And there you have Exhibit A regarding the importance of emergency
preparedness, no matter where you live. The thing about emergencies is that you
never know when or in what form they will strike, so you
have to be prepared.
And prepared we are, thanks in large part to the
Shaker Heights Health Department and its partner, the
Fire Department.
With expertise and a calm public voice, the Shaker
Heights Health Department stepped in to steady the nerves
of residents worried about contracting Ebola. Years of
emergency preparedness planning
enabled staff to act swiftly. Within
hours, the Epidemiological
Response Plan protocol was
initiated, and well-established
plans to address possible exposure
were underway.
Health Department
staff coordinated with public
health partners across the region and convened multidepartmental
meetings within the City to review all roles
and responsibilities, including communications protocol
and the specifics of transporting infected patients, if
necessary. Assistant Director of Health Sandi Hurley
contacted the Shaker resident every 12 hours as part of
the monitoring protocol and communicated regularly with
the Ohio Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control.
Fortunately, this story had a happy ending. No cases of Ebola developed. It
did provide an excellent real world opportunity to initiate emergency plans and
procedures enabling the Department to test and tweak them in preparation for the
next event.
Community Emergency
Response Team (CERT)
Ready to Respond
Since 2007, the City’s Health and Fire departments have co-sponsored the
Shaker Heights Community Emergency Response Team (CERT), another critical
piece of the City’s overall emergency preparedness plan. CERT is a federal program
that educates community volunteers about disaster preparedness and trains them
in basic disaster response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, team
organization, and disaster medical operations.
The Shaker CERT, currently with 18 active members, serves the City by
working at Point of Distribution (POD) drills, the Fire Department Open House,
the annual Take to the Lake boating event, patrolling downed power lines,
evacuating people during power failures, and educating the public on emergency
preparedness. Members of the Shaker CERT are force multipliers for City staff
and are critical team members filling both routine health and safety roles, and
emergency roles when the need arises. For more information about CERT, contact
Sandi Hurley at 216-491-1480.
Shaker
Online
Living in
a Healthy
Community
Always Prepared
Emergency Preparedness seems like
something you only have to worry about if
you live in an area prone to hurricanes or
wildfires. In a place like Shaker, you might
ask, “What emergencies?”
Well, remember last fall when Ebola
came to Ohio?
For so long, the virus was a distant
worry, in a distant land. Until it wasn’t.
When it suddenly hit the United States,
worry closed in quickly and spread fast.
It came home to Northeast Ohio via an
infected person on a plane and it crept ever
closer when we learned a Shaker resident
on the same plane could have been exposed.
The worry suddenly landed in our own
backyard. Questions about risk of exposure,
incubation period, symptoms, and infection
containment flew around town.
4 SHAKERONLINE.COM | SPRING 2015