Imagine...

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" - Albert Einstein

The world has definitely changed.  For several years now I have spoken at countless conferences regarding the need for us, as a collaborative American community, to start awareness campaigns, planning efforts and yes, even to start adjusting lifestyles despite the un-comfortability.

For the last three years I have attempted to get on stage at various conferences where the list of those who speak is governed by tight-knit associations and committees; a much harder task.  While I managed some success, there are many more of these venues that I am trying to target as now they are boasting themes such as navigating the new extremes…titles I used 4 years ago.

It is frustrating to say the least when I watch the news and reports of events unfolding around the country that were predictable.  What is worse is watching the appalling results of reactionary response on the part of not just government agencies but corporate entities as well.

While each and every day we are being presented with ever-growing and new challenges, the need for pre-action seems to be escaping those that could really make a difference.  The need for free-thinking agency directors is at an all-time high; we are inundated with those in positions of power that have allowed their actions to be fettered by old protocols and history with no allowance for imagination.

What do I mean?

How on earth are we supposed to prepare for what lies ahead when recent history shows us that what lies ahead is new, un-researched and unknown?  When every authority has agreed with me that the new extremes are the new normal, how then do we plan ahead without imagination?

Imagination and guts. Those are the two elements needed in today’s (and tomorrow’s) emergency managers whether at a corporate level or in the local government agency.  Those that will facilitate the survival of others will be those with the guts to wake up each day and try to imagine what may come.

Are we planning for Ebola outbreaks as a part of our business continuity planning? Of course not! Decisions are being made right now based on a few nurses and doctors and one Liberian National having Ebola.  The opinions being shared with me are that the threat has ended, so why invest?

I’ll tell you why. Because Ebola is still running rampant and the history of pandemics show evolutions that cycle every 3 to 9 months. Because if someone was introduced to the virus on Tuesday, they will not have a fever at the airport tomorrow.  Because findings show that the virus can live upwards of 50 days on a colder surface such as glass and it is winter.

Are we planning for ISIS-related attacks here in the United States? Of course not, Why? Because there have only been a few isolated incidents and those attacks were carried out by lone-wolf radicals with no real connections to ISIS; or so we are told.  The reality is that this country has been spattered with these radicals for years and we underestimate the intelligence of an organization that has been hailed as “Junior Varsity”.

Now, don’t get me wrong. We are good at what we do here in the United States. As soon as there is a major outbreak of influenza or Ebola, we will begin to act. As soon as a few dozen are simultaneously killed across the country or we experience an attack on a government building, we will place new protocols… well, as soon as we agree on what they are and make sure that nobody is too uncomfortable with them.

Don’t like what you are reading? Too bad. It’s the truth.

While we watched the drama of a nurse in Maine unfold before our very eyes, many agreed that the poor girl’s rights were being violated with a quarantine; so much so that she was finally allowed her freedom.  Freedom… an interesting word to use here.  You see, if she had been forced to quarantine and had broken out only to infect a group of people, Americans would have screamed for her prosecution.  OUR freedom falls into jeopardy when someone steps out on the street with a grenade and we rise up demanding that law enforcement stop that person before OUR freedom is taken away seconds after the pin is pulled… but for now, quarantines remain voluntary… the words “self-monitoring” sit better in our ears.

So I am rambling… a little…but I have a point to make here.

We have got to stop being a reactionary American community!  If an outbreak really occurred in your area, you would have very little time to make plans for banking, grocery shopping, medical supplies, etc.  This is supposed to already be a part of your plans!  How good is your home disaster kit?

If there is suddenly a widespread organized attack on American soil, how ready are the responders in your agency?

Is your church ready for the world around the corner?

Is your school?

While there have been a few encouraging reports and surveys lately, the reality is that the “it will never REALLY happen” or “it won’t ever happen here” attitude is about to start really killing people.

Rural fire departments with ambulances have been a concern of mine for years and in the wake of the first Ebola victim on U.S. soil I have found very few that have researched, created or adopted any new protocols for disinfection of vehicles or buildings.  Over 75% of the U.S. relies on these particular departments!
     
One of the biggest issues facing us today is a plethora of unpredictable disruptions that have the potential to seriously destabilize our lives; very real situations and events that could cut us off from our homes, our schools, medical care, food…

It does not have to be Ebola, it does not have to be ISIS.  I am speaking of the increased number of natural disasters and the ever-growing cyber-security threats as well.  Threats that have been growing like weeds under our feet…

We need to become strategic.  Strategic resilience is the ability to adapt and respond to broader threats and opportunities.  In order to be strategically resilient we need to cowboy up, buck the system a little, prepare to be unpopular and we need to start using our imagination.
From home to school, from church to the office, from the local rural fire department to the municipality, it is time to start imagining the possibilities.  For years the simplest of concepts like home disaster kits and weather radios have been ignored by the majority and now we face the most challenging times in our nations (and worlds) history. 
 
Imagine what tomorrow could bring.  Picture the event or incident that could bring your world crashing down and start to make a plan for that event.

I have longed believed in the systems used by the National Weather Service to protect the American public.  The structure of Advisory, Watch and Warning is a simple and effective one if one is aware and follows that awareness with action.  In saying that, I want to stress that for years we sat in an advisory. The last several years of change indicated the need for a watch.

Today we are in a WARNING. Act now.

Ebola and Ignorance. Products vs. Solutions

For several years I have toured the country and spoken at conferences on the need for us to begin a new way of thinking.  Ahead of my time, I guess, as last year my speech entitled "Navigating the New Normal" given at the International Association of Emergency Managers EMEX show was for the most part ignored by a sparse group attempting to have personal discussions during my presentation.  Funny because this year's theme at the  IAEM Conference is "Navigating the New Normal".

Well folks, that navigation has begun and the ships are crashing into the breakers without a lighthouse.  Don't believe me? Watch CNN for 5 minutes.

Over the course of many years I have been blessed to partner with several innovative developers of solutions for the disaster market.  I do not use the word “solution” lightly.  There are many products on the market, many are good, more are not.  It is unfortunate that as I prepare to head off to another expo that I already know I will see many products that work well in a controlled environment or a lab but rarely function in the real world of disaster and chaos.

An example of the real solutions might be the FoxFury lights used by our team.  Sure, we could go and spend one third of the money but would we have a light that does its job in the heat of the moment? We have found that these lights surpass anything else on the market when you take into account reliability, ease of mobility, durability and performance all around.  This is why we use them, why we depend on them and why we recommend them… they have proven themselves to be SOLUTIONS.

Now, as I sit here at my desk putting pen to my thoughts, I am looking at my FoxFury 450nm 470nm forensic light source and kit on the shelf behind me wondering if we are really going to stop the spread of Ebola in the United States without utilizing the tools and solutions that exist...

With that explained, let’s move on to the situation at hand.

Anyone with access to cable has seen the stories regarding the need for protocols regarding the screening, admission and care of Ebola patients and potential Ebola patients.  It has pained me to see the lack of protocols and the failure of EMS and hospitals highlighted on the news when I feel that these failures are not at all the fault of those being blamed!  How can we justify attacking entities for poor handling when the proper tools were never presented to them?

Ebola is a very real threat, not just to Africa, but to the world.  It has been estimated that thousands more will contract the deadly virus before the year’s end and we can bet there will be some of those right here in the United States; after all, it was only 5 weeks ago that we were told it would NEVER be here, then when it arrived we were told it would stop with one Liberian National…

While Ebola is a real threat, as usual, ignorance is already at a pandemic level here in the States.

According to the dictionary, “ignorant” is an adjective used to describe someone with a “lack of training”, “unlearned”, “lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact” and “unaware”.

Sad that we have used the word to mean “stupid” but that is not at all its meaning.  The folks at the CDC are not stupid.  The folks at the Dallas hospital are not stupid.  Dallas Emergency Management is not stupid.  Unfortunately, they may be ignorant. Unaware.  Lacking information.

Why do I bring this up? Because as I watch the theft of dignity in airports, emergency rooms and even at an apartment complex in Dallas, I wonder why there has been no privacy barriers used like the SRN1000.  Why have patients and even suspected patients been subjected to hundreds of cameras and cell phones; why are there pictures inundating social media of people in the midst of their own personal hells?  I ask the question, at what point is the failure to provide some sort of privacy going to become a liability issue costing millions?  If my family was being transported from our apartment in the midst of a media circus, I would expect law enforcement or EMS to provide some sort of protection from the thousands of lenses and film crews.  Why is it

that a serial-killer being transported to jail is allowed a coat over his head yet we parade Ebola patients and suspected patients through what appears to be the new “disease paparazzi”?

Carl Connova and his son Phillip have a solution that has been on the market for some time.  A family owned business with a real SOLUTION.  So why are they not being used?  For over a year now, I know the reason.  Smaller companies, homegrown companies and the true innovators are being ignored or overlooked and it is time we start to pay attention to these companies more than fancy marketing campaigns and major corporate entities looking to make a million on products without any knowledge of how to offer a SOLUTION.

Let’s take this another step further…

Why wait nearly 5 days to move the family from the Dallas apartment so a private sector team can come in and clean the unit when a small company (not too far from the SRN offices in Florida) has created a broad spectrum disinfectant fogger that could have been deployed in under 20 minutes at the apartment complex?  Can the powers that be honestly now stand in a press conference and say they did “all they could”?  Of course not…they were acting in ignorance.  They were unaware that that Eco-Evolutions Halo Fogger even existed as far as I can tell.

If that was YOUR ambulance…you know, the one that transferred the first U.S. Ebola patient… wouldn’t it have been nice to know that a machine had been deployed inside and outside of it that dispersed a broad spectrum disinfectant known to kill a massive amount of complex virus’?  The day that ambulance was used a representative from a health department was featured on CNN stating that, and I quote, “wiping with bleach is the best weapon”.

To be honest, if that ambulance was in MY fire hall, I would have stopped going to work that week.

And one more thought… for over 36 hours we heard about the need for protocols on moving infected or possibly infected materials, bedding and even the body of Eric Duncan.  One of our partners, Bio-Seal, offers the very real (and possibly the only) solution to this dilemma.  This containment system can handle not only the body, but waste, bedding, personal belongings and more; and the system is mobile.

Bio-Seal has a SOLUTION that allows a facility, a responder, an EMS group, a health Department or ANY agency or personnel to create the highest level of containment for all dangerous gases and fluids associated with the transport, handling and storage of biohazardous materials in the health or death care industry. It was the Bio-Seal product that allowed the body of Duncan to be transferred safely following his death.

Again, a real SOLUTION.

So where are the challenges?  Everywhere.  How are planes being disinfected? Are travelers being screened publicly? Are patients being transported with their own press entourage? Are hospitals and EMS services doing all they can using all that is available to protect the public and responders alike?  We have just been notified that yet another Ebola patient, Amber Vinson, boarded a commercial flight from Cleveland after showing the first symptom of being infectious.  According to reports, the CDC is looking for the 132 passengers from that flight at the moment of this blog's creation.

What concerns me is that also according to the report, and I quote: "The October 13 flight was cleaned thoroughly after it landed, per our normal procedures which is consistent with CDC guidelines.  After the airline was informed of the Ebola patient, the plane was removed from service."

As I am preparing to fly several times in the next month, could we be informed as to WHO cleaned that plane and HOW?

There are real SOLUTIONS out there.  These are just a few, but I felt it was worth the time to write about them and put things into perspective.  Many of my readers work in health care, in response and in government… maybe, just maybe this blog reaches someone that is more afraid of ignorance than Ebola.

For more information about these solutions, please contact me directly through our website at www.C4LAssociates.com