Both US and Canadian fighter jets were scrambled today to escort jets over the Atlantic headed to US destinations.
At this time it appears that several suspicious packages have been discovered after they were shipped from Yemen to the United States, destined for synagogues in the Chicago area.
The media story can be followed at www.cnn.com
Friday, October 29, 2010
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Moving Towards Your Goals
Earlier this week I had opportunity to attend the graduation of one of my former staff, a paramedic who had just completed a year long upgrade to Advanced Care Paramedic.
Congratulations Bret Foisy! Well done.
Bret is a young man, a skilled paramedic, who has been willing to take a calculated risk in order to gain a long term goal. While many services have Advanced Care Paramedics and often pay for their staff, in some sort of partnership agreement, to undertake the training, Bret worked for a service that was limited to Primary Care Paramedics by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. While the service has pressed forward with IVs, CPAP, 12 lead ECGs, King LT Advanced Airways and other enhanced skills, there has been a limitation by the MOHLTC to permit the service from moving forward to ACP.
Bret took it upon himself to invest more than $10,000 into the 1 year ACP course, using vacation, banked time and shift changes to attend school while continuing to work full time. All for a course that he did not know if he would be able to use at his service when he graduated. He still doesn't, but you can be sure that other services will be looking to pick up this young man who was willing to look forward and do what it takes to get there.
Emergency planning, much like Bret's calculated risk, is based on looking forward, seeing what the potentials are and planning for them. It takes time, effort and money but if the risks have been assessed, it all pays off in the future.
Congratulations to Bret, and well done to all of those organizations who have taken a serious effort in their emergency preparedness.
Congratulations Bret Foisy! Well done.
Bret is a young man, a skilled paramedic, who has been willing to take a calculated risk in order to gain a long term goal. While many services have Advanced Care Paramedics and often pay for their staff, in some sort of partnership agreement, to undertake the training, Bret worked for a service that was limited to Primary Care Paramedics by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. While the service has pressed forward with IVs, CPAP, 12 lead ECGs, King LT Advanced Airways and other enhanced skills, there has been a limitation by the MOHLTC to permit the service from moving forward to ACP.
Bret took it upon himself to invest more than $10,000 into the 1 year ACP course, using vacation, banked time and shift changes to attend school while continuing to work full time. All for a course that he did not know if he would be able to use at his service when he graduated. He still doesn't, but you can be sure that other services will be looking to pick up this young man who was willing to look forward and do what it takes to get there.
Emergency planning, much like Bret's calculated risk, is based on looking forward, seeing what the potentials are and planning for them. It takes time, effort and money but if the risks have been assessed, it all pays off in the future.
Congratulations to Bret, and well done to all of those organizations who have taken a serious effort in their emergency preparedness.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Cholera Could Spread to Dominican Republic
Over 3,000 people in Haiti have been diagnosed with cholera in recent weeks, with more than 250 deaths.
Cholera is a bacteria that is spread through contaminated water, food and personal contact. Infecting the intestines it is present in feces and easily spread in areas where sewage is not properly treated, drinking water is contaminated and there is a lack proper hygiene. In Haiti the situation is complicated by the fact that bodies of the deceased with cholera can continue to be host to the bacteria in the tropical heat, spreading the disease if not properly disposed of. Many of these conditions have been exacerbated due to the large number of people still crowded into temporary camps following the earthquake earlier this year.
Severe cases of cholera causes diarrhea and vomiting leading to dehydration, cramps and death. Seniors, children and those with other medical conditions such as HIV have a higher risk of death.
Due to the high daily traffic of persons across the Haiti / Dominican Republic border there is a high risk of cholera carriers bringing the disease into DR. Should there be an outbreak in DR it has the potential to have a double effect, both effecting the health of some communities but also cause concerns within the tourism industry with a potential to impact the financial health of those areas.
For more information on the cholera outbreak go to the Pan American Health Organization website at: http://new.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4379&Itemid=1926
Photo: Canada Combat Camera - MCpl David Hardwick
Canadian Forces work to reconstruct some of the sewage infrastructure following the Haitian earthquake.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Amazing Rescue
You would have to be living in a mine not to have been aware of the 33 trapped miners in Chile and their rescue occurring as I write. Watching the first miner as he exited the rescue cage and hugged his son on live TV was a special moment.
Over a thousand personnel have worked around the clock for more than 2 months for this day.
For more information on this amazing rescue including video go to: www.cnn.com
Over a thousand personnel have worked around the clock for more than 2 months for this day.
For more information on this amazing rescue including video go to: www.cnn.com
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