Conference Class Information

2019 Conference Class Information

Hands on Fire Rehab – Static Display of Collier County Vehicles – Ellen Pinder Charlotte County Emergency Management, Dan Summers Collier County Emergency Management

On-scene rehabilitation can be defined as an intervention to mitigate against the physical, physiological, and emotional stress of firefighting to improve performance and decrease the likelihood of on-scene injury or death. Rehab programs do not need to be formal or complex, but providers do need to understand the importance of rehab, the techniques of cooling, and the appropriate choices for fluids and foods. This course will be a hand on approach of the various support functions CERT members can provide. There will be a hands on approach to fire fighter rehab and an opportunity to see other response vehicles during this presentation.

What is Listos - Yolanda (Yoli) McGlinchey, Santa Barbara Emergency Services Manager

Listos is a grass-roots disaster preparedness program that can be tailored to fit the individual needs of Spanish-speaking communities. Developed in 2010 by a collaboration between the Orfalea Foundation and the Aware & Prepare Initiative in Santa Barbara County, California. Listos was a response to the inadequacy of existing Spanish-language preparedness information. The Listos curriculum features low-cost to no-cost preparedness initiatives and provides tips that serve participants not only during disasters, but also throughout the course of their everyday lives. Listos partners with community leaders, jurisdictions, non-profits, faith-based organizations, schools, and other community institutions to eliminate the language barrier that so often impedes the relationships between First Responders and the Latino populations they serve. In doing so, Listos facilitates the building of communities and the sharing of resources that strengthens community ties through disaster preparedness awareness. While Listos began as a Santa Barbara County initiative, Listos’ success has garnered national support to incite a statewide expansion.

National Vision for CERT- Jake Heflin, SuuVa Tai, Andrew Burrows

A panel discussion of CERT leaders will provide you a vision of where CERT is going. Andrew Burrows of FEMA will provide an update of the rapidly expanding CERT programs around the country, what is new since our last conference and their relationship with the National CERT Association (NCA). President SuuVa Tai will provide an overview of what is the NCA. Jake Helflin, NCA PIO will provide information of how to get involved and what NCA will be able to provide you in the near future.

Becoming the Program Manager Your Agency Needs - Brenda Emrick and Chad Fitzgerald

This workshop is designed to provide various tools, ideas and best practices you can cultivate within your program based on your local agency needs. While each CERT program is different, having an array of resources and program ideas allows you to grow the program or respond to changing volunteer deployment concepts within your city/county. This workshop will add tools to your management toolbox and provide resources you can use to work with volunteers and staff to create a program that best serves your community.

Hurricane Michael CERT Deployment Panel – Region 6 – Region 6 CERT Strike Team

Hurricane Michael is the most powerful hurricane ever to impact the Florida Panhandle. Making landfall near Mexico Beach in Bay County, the hurricane brought catastrophic damage to the region; destroying local communications, power, and transportation infrastructure in certain areas. Despite the catastrophic nature of Hurricane Michael, CERT provided a strong response helping those impacted by the storm. This panel of CERT members will discuss how their mission in Bay County. Two separate teams were deployed from region 6 to provide shelter staffing and help with damage assessments. The work done by these teams was a vital part of the recovery process.

How to recruit, manage, and maintain volunteers – Jovita Woodrich Volunteer Florida

Recruitment, management and retention of volunteers, both for emergency management and blue skies activities, means developing plans to strategically manage volunteer impact. Learn in this session about core volunteer management functions, as well as outside-of-the-box ideas for volunteer programs. See a demonstration and learn details about Volunteer Florida’s new volunteer opportunities platform, Volunteer Connect which provides streamlined promotion, scheduling, communications and reporting features.

Filling the holes in whole community

A whole community approach to resiliency must involve the WHOLE COMMUNITY. But where do you begin? When it became apparent that volunteer programs at the resident, business and faith-based level are some of the best assets for whole community resilience, Miami Beach looked to their existing CERT training program and enhanced it. Miami Beach CERT Program Manager Irene Valines explains the evolution of program and how buy-in from City leadership, new policy implementation and community partnerships brought CERT to a new level.

Leveraging the Power of CERT Christy Rojas-Kasten Volunteer Florida

In the last three years Florida has been utilizing and leveraging the power of CERT in ways beyond the basic use of CERT. During the historic response of Hurricane Michael we successfully deployed teams from across the state to the impacted areas to provide a variety of services. This presentation will explore the steps we took to successfully deploy those teams and the variety of deployments these teams accepted.

Moulage Concepts Bridging the Gap In Simulation – Doug Frazier – Charlotte County CERT

This workshop is designed to assist the trainer/responder in enhancing realism in simulated training scenarios. Utilizing best practice techniques, participants will create beginner, intermediate, advanced and situational moulage as indicated by real life medical, nursing, pre-hospital and mass casualty training response.

Peer Support Awareness for Cert - John Stone

Join us as John breaks the barriers of perceived or actual stigma associated with admitting to feelings such as anxiety, depression or intrusive thoughts and a belief that their admittance would no longer allow them to do the job. John shares his story of his battle with the effects of exposure to traumatic situations as a Survivor and First Responder to two Terrorist Attacks (9/11 Pentagon, Arlington VA &, Khobar Tower Bombing Saudi Arabia 1996). Today Sarge is certified in Individual and Group CISM with the goal that no First Responder will wait 10 years to reach out for help like he did. Finally, he will walk us through identifying when you or a co-worker are in trouble and don’t even know it, and how to engage into a conversation that will start the healing process and highlight some ways to build resilience within ourselves and our teams

CERT on a Dime – Penni Long

In a day of shrinking budgets and small staffs, it is difficult for any public safety agency to maintain a high level of preparedness. This is why CERT members are so vital. This course will teach program managers how to maintain their CERT program with limited funds.

Enhancing the Culture of Youth Preparedness through Partnerships with MyPI National and MyPI Florida – Mr. Dave Nichols and Dr. C. Ryan Akers

MyPI is a four-time national award-winning, youth preparedness/youth leadership hybrid education and outreach initiative that focuses on dynamic partnerships to produce a new model for preparedness education, a comprehensive curriculum, and a service campaign that emphasizes engagement, empowerment, and servant leadership within a relatively untapped population group, teenagers. This campaign allows teens to be trained through an extensive three-pronged approach emphasizing CERT, an ambitious Add-On Catalog, and complete a capstone service project as well as to be introduced to new technology and safety measures, learn about first responder-related career fields, participate in disaster simulations, etc. Join us for an extensive look at MyPI National and learn how to partner with MyPI Florida and how to bring this program to your teens and households in your communities.

Bring hope after Hurricane Michael – Jessica Geib Salvation Army, Carol Sjursen Deerfield Beach CERT

During and immediately after the storms, The Salvation Army deployed trained disaster-relief staff and CERT volunteers to provide food, hydration, cleanup kits, hygiene supplies, and emotional and spiritual care to first responders and survivors. Multiple staging and logistical centers were established throughout the Gulf Coast. Responding to catastrophic disasters often takes a significant toll on first responders. The Salvation Army has increased disaster training, invested in equipment and infrastructure, strengthened relationships with local and federal officials, placed a greater emphasis on emotional and spiritual care, and developed more post-deployment follow-up services for disaster workers. This discussion is a glimpse of how the Salvation Army partnered with CERT was able to bring brought hope to survivors after the devastation of Hurricane Michael.

CERT Mutual Aid Deployment Strategies - James M. Cunningham

This course will assist program managers, emergency management employees and volunteers in how to prepare your team for deployment. It will outline a number of disasters where CERT teams were deployed outside of their jurisdictional boundaries. The proper process to follow and what are the lessons learned. We will also discuss liability coverage and how to best prepare your team for future deployments. How to get assistance from other CERT teams if you have a need in your community.

Matthew, Irma, Michael: Florida’s Hurricane Fatigue – Andrea Galvan – Ashbritt

AshBritt senior leadership will share a private sector perspective on lessons learned from the various hurricane responses from the last three years. The magnitude and impact of each of these hurricanes had profound and compounded effects on Florida’s response network. The presenters have a combined total of over 40 years’ experience in the disaster recovery industry and will provide perspective on the impact of consecutive annual hurricane landfalls.

CERT Deployment working group

Properly trained CERT members can serve as extensions of professional emergency teams, giving critical support to first responders, providing immediate assistance to victims, organizing spontaneous volunteers at a disaster site, and helping with non-emergency projects that help improve the safety of the community. This working group will start compiling a list of trained and experienced core of volunteer cadre utilized to fill gaps during a time of crisis. This group will lay the groundwork for how CERT works throughout the state on various missions. These missions would include sheltering, search and rescues, damage assessment, and canteen support.

Creating a Teen CERT program -Sergeant Jim Henry, Pembroke Pines Police Dept. and Retired Lieutenant Rick Scopa, Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue

This course is intended for use by any individual wanting to initiate Teen CERT training. This course should be used as a resource for promoting, establishing, and maintaining teen training. Material reflects the experiences of Teen CERT coordinators around the country and offers some smart practices for the training.

Active Shooter/ Active Assailant Awareness - Sergeant Jim Henry, Pembroke Pines Police Dept. and Retired Lieutenant Rick Scopa, Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue

Active Shooters incidents are very dynamic and unpredictable. The goal of this class is to bring a sense of awareness about the topic and make the students begin to develop plans in the event they are in this situation. This is not a tactical class, but rather an introduction to the methodology of an active shooter/assailant. Just like in the terrorism portion of CERT training, the students will learn the signs and characteristics prior to an attack. In addition, the student will learn what the role of a CERT member and team would be during one of these incidents.

CERT Community outreach - Jake Heflin

This course will teach program managers how to expand their existing CERT program. How to recruit, how to use your cert team and how to build public relations. Also include public education and information duties related to cert. how to use them and what they should not do?

CERT Best Practices

Your organization spends countless hours engaging, recruiting and registering volunteers. But what happens after they express interest and are ready to become part of your CERT program? You need to build an effective volunteer program that will help your volunteers develop skills and adapt to your programs culture. This course will provide the current best practices for building your CERT program.