Aging and Disability Network of Saratoga County Meeting Minutes 9/12/17

Aging and Disability Network of Saratoga County Meeting Minutes 9/12/17

Present: Bill Hinrichs (Alzheimer’s Association of NENY), Jess Flynn (Eddy Daybreaks), Kym Hance (Alzheimer’s Association of NENY), Kyla Loucks (Saratoga Senior Center), Jane Kerr Sussman (Saratoga Senior Center), Susanne Bernard (FSS/Section 8-JEM, Inc), Chris Camburn (FSS/Section 8-JEM, Inc), Lauren Carpenter (Peregrine Senior Living at Clifton Park), Karin Drosdick (Mechanicville Senior Center), Kayla Elder (Mechanicville Senior Center), Sarah Ryan (Mechanicville Senior Center), JoAnn Zales (National grid), Emma Schmitt (Saratoga County Office for the Aging), Patrick Harrington (Saratoga County OFA), Donna Rudzinski (Shenendehowa Village), Keith Kirchkoff (Saratoga County Adult Protective), Mary Rickard (Saratoga County OFA), Cheryl Lawyer (Northeastern Association for the Blind), Clive Lawyer (NABA), Maria Geizer (Home Instead Senior Care).

Announcements:

The future meeting schedule is as follows-

October 10^th at St. Edward’s Church in Clifton Park. Dr. Kevin Costello will be discussing in elder care medicine and how it is impacted by the current insurance and regulatory environment.

November 14^th at The Malta Community Center. Victoria Clingan from Brain Injury Association of NY will give a Brain Injury 101 presentation.

December 12 at the United Methodist Church, Saratoga Springs-Networking Meeting- Please bring business cards and informational brochures to share with attendees.

All meetings are held from 2pm-330pm.



Today’s Topic and Presenters: Emergency Management and Community Outreach, presented by Mike Stanley, Emergency Specialist and Carl Zeilman, Director, both of the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services.



The Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services has the primary responsibility for overseeing and administering the county’s emergency preparedness activities.

The Office of Emergency Services continually develops partnerships with emergency response and emergency support agencies from across the County. This multi-agency coordination enables the County to better provide services that protect life and property during disasters and emergencies.



The mission of the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services is to protect life and property during disasters and emergencies through comprehensive emergency planning encompassing preparedness, response, mitigation and recovery.



The Office of Emergency Services areas of responsibilities are:

·         Comprehensive Emergency Management

·         Fire and EMS services including response and training

·         Technical operation of the County’s public safety radio system

·         NIMS Compliance

·         Management and operation of county’s R 9-1-1 System

·         Database management for E 9-1-1

The purpose of this kind of emergency planning is to

·         Minimize damage during a crisis

·         Ensure safety of residents

·         Protect people and vital records/assets

·         Become self-sufficient

·         Provide for Continuity of Operations

This Department prepares for events such as tornadoes, winter storms, power outages, floods, fires, infectious diseases and acts of violence that can all affect the safety and operations of the community drastically.



The 4 Phases of Disaster Preparedness are as follows:



Mitigation- Acting before disaster strikes to prevent the occurrence of the disaster permanently or to reduce the effects of the disaster when it occurs.



Planning/Preparedness- Activities that serve to develop the response capabilities. These include developing a written plan, providing education and training, practicing this plan and evaluating it and making changes if needed.

Response - Activities that help reduce casualties and damage, speeding Recovery, the 4^th phase. These include activating your organizations “Incident Command System (ICS)”, activating response activities and providing support to the community.

A discussion was held at this meeting regarding emergency response personnel working with county residents who are living with disabilities, including the elderly and people with dementia. The general consensus was that training about these issues for those personnel is an excellent idea and there should be some follow up of this.

If you have any questions regarding the services the Saratoga County Office of Emergency Services provides, please call 518-884-4702 or go to http://www.saratogacountyny.gov/departments/office-of-emergency-services/