Tips, Tricks, Hacks, Hints

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This section is reserved for collecting those little bits of knowledge and good ideas that aren’t quite worth a whole article — but are definitely good to know about when getting ready for or recovering from an emergency.  If you try out some of the tips — or find others — send us a note on the results.

 

    1.  Safe, cheap and easy emergency cooking (scroll down)
    2.  Emergency and medical information on your cell phone
    3.  Facility Services Preparation Assistance:  Furniture Fastening and Garage Door Opening
    4.  A Do-It-Yourself Powerless Garage-Door Opener
    5.  Black (Tape) Magic
    6.  Disaster Yum-Yums

 

Safe, cheap and easy emergency cooking

contributed by Mark Tollefson

I have researched methods of cooking emergency food following a major disaster, when there is no gas or electricity.  I was surprised to find that the companies that supply emergency food didn’t seem to have any recommendations on heat source.  Many assume you are prepared for living off the grid and have a wood stove or perhaps a white gas stove.

I have concluded that the safest choice is diethylene glycol fuel cans made for chafing dishes.  It is considered non-flammable, which means that if it is spilled, will not burn on its own.  (Candles are also considered to be non-flammable.)  Thus, it is safe to store indoors.  Unlike Sterno, the liquid is not easy to spill, as only a wick is exposed.  Also, unlike Sterno, the can does not get hot.
It is considered safe for use indoors, although it’s best to cook outdoors for fire safety.

Camping/survival videos show this type of fuel used with any of several different small sheet metal stoves (which simply support a small pot over the can of fuel) boils 2 cups of water in about 20 minutes.  The product I have identified burns for 6 hours, meaning it can do a lot of cooking — slowly, in small batches.  For multi-course hot dinners you’ll need more than one stove.

This is the cheapest fuel source: https://tinyurl.com/ChafingFuelSource/.   It costs about a dollar per can when bought in multi-case orders, but shipping brings the cost to about $1.40/can for a single case.

Example of a $12 stove: https://tinyurl.com/StoveSample

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Emergency and medical information on your cell phone

As we’re almost always carrying them, phones can be a valuable tool in an emergency. In the unfortunate event that you get into an accident or someone finds you unconscious, you surely want those closest to you to know what’s going on and to have a way to give first responders vital information about you.

Older phones had an ICE (In Case of Emergency) contact listing in the contacts section of the phone, but phones have become smarter and now go beyond a simple ICE contact.

Take a few minutes right now and, at the very least, set up your emergency contacts and enter any medical conditions you have that emergency personnel should be aware of. Click the link below to see the full article.

https://www.cnet.com/how-to/first-responders-can-help-you-even-when-your-phone-is-locked/

 

Facilities Services Helps You Prepare:  From Rogue Valley Manor • hillTOPICS • Dec 2020 – Jan 2021 • page 2

See below for information on furniture fastening and garage door opening:  Work order:  x7231, on MyRVM, or Front Desk

Don ’t Neglect Earthquake Preps  — Furniture Fastening

Do you have heavy items in your home such as tall bookcases, mirrors, artwork, or pictures hanging over your bed? All can be dangerous and cause injuries during an earthquake if not properly secured. Here are some tips from Drew Gilliland, Director of Facility Services.

Bookcases should be secured. Facility Services can do that using strapping that is screwed into the wall. Large items or those higher than four feet above the ground should be prioritized.  Facility Services will cover these costs.

However, other personal items such as antiques may require special straps and additional care so as not to damage the item.

Filling out a work order to Facility Services is your first step. Complete a work order form available at the Manor front desk, go to MyRVM.org to complete the form online, or call Facility Services at Ext. 7231. When the Facility Services technician arrives, be specific about what you want secured.

By Binny Blechman

 

Garage Door Opening:  from  Meeting Minutes – 11-04-2020 Facilities Advisory Committee Meeting, Bil Meers, Chair

New Business:  4. Garage Doors: During the recent evacuation numerous residents were unable to open their garage doors when the power failed. A work order can be submitted to adjust garage door springs so that doors open quickly when power is out. A longer release rope can also be installed. Drew favors metal doors with battery backup. Doors will be replaced as-needed, depending on the budget. Manor garages: staff must go around and open them for residents in the event of a power failure.

A do-it-yourself powerless garage door opener  [for cottage garages only]

Most people who have tried to open their garage door when the door opener didn’t work found it to be somewhere between pretty difficult and impossible.  We understand that this may be because the spring  tensions in the opener aren’t  properly adjusted; we also understand that RVM plans to adjust garage door springs this winter.  However, a  handle with which to lift the door is convenient in any case, and may be essential.  Here is a recipe for an inexpensive, easily-installed handle that provides handholds for multiple people in case you need help.

If your door has inside hinges with hollow horizontal cylinders, measure the distance between the two lowest hinges and the diameter of the cylinders.  Go get a piece of rope (most hardware stores sell rope, chain and cord by the foot) that will fit easily through the cylinder and is 1-2′ longer than the inter-hinge distance.  If the rope is braided plastic, tape or melt the ends so it doesn’t unravel   Tie a stop knot at one end, thread the other through both cylinders, pull the rope tight, and tie it off as close as possible to the hinge.  Test the system to make sure the knots do not come loose or pass through the cylinders.  Heavy lifting on the cord is likely to cause hand pain, so have some gloves or an old towel at hand.

Note from Ken Kelley:  If you slip that rope through a piece of 1/2 inch pvc pipe it will be easier on your hands and you won’t have to go searching for a pair of gloves. On my garage it was 37 Inches between the hinges so a 36 inch pieces of pipe will do. The pipe comes in 10 ft lengths so you can help two neighbors with the leftovers. If you need help with this call me at Ext. 6819. Ken
Ed Note:  Hose works well too — both (salvage) hose and PVC can often be found at ReStore –cheap.
Note from Scott Wetenkamp:  For lifting by just one person, a loop through only one of the hinges will work as well.

Back to Top

BLACK MAGIC (Tape)

Black, or electrical, or vinyl, or electrician’s tape is an underappreciated component of the emergency tool kit. That may be because it doesn’t imitate “regular” tapes, like masking, or duct, or transparent – it doesn’t stick to things.  What good is that, you ask?  Well, it turns out that black tape has a special trick – it is somewhat stretchy, and when it is wrapped very tightly in multiple turns, it pressure seals to itself.  That means it doesn’t have to stick to things – it locks itself around them in a stranglehold.  This makes it good at some things that other tapes do poorly, if at all.  The tape that you want is known as self-amalgamating, or self-fusing — that’s the real thing.

The picture illustrates several of the possible uses.  The flashlight needed a wrist lanyard to permit using two hands without dropping it.  One set of black tape turns fastened a salvaged cord to the light; a second few turns adjusted the loop to the optimum easy-on-but-won’t-fall-off size.

It won’t hold high pressure, but several overlapping, tightly stretched turns will make a water-proof (and mostly air-proof) seal around a bottle cap or a low-pressure leak in a pipe or hose.  And, because the trick is pressure rather than chemistry, the surface doesn’t have to be completely clean or dry to apply it (although that’s a good idea if possible).

In addition to holding things in, it can work the other way.  Pictured is a trekking pole that needed a cane tip to adapt its pointy end to use on floors and sidewalks.  The problem?  Canes are about twice the diameter of trekking poles.  Black tape to the rescue, to build up a generally circular, slightly flexible collar on the trekking pole that made a snug fit when forced into the cane tip.

For all of these applications, you need to be generous in your use of tape; generally more is better.  You also should make use of as much surface area as you conveniently can by winding the tape several widths on either side of the point of critical application.  If you tighten (in both senses of the word) the turns of application over the critical area, you end up with a number of pressurizing layers in the middle and stabilizing seals on either side.  This is illustrated in the picture.

So put several rolls on your emergency kit list, right behind the duct tape.  And by the way, this is one of those products where cheap is usually false economy (like batteries and most adhesives).  Get a quality brand like 3M; it really is noticeably better than the no-name import.

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Back to Top

Disaster Yum-Yums

“Comfort food” is one of the items on many of the lists of what to store in case of an emergency that cuts you off from normal supplies.  The idea is that when times are hard, a bit of pleasure can keep you from sinking into terminal depression.  A good plan, and for many many people, comfort food is nearly synonymous with chocolate.  So there you are, far from home, fleeing a summer wildfire in 100+ degree temperatures.  Being a well-prepared person, you have ample warm water to wash it down with, so you reach into your pack for that precious package of chocolate.  And as you start to open it, a sticky brown liquid runs out of the wrapper and down your arm.  Not good.  For your next disaster, take M&Ms — “they melt in your mouth, not in your hand” is a slogan that’s true enough so that during WWII the company’s entire output went to the US military to comfort the troops in sometimes hot locations.  And besides, the colors are very cheerful.  *Nutritional note– each milk chocolate or peanut M&M contains about 4.7 Calories, so you only have to eat 450 of them to get your daily allotment of 2000 Calories.

Dealing with Health-Related Crises

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by Connie Kent

For a medical crises, we know to dial 9-1-1. But what about medically related crises that aren’t emergencies? In January I approached Father Joel to discuss a perceived need. A couple of residents I knew, both living independently in cottages, were recently unable to get the care they thought should have been available to them from the Manor following medical procedures which left them temporarily disabled. My question to Father Joel: Who should residents turn to for help in dealing with such a crisis? These residents felt they were abandoned when they had been led to believe the Manor’s promised “Continuum of Care” would provide the services they needed. Other crises that might need such a resource are a devastating diagnosis, the need for help for a spouse whose health is failing, or the sudden death of a partner.

How can we help each other, living together as we do, at this point in our lives? One way is to offer our support when we see someone in need. Please see Need Help?

Another way is to develop systems for dealing with our concerns and to make them known. Following the Residents’ Forum Zoom meeting in February, a small Residents Council Ad Hoc committee was formed to address some of the health-related issues I had brought up with Father Joel. Failing to come up with a name for our new committee, we call it The Unnamed Committee. Members include Gary Crites, Gini Armstrong, Dan Wagner, Jan Rowe, Jim Ellis, Joni Johnson, Bob Carter and me. We’ve met several times via Zoom. Here are the topics we have addressed.

1) Issue: One of our residents spent months after he moved in, going from office to office here at the Manor, collecting information about how to help his ailing wife. 

Q: What single person or agency here at the Manor should residents turn to in a crisis?

A: In May, at the time of this writing, Debi Watt has told the committee that Resident Services is the office residents should consult when they’re in crisis.

2) Issue: medical transportation. More and more medical procedures are conducted in surgery centers rather than hospitals, and frequently they are scheduled early in the morning, before regularly scheduled Manor Medical Transportation is available at 8 o’clock.

Related is the issue of transportation back home. Following in-hospital out-patient procedures as well as surgery center procedures, patients are routinely discharged while still in need of round-the-clock care. If I am such a patient, I may well be woozie from anesthesia and need help navigating. 

Q: How can I get to early morning medical procedures? And will Medical Transportation pick me up and see me safely back to my unit?

A: This issue has been turned over to the Health Services Advisory Committee, which is currently evaluating the extent of the need. Their assessment should be available in 60 days.

3) Issue: If I am discharged to a nursing facility and there is room and sufficient staffing in the Health Center, I will be given a bed there. But then there is the issue of cost. In the past, one had to have been hospitalized for at least three consecutive nights in the hospital for Medicare to cover the expense of skilled nursing care.

Q: With more and more out-patient procedures and short or non-existent hospital stays, will Medicare cover the cost of skilled nursing care?

A: Melissa Preston, Health Services Administrator, says that this past year, due to the COVID 19 pandemic and the need to relieve the burden on hospitals, CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has authorized hospitals to activate waivers that allow for the 3 midnight stay qualification to be waived. She says we have seen it happen several times with our local hospitals, where individuals have been discharged to the skilled nursing facility under this waiver and have qualified for skilled services without a 3 midnight stay. However, the ability to activate those waivers expires soon, unless it is renewed at the Federal level. Ed. note: please refer to Hill Topic‘s “Home Health, Home Care: Support for Vulnerable Times” in the May 2021 issue and “Continuing Care Levels Explained” in the April 2020 issue.

4) Issue: in-home services. Tremendous confusion has existed around what services the Manor provides, in part because of the similarity between the terms “Home Care” and “Home Health.” 

Q: If I am returned to my unit, what services are available to me?

A: Melissa Preston gave a very helpful presentation on the difference between Home Care and Home Health. Her presentation is available on the Health Services page of myRVM. Here is a brief summary.

The Manor provides Home Care, primarily to those in Residential Living on an on-going basis but to Independent residents also, for short-term needs, depending on staff availability. Home Care includes help with activities of daily living, meal preparation, companionship, and running errands. It does not include health care. The cost may or may not be covered by one’s insurance.

Home Health services are not provided by the Manor but rather by any one of several outside agencies. Home Health services are typically prescribed by a doctor and provided by licensed personnel such as RNs and therapists. They include such things as administration of medications, wound treatment, IVs, and so on. The cost may be covered by one’s insurance.

5) Issue: end of life planning. If we die without having left information about our affairs and instructions for what to do next, those we leave behind face not only grief but aggravation as well. Even though our own death is a topic we might prefer to ignore, most of us living here can expect to die here. We would do well to prepare for the inevitable while we are most able. This will save our families, friends and the Manor a whole lot of stress.

Q: What do I need to do to ensure that my family and/or my executor knows how to handle my affairs after I die?

A: The Unnamed Committee is currently compiling a document with information your family and/or executor will need. This information includes details about your medical, financial, insurance, and legal contacts and documents as well as a checklist of people and agencies that will need to be contacted at the time of your death. Of course, the information will need to be reviewed periodically and modified as necessary. But the time to take care of it is now.

A-2: Resident Services Director Cynde Maurer and Debi Watt, Resident Services Coordinator, have invited Beth Knorr, Director of Trust Services for Oregon Pacific Bank and member of the RVM Foundation Board, to address residents on “Implementing Your Estate Plan,” which will air on Channel 900 on June 23, 2021, at 10 am. A document listing appropriate information to include in such planning will be made available in advance of that presentation.

6) And now there’s a new wrinkle: Issue: what happens when you’re discharged from the hospital on a weekend, you live in a cottage, and you need at-home care? This issue has not even been brought to the committee yet. Click on the link to see Bob’s Story.

Father Joel is movin’ on!

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By Joni Johnson

On May 14, 2021, after being at the Manor for 9 years, Father Joel has left us in body but not in spirit!  During his time at RVM, he has had an enormous impact on its residents. He has created an abundance of programs here that crossed all sectors of the campus from the religious to the not at all religious.  To name but a few of his coordinated efforts: the 19thHole, Speaking of Faith, monthly Shabbat services and dinners (pre-Covid), The Chanukah Party, Secular Conversations, Socrates Café, Two Beards and a Cup of Coffee, Story Corps, and a series of Education seminars both on campus and in the Valley.

                   Father Joel’s Last Day

When I asked residents what qualities they saw in Father Joel, this is what they said.  He was compassionate and open to all. He was accepting and had an ability to connect with everybody. He was ecumenical.  It didn’t matter what your religion was or whether or not you were religious.  He was there for you.  He had a wonderful sense of humor.  His friendship with other religious leaders of varying faiths in the valley brought our residents a depth of experiences both on and off campus. He appreciated having deep philosophical discussions that were not necessarily based in religion and realized that there were many residents here on campus that saw themselves as non-religious and even agnostic or atheists who wanted and needed a place to congregate and speak about important spiritual and intellectual issues.  He made everyone feel that he liked them, regardless of background.  And as someone said when they talked about his replacement, we certainly need someone who likes old people. Father Joel certainly did.

Transition

by Joel Maiorano (written Sunday, May 16)

As change enters our body,

our bones question – is it time again?

We shed, like seeds dropping from a tree

announcing out loud … “part of us is dying,

while proclaiming we are alive!”

Unwelcoming, most often yes

not unlike aging, yet inviting us

to alter ourselves

like a spring caterpillar…

unsure if this is our end

or a new beginning.

When he first came to the Manor in 2012, he came as a replacement for Don Hildebrand, who was well liked.  Father Joel said that it was the respect that Hildebrand engendered that allowed him to confidently engage in producing the programs that he did.  And of course, he gives much credit to the residents and their leadership, service and insight that created an opportunity for his leadership. He claims it was residents and their involvement that created his effectiveness.

   

He said that leaving will be very difficult for him.  He will miss engaging with the residents and having the intimate relationships afforded him through his experiences here – counseling, visiting those who have lost a loved one, or just living life together.   “Through my position here, I was both a minister of spirituality and a person who helped create belonging.

 “Leaving breaks my heart and it will take time for it to heal.  However, leaving was also my decision because I am moving into a position that I have wanted for a long time.

Father Joel with Barbara and Fred Moore and Becky Hyde

“I will be the Chief Mission Integration Officer at Providence Hospital.  It is more of a managerial role rather than working with patients.  I will be helping to shape and influence how the mission, values and vision are lived out in the daily life of the hospital. I will be the first non-Catholic or half Catholic in my position.    My plan is to listen to the heartbeat of the employees, study the rhythms of how the organism lives and laughs, so that I can best support the ethos of the sisters who started the hospital and celebrate Providence as a beacon of hope. My question will not only be what is universal “catholic” healthcare, but more importantly, how do we live it out to make it inclusive for all.”

We will miss you, Father Joel in so many, many ways.  But we wish you the very best in your new endeavor.

 

Status and Guidance, May 2021

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RPG status and draft guidance for Coordinators, 5/7/21

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Discussion among RPG and RVM administration representatives have arrived at the following understandings:

The developing RVM emergency preparation plan will be available within 2-3 months.

It is expected that residents will help in an emergency and cooperate with RVM response activities.

Residents will be able to participate in RVM emergency response training after the staff gets initial training.

The question of resident information and emergency databases is under discussion.  RVM is prohibited from sharing some kinds of data that are obviously important to emergency preparations and responses.  The questions of how data needed by RPG should be collected, maintained and protected are part of the overall resident database considerations of the Technical Committee (Ron Constable and Butch Finley, co-chairs).  Dan Wagner has been assembling and coordinating RPG input on data needs, and is acting as interface with the Technical Committee.

RVM has contracted for an emergency management application (app) produced by Belfor Corp. The product has been reviewed, but not yet acquired or implemented.  Its use to manage communications and operations in an emergency will probably require some revisions of current RPG plans involving the Incident Commander, Building Coordinators, and communication protocols.  Discussions are ongoing. Corps of

Other matters under discussion include the need for training and evaluation to maintain an effective group of resident coordinators, and the question of what sort of first aid capabilities should be adopted and supported.

 

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RPG has received the hand-held radios ordered for the coordinator network.  These have been charged and programmed for use according to network design.  They are being released to Area/Building coordinators for distribution to the neighborhood/Floor coordinators.  Familiarization and training protocols have been developed and are described below.

 

——————————————————————————————————————–

 

DRAFT COORDINATOR GUIDANCE

 

The following material is intended to provide a context for the description of training in radio use, and a framework for development of an operation manual as the questions discussed above are resolved

 

The RPG Coordinator organization:  Purposes

 

The primary purpose of the RPG is communication, and specifically communication related to emergency and disaster effects on residents.  No matter how sophisticated technical communication mechanisms may be, there is no substitute for direct human communication in transmitting information and determining whether it has been received and understood.

 

Four communications types and purposes can be identified.

  1. Acquaintanceship and community building – coordinators need to be familiar with the residents in their neighborhoods, floors, or areas, and to understand both special needs and special abilities in terms of emergency or disaster response.
  2. Preparedness – coordinators can assist residents in understanding needs for emergency/disaster preparedness and in making appropriate preparations.
  3. Communication to residents – coordinators provide back-up and verification channels of communication for critical information from RVM to residents (e.g., evacuation preparation status.).
  4. Communication from or about residents – in the case of a major disaster (e.g., Cascadia earthquake) coordinators will self-activate to assess damage and injuries in their areas of responsibility, and transmit the information to the Incident Commander through the established radio communication channels.

 

Other purposes, such as first aid and community support in the aftermath of a disaster, are important but secondary to the primary communication role.

 

Communication Training and System Operation

 

Hand-held radios are being distributed to coordinators.  Training in use will have three components.

  1. Basic use and maintenance – charging, turn-on, transmission reception.
  2. Regular “social” use to develop familiarity and comfort in operation.
  3. Training exercises to practice the discipline and protocol of emergency use.

 

The training exercises will also test and develop the linkages between Area/Building coordinators and the communication center/Incident Commander.

 

Emergency Protocols

 

In parallel with the radio training, disaster response operating procedures will be developed to provide consistent and reliable responses in emergency situations.

A Cautionary Tale

/in ,
Read more

What’s New in June

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Dear Readers: We don’t have archives by issue, but the Complement’s format has been revised so that you can view all of the past articles on any given page.  If there is a “Load More” link at the bottom of the page, clicking it will bring up the older articles — all arranged in chronologic order.

An added service feature — if you  would like to get a personal email when we put out the RVMlist notice of a new issue or new material, email us at openinforvm@gmail.com and we will put you on the mailing list

NEWS & VIEWS

Dealing with Health-Related Crises, by Connie Kent
      -The tangle of medicine and management

A Few More Health-Care Questions, by Bob Buddemeier
     -Even more tangles

Father Joel is movin’ on!, by Joni Johnson
      -Hail and Farewell — with an original goodbye poem by Fr Joel 

A Cautionary Tale — Anonymous
      -An unprepared-for death

The Experiment Continues — README Again!
–     -An invitation to sample an opinion page

 

         in Big, Borrowed, or Both

Toward a Planet-Wide Culture of Non-Violence, by Russy Sumariwalla
     -a reprint of an article published in the UN Chronicle, 10/2/2018

3550:  the Portland Mirabella quarterly magazine (most recent issue)

Mirabella Monthly, Newsletter of the Seattle Mirabella (most recent issue)

 

ARTS & INFO 

Manor Penthouse Bonsai, a photo collage by Reina Lopez

Do Cats Grieve?  by Bob Buddemeier

Timely Word Play, by Connie Kent

RVM May-July Event & Entertainment Schedule

June Library Display, by Anne Newins

Power Couple — (Book Review), by Bonnie Tollefson

Digital Currency Firm Eyes Manor Retail Location, by A. Looney
       –Our Nit-Wit Newz correspondent has returned!

PREPARE

‘Tis the Season to be…ALERT!, by Bob Buddemeier
      -Don’t put that mask away yet!

 

New Features and Services

/in ,

We don’t have archives by issue, but the Complement’s format has been revised so that you can view all of the past articles on any given page.  If there is a “Load More” link at the bottom of the page, clicking it will bring up the older articles — all arranged in chronologic order.

 

An added service feature — if you  would like to get a personal email when we put out the RVMlist notice of a new issue or new material, email us at openinforvm@gmail.com and we will put you on the mailing list

RPG Status and Plans

/in

RPG status and draft guidance for Coordinators, 5/7/21

——————————————————————————————————————

Discussion among RPG and RVM administration representatives have arrived at the following understandings:

The developing RVM emergency preparation plan will be available within 2-3 months.

It is expected that residents will help in an emergency and cooperate with RVM response activities.

Residents will be able to participate in RVM emergency response training after the staff gets initial training.

The question of resident information and emergency databases is under discussion.  RVM is prohibited from sharing some kinds of data that are obviously important to emergency preparations and responses.  The questions of how data needed by RPG should be collected, maintained and protected are part of the overall resident database considerations of the Technical Committee (Ron Constable and Butch Finley, co-chairs).  Dan Wagner has been assembling and coordinating RPG input on data needs, and is acting as interface with the Technical Committee.

RVM has contracted for an emergency management application (app) produced by Belfor Corp. The product has been reviewed, but not yet acquired or implemented.  Its use to manage communications and operations in an emergency will probably require some revisions of current RPG plans involving the Incident Commander, Building Coordinators, and communication protocols.  Discussions are ongoing.

Other matters under discussion include the need for training and evaluation to maintain an effective group of resident coordinators, and the question of what sort of first aid capabilities should be adopted and supported.

 

——————————————————————————————————————

 

RPG has received the hand-held radios ordered for the coordinator network.  These have been charged and programmed for use according to network design.  They are being released to Area/Building coordinators for distribution to the neighborhood/Floor coordinators.  Familiarization and training protocols have been developed and are described below.

 

——————————————————————————————————————–

 

DRAFT COORDINATOR GUIDANCE

 

The following material is intended to provide a context for the description of training in radio use, and a framework for development of an operation manual as the questions discussed above are resolved

 

The RPG Coordinator organization:  Purposes

 

The primary purpose of the RPG is communication, and specifically communication related to emergency and disaster effects on residents.  No matter how sophisticated technical communication mechanisms may be, there is no substitute for direct human communication in transmitting information and determining whether it has been received and understood.

 

Four communications types and purposes can be identified.

  1. Acquaintanceship and community building – coordinators need to be familiar with the residents in their neighborhoods, floors, or areas, and to understand both special needs and special abilities in terms of emergency or disaster response.
  2. Preparedness – coordinators can assist residents in understanding needs for emergency/disaster preparedness and in making appropriate preparations.
  3. Communication to residents – coordinators provide back-up and verification channels of communication for critical information from RVM to residents (e.g., evacuation preparation status.).
  4. Communication from or about residents – in the case of a major disaster (e.g., Cascadia earthquake) coordinators will self-activate to assess damage and injuries in their areas of responsibility, and transmit the information to the Incident Commander through the established radio communication channels.

 

Other purposes, such as first aid and community support in the aftermath of a disaster, are important but secondary to the primary communication role.

 

Communication Training and System Operation

 

Hand-held radios are being distributed to coordinators.  Training in use will have three components.

  1. Basic use and maintenance – charging, turn-on, transmission reception.
  2. Regular “social” use to develop familiarity and comfort in operation.
  3. Training exercises to practice the discipline and protocol of emergency use.

 

The training exercises will also test and develop the linkages between Area/Building coordinators and the communication center/Incident Commander.

 

Emergency Protocols

 

In parallel with the radio training, disaster response operating procedures will be developed to provide consistent and reliable responses in emergency situations.

‘Tis the Season to be…ALERT!

/in

by Bob Buddemeier

 

Now that most of us are worrying less about COVID, we can focus some of that nervous energy on the next larval disaster waiting in the wings.

It is Wildfire Season and it promises to be long, hot, dry, and dangerous.   The chances are good that we will experience some kind of fire-related problem(s).  Fortune favors the prepared: get ready now and suffer less later.

General emergency and preparedness information can be found on the myRVM Emergency Preparedness page and at https://thecomplement.info/prepare/, the Resident Preparedness Group webpage.  Specific sources will be mentioned below.

SMOKE is the most probable impact.  The valley we live in is an extremely effective air pollution trap, and if there is a major fire halfway close to us the air quality is likely to become poor, or very bad, or off-scale-hazardous.  When that happens, it will probably last for days, and maybe weeks.

It’s not good for anybody, but people with respiratory problems really need to prepare and protect.

To prepare:  1. If you can go away, plan to do so.  2. Stock up on N95 or KN95 masks – not the COVID blue paper or designer kinds. 3. If you need/want room air purifiers, get them now.  4. Other supplies – food and household goods to minimize outside trips, tape to seal leaky door or window joints, etc.

When it happens:  1.  If possible, leave the area (air quality websites — some with forecasts — can help you decide where to go: https://oraqi.deq.state.or.us/home/map, https://gispub.epa.gov/airnow/).  2. Stay inside with house tightly closed.  3.  Run the AC fan continuously.  4.  If you must go outside, wear a mask; if conditions are really bad wear it inside too. 5.  Run air purifiers if you have them.

POWER OUTAGES are common side effects of wildfires, either because of fire damage to the electrical infrastructure, or because of precautionary shutdowns by power companies.  In either case, duration may be hard to predict.

Protracted power outages are about much more than having enough flashlight batteries; they affect most aspects of life.  Commerce is disrupted (no ATMs, cash registers or internet), communications break down, and electrical equipment can’t be operated (including safety and security gear and home medical devices).

For RVM-specific information, see “Power Outage Information” on the myRVM Emergency Preparedness page, or download here.  The effects of extended power outages are addressed as part of the earthquake preparedness material in https://thecomplement.info/prepare/ — see especially Light and Electricity.

FIRE is the least likely but most devastating direct impact, and as the Almeda Fire of 2020 showed, it is a very real possibility.  It is challenging to prepare for and respond to, because it will probably require evacuation and a quick response.  Whether the evacuation is off-site and long-term or local (e.g., cottage residents sheltering in the more fire-resistant high-rises), evacuees will need to take some critical basic possessions with them.

To prepare:  1. Each individual needs to have a basic, minimum go-bag that he or she can carry easily.  Even if it only weighs a pound or two it can contain identification, money, contact information, medical information and medicines, and a few personal hygiene and or survival items (e.g., toothbrush, small flashlight).  2. This can be a component of a larger go-bag for the individual or couple, containing additional personal gear, clothing, some food and first aid supplies, etc., but the per-person-portable bag is critical – see pages on go-bags, documents, and medications.  3.  If you have a car, make sure to keep the tank at least half-full and stock it with emergency supplies appropriate for storage in a vehicle.  4.  Become familiar with the kinds of emergency information you may receive, and how it will arrive – TV, internet, landline, cell phones, neighbor – and enroll in the available emergency notification services.

When it happens:  Fire emergencies typically progress through stages as the fire draws closer.

Evacuation Alert Level 1 – Get ready.  Open your garage door if you have one (see additional information below). Get your basic go-bag and other must-take items (wallet, keys, cell phone) together and ready to go.  Dress appropriately for ‘roughing it.’  Complete your big go-bag and assemble other items you need or want to take along (e.g., pet supplies).

Evacuation Alert Level 2 – Get set.  If you have a car, load everything into it.  If not, have what you can carry assembled, packed, and ready to go; other take-alongs should be compactly packed for transport by others (if available).

Evacuation Alert Level 3 – Drive or walk to the designated assembly point or destination, following the directions of RVM staff and/or law enforcement.

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Additional information

One of the first recommended actions for Alert Level 1 is to open your garage door – and if you can park the car nearby without impeding traffic, to take it out of the garage.  In the Almeda fire evacuation, part of campus lost power, and people had difficulty getting the garage doors open.

RVM is systematically replacing the springs in the cottage garage door openers. According to Rick Ramirez of Facilities Services, the originally-installed springs were incorrect, and resulted in the doors being excessively hard to open when the power was off.  The changeover should substantially improve that; however, it will not be completed for the current fire season.  Work started in the 1100 block and has progressed to the middle of the 1200 block, but Rick says that it may be December before all of the cottage garages are upgraded.  The work is slow, and complicated by the fact that differences in original equipment are encountered.

Residents can form neighborhood teams to help each other (a good idea in any case!) or take some of the simple do-it-yourself steps to make opening a power-off door easier.

 

Cottage residential areas are divided into Areas (a total of 11) and neighborhoods (2 to 4 within each Area).  In the high rises, Floors and Building Sectors are analogs of the Neighborhoods and Areas. Residents’ Preparedness Group volunteers serve as coordinators within each grouping (Neighborhoods/Floors and Areas/Building Sectors).  Their primary role is to support RVM emergency preparedness and response by providing direct communication with residents, and to assist in building resident preparedness at the individual and community level

The Manor Mart is Open!

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ANNOUNCEMENT

The Manor Mart is now open for business on the lower level of the Terrace building, across from the Clinic, where the Pharmacy used to be. It serves RVM residents and employees between 10 am and 3 pm Monday through Friday.  The Manor Mart comes close to being a necessity for some of our residents, and can be a convenience for all of us.  We want it, we need, it and we should support it by using it when we can.