout the year. Chairman Wilson asked Coordinator Rink to send the name of the contact person for the team to Secretary Reiter and/or Vice Chair Lavelle so that the information could be disseminated back out to the membership. Jane Nitchals asked Coordinator Rink to review the information again because those sitting in the back of the room couldn’t hear the initial discussion. Coordinator Rink stated that Sarpy County needed men and women volunteers to conduct radiological monitoring and decontamination. This would be done at the Bellevue Reception and Care Facility. Currently, this is done every four years. Coordinator Rink said that anyone interested in being part of this volunteer team should let her know. Secretary Reiter and Jane Nitchals volunteered to be members of the women’s decontamination team.
Vice Chair Lavelle said that Sarpy County and the City of Bellevue are part of a response plan for relocating residents who have to evacuate as a result of an incident at the Fort Calhoun Nuclear Power Plant. The monitoring and decontamination drills are part of the radiological exercise and planning. At the reception center, evacuees are evaluated, monitored, decontaminated (if needed), and assigned to a shelter. Vice Chair Lavelle said that from the 20 Aug 07 exercise, his office has found the set up to be a huge undertaking. Lessons learned from that exercise included conducting drills more regularly, identifying some new facilities, and enlisting the help of other agencies like the Red Cross. Coordinator Rink pointed out that they plan to find a new reception facility because the current one is inadequate and doesn’t have handicap access. Ron Clark asked about the current facility and if a new facility had to have showers. He pointed out that the current facility was very conveniently located because past exercises didn’t bring potentially contaminated victims too far into the county. They just came across the bridge where they were decontaminated at the close by current facility. Coordinator Rink mentioned that the area will be rebuilt as a new sports complex, so there will be a lot going on there. She said that after being unchanged for 20-25 years in the response plan, there has to be other options.
Secretary: No Report. The minutes were approved at the opening of the meeting.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Exercise: Vice Chair Lavelle gave the report. He said there were no new updates to the Planning, Exercise and Training (PET) Calendar. Based on conversations with Major Finan from the Offutt AFB Airshow Office, the base plans to hold the Air Show in August with the Major Accident Response Exercise (MARE) in front of it, but dates are not yet confirmed. Tentative date for the MARE is 26 Jul 08. Ron Clark reported that in speaking to base security forces personnel during the Veteran’s Day Parade on Saturday, the Air Show is scheduled to be held in August. Vice Chair Lavelle agreed but emphasized that as of earlier this week, the base hadn’t locked in the dates yet because they are trying to get confirmation of performances by the Blue Angels.
Secretary Reiter provided additional exercise information from the Omaha Metropolitan Medical Response System (OMMRS) Exercise/Design Team Subcommittee Meeting. Omaha Fire and Law Enforcement plan to participate with the Nebraska and Iowa Civil Support Teams in January and will conduct an exercise from both sides of the Missouri River. The exercise dates are 15-16 January 2008 and anyone interested in participating should contact Lt. Tim Carmody from OPD. Vice Chair Lavelle mentioned that the agencies haven’t solidified everything regarding the exercise yet but would follow-up and get additional details. Secretary Reiter said that OMMRS Exercise/Design Team members discussed conducting a Full Scale Exercise sometime in 2008 along with different objectives that might need to be tested, but there didn’t appear to be any general consensus. Hospital members identified a JCAHO requirement for an evacuation-type exercise. Jane Nitchals pointed out that the exercise could be a tabletop and didn’t have to include demonstrated evacuation from the facility.
Fiscal: Secretary Reiter reported that the balance in the LEPC checking account as of 31 October 2007 is $767.75 and the savings account balance is $5.01. The account earned .01 cents in interest which may be reportable to the IRS. Secretary Reiter explained that the account no longer incurs a monthly service charge since being changed to the SAC Federal Credit Union. She also presented a binder containing the financial records and made them available to interested members for their review during the meeting.
Secretary Reiter asked Vice Chair Lavelle for confirmation that the State has the LEPC account routing number for electronic transfers. There have been no deposits into the account and still outstanding is the 2006 reimbursement for the fair outreach effort. Former Sarpy County Information Coordinator Joe Mastandrea wrote Check #99 dated 7 Jul 06 payable to the Sarpy County Ag Society in the amount of $100. There is no record of that reimbursement deposit in the LEPC account. Vice Chair Lavelle said that his office would check into it and assumed that the State reimbursed the mini grant but that the reimbursement got routed into the Sarpy County General Fund.
Chairman Wilson asked about the status of the paperwork for the current financial institution. Secretary Reiter informed him that all paperwork has been completed, four signatories include the Chairman, Vice Chair, Information Coordinator and Secretary/Treasurer, any one officer can make a financial transaction on behalf of the LEPC, and that only one signature is required on the checks.
Legislative: Vice Chair Lavelle reported that there was no legislation, either proposed or active. The next SERC Meeting will be held in Lincoln on 8 January 2008 starting at 1:00 P.M. at the new Nebraska Educational Telecommunications Facility.
Right-to-Know (Outreach): Carol Zimmer provided the report. She received good feedback after the Sarpy County Fair event and indicated that it would prompt some changes for next year. Nine volunteers staffed the booth for four (4) days, from noon until close. She extended thanks to those who participated: Nancy Braswell and Marilyn Larson (volunteered multiple shifts on multiple days), Jane Nitchals, Maria Reiter, John Kuzma, Larry Lavelle, Ron Clark, and Roger Filter. For 2008, Carol plans to eliminate the need for electronics, pare down the amount of handout materials, and double check the LEPC pamphlets against the health department's brochures to eliminate duplications. Give-away items of pencils, magnets, tattoos/stickers went well. She took back approximately one third of the materials that she started with and did very well as far as getting stuff out. She suggested co-locating the booth with the Health Department to facilitate staffing efforts.
Secretary Reiter said that one of the goals for next year is to get the Shelter-in-Place Magnets. Vice Chair Lavelle said he has prices from two vendors. Secretary Reiter also indicated that laptop storage was problematic at times when volunteers couldn’t get access to the Sheriff’s mobile command van. Carol Zimmer told the committee that because the fairgrounds are a dusty environment, she plans to eliminate the need for electronics. Her 2008 goal is to keep the outreach effort simple affording maximum contact with the least amount of stuff.
Ron Clark asked about relocating the booth to inside one of the air conditioned buildings. Secretary Reiter added that the Health Department had an inside booth and asked Nancy Braswell about the cost. Nancy didn’t have any cost information, so Secretary Reiter offered to contact Sarpy County Ag Society Representative Lt Russ Zeeb and report back at the next meeting. Carol suggested partnering with the Health Department to share cost and staffing. Secretary Reiter indicated that cost is not a huge factor because the outreach effort is a reimbursable expense. Secretary Reiter noted that the LEPC account has not received reimbursement for the 2007 outreach effort because again, there has been no activity in the account. Vice Chair Lavelle indicated that the State did not have any problems with the paperwork his office sent back. Secretary Reiter stated that the check was sent out 17 Jul 07 payable to the Sarpy County Ag Society in the amount of $100. She emphasized that we paid for the outreach effort, conducted outreach as specified, and need to get the mini grant filed with the State for reimbursement. Information Coordinator Rink said she would follow up the matter with the SERC Coordinator.
Response Plan: Vice Chair Lavelle reported that the most recent update of changes to the LEOP came from LaVista. Information Coordinator Rink has taken the annexes and broken them out to update contact information and verify equipment lists. Annexes currently being worked on are those outside government purview per se. Vice Chair Lavelle indicated that updates have been provided to the State, but his office has not received any type of feedback. He suggested this was due to State preoccupation with last minute grant funding. Vice Chair Lavelle assured the membership that updating the LEOP was an ongoing process, that his office was still taking information, and that the most complete updates were sent in a couple of weeks ago from LaVista. Vice Chair Lavelle mentioned that currently, his office was also working on an Animal Annex to provide shelter and care for animals in times of disaster.
Secretary Reiter inquired about the Resource Book database project that Former Coordinator Joe Mastandrea said was being worked on by a United Way volunteer. She also asked if there were plans to use the NIMS Incident Resource Inventory System (IRIS). Vice Chair Lavelle said that Information Coordinator Rink and Mike Kennelly from Douglas County would be doing that for their respective counties. Secretary Reiter described the IRIS database and said that it allows resource typing of equipment and personnel teams. It is a database management tool to enter a community’s resources into a common database and allows users to share data between jurisdictions. Vice Chair Lavelle said it is one more tool you can download and populate with information. It involves not only preparedness, but also accounting and auditing because it tracks items purchased, items borrowed and items shared in times of disaster. Vice Chair Lavelle said that he was evaluating how to plug his office into that and emphasized that resource typing is a huge issue.
Training: Vice Chair Lavelle mentioned that ongoing ICS 100, 700, 300 and 400 training courses are consistently filled to capacity. He has observed that not only in the volunteer community but also in the paid community, individuals are registering to take the courses as soon as they are offered. Secretary Reiter reported that Mike Kennelly and Kirk Schuster from Bellevue Fire are conducting an ICS 400 class on 28-29 November. Vice Chair Lavelle thought that all slots for that class were taken. He said that some ICS courses are required, some aren’t and organizations are still struggling with who needs what training Vice Chair Lavelle said that he heard about a statewide EMS training for moulage classes but hasn’t received any other information.
OLD BUSINESS: Chairman Wilson asked about old business. Secretary Reiter mentioned the Shelter-in-Place magnets. Vice Chair Lavelle said he received prices from two vendors. Secretary Reiter asked if a mini grant proposal was sent to the State for approval. She provided background information about when the idea was first proposed to the committee, voted on and approved. Vice Chair Lavelle indicated he received a verbal approval from the State. Secretary Reiter asked him to provide an e-mail of the approval to purchase the magnets so she could move forward and place the order.
NEW BUSINESS: Chairman Wilson asked for new business. Vice Chair Lavelle said that Information Coordinator Rink has a current e-mail distribution list for the Sarpy LEPC. Secretary Reiter indicated that Curtis Rainge and Ms. Mak needed to fill out new member applications. Once completed and signed by Chairman Wilson, she will send them to the State to be voted on in the January 2008 SERC Meeting. Secretary Reiter asked Vice Chair Lavelle about the status of appointments for the rest of the committee members and indicated that Former Information Coordinator Joe Mastandrea did the last round of re-appointments. Information Coordinator Rink said she would check but thought that member appointments were current through 2008. Secretary Reiter informed the committee that member re-appointments should be completed at the next LEPC meeting, signed by the Chair and submitted at least 30 days prior to the next SERC meeting and that the SERC meets January, April, July and October.
Secretary Reiter also called attention to the SERC handouts. She said that the SERC Coordinator would like to have a statewide LEPC conference sometime in 2008 and was looking for an active LEPC to host it. The conference is usually held over a weekend. Factors to consider include hotel and conference room availability, industry to sponsor technical tours, and presenters. Interested LEPCs must submit a proposal to the SERC Coordinator. A proposal has to be put together and submitted to the SERC Coordinator.
Program: Nancy Braswell introduced Monica Ulses, Sarpy/Cass Department of Health and Wellness Public Health Nurse to talk about MRSA. Monica passed out a fact sheet from CDC, described her background and explained her job duties at the Health Department. She then talked about Staphlococcus aureus and resistant forms. Staphlococcus aureus is the basic staph bacterium. MRSA is a staphylococcus bacterium that is actually resistant to penicillin and has become resistant to methicillin as well. The other one is community-acquired or community-associated MRSA and there are five (5) different risk factors that need to be present in order for you to be diagnosed with it.
Staph is a bacterium. About a third of the general population has it on their skin and in noses. Problems arise when staph gets transmitted to someone else or passed on to someone else. MRSA is just the resistant form of the staph bacterium. It is the same line of bacterium but has become resistant to the normal antibiotics used to treat staph infections. It is not really a new super bug; an article by the Institute of Allergy and Asthma indicated that staph has been around since the 1880’s. So, it’s not really that new.
In order to be diagnosed with the community-acquired MRSA, there can be no history in the past year from the culture of a permanent in-dwelling catheter or percutaneous device like a pace-maker or shunt for dialysis. The person cannot have been involved with a nursing home, dialysis, hospitalization, surgery nor had an MRSA-diagnosis within 48 hours after admission.
Staph looks like a spider bite – a swollen red sore. Sometimes it can have pus draining from it, sometimes it looks just like an abscess or boil, and sometimes it is associated with fever. It is spread by skin to skin contact and it’s also spread by contact with infected surfaces from any person that has been diagnosed with it.
Prevention includes good handwashing, covering the affected area, and keeping it treated properly. There are certain locations that increase a person’s risk to getting MRSA. They include crowded areas, frequent skin to skin contact, compromised skin, contaminated items or surfaces, and lack of cleanliness.
Prevention doesn’t involve any new skills. If you have a suspicious sore, have it checked by your provider and request both a culture and sensitivity test. That’s the only way to know for sure that it’s MRSA. Observe for any open wounds or sores. For law enforcement and EMTs, make sure if you note that on a person, put it in your report and follow up to see if it’s been checked out, especially if that person is going to be incarcerated or admitted to a hospital. Don’t share any personal items. Try to maintain a clean environment.
Chris Coville asked when staph first became resistant. Monica said that it became MRSA resistant in 1961. In the 1940’s and throughout the 1950’s, staph was treated with penicillin and eventually became resistant to it. From that time onward, because of the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, the bacteria went through a bacterial evolution and the microbes started to become resistant to the drugs normally used to treat infections. CDC has recommendations and protocols for hospitals.
Chairman Wilson thanked Monica Ulses for her presentation. The next meeting is scheduled for 13 Feb and a tentative agenda will be sent out. Chairman Wilson thanked everyone for attending tonight’s meeting. He said it was a pleasure to see the members and the response we have, and requested the members travel home safely.
Chairman Wilson then called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. Dick Williams made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Rod Buethe. All were in favor, none opposed, and motion passed unanimously.
Respectfully Submitted,
MARIA REITER
Secretary
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Updated 02/13/07
