Dr. Michael Karch
Disaster Preparedness Course offered 9/11 – Free to the Community (News Release)
Dr. Karch, Orthopedic Surgeon at Mammoth Hospital will present a lecture and training on Disaster Preparedness on September 11, 2013 at Mammoth Lakes Fire Station #1 on 3150 Main Street from 6 to 9PM. The general public is highly encouraged to attend this informative lecture. Information to be presented includes review of 911 New York and Haiti disasters, mass casualty triage, injuries by ballistics, explosions and burns, as well as a crash course in personal disaster preparedness.
Dr. Karch uniquely experienced the tragic events of September 11th by treating victims of both the Pentagon and Ground Zero sites. He was one of the first physicians on site at Ground Zero and performed search and recovery and established two on site MASH units within the disaster area. His written document on mass casualty at Ground Zero was evaluated by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and served as testimony for the re-organization of emergency medical response for the Department of Homeland Security.
Dr. Karch also co-founded an organization for the purpose of medical missions. The organization is comprised of three surgical teams (Orthopedic, General Surgery, and OB/Gyn) and was designed to target remote, impoverished populations throughout the world that have limited or no access to medical care due to either their geographic isolation, lack of financial resources, or political minority status. Dr. Karch typically participates in one surgical mission each year and performs approximately 100 surgical procedures in five to seven days while in a country. Recent trips include Chiapas, Mexico, (2011) and remote region of a Nepal (2012).
For more information, please call (760)924-4128.
Discover more from Sierra Wave: Eastern Sierra News - The Community's News
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Benett….I think since 2007,if I’m not mistaken,either that year or late 2006,when Bill Lutze was elected Sheriff,from what I can see myself,read in the newspaper and see here on The Sierra Wave,the ICSO has improved 100 %…my opinion…just sayin’……
Sheriff Bill Lutze is a good man
“The American cultural tendency to resist change”? That can be said only from a very parochial point of view that apparently has not been much burdened by international travel. America is known around the globe as a change leader, often ruefully in more tradition-bound cultures, which includes most cultures. People in general resist change, but people in America historically have been far less resistant to it than elsewhere. There is a reason Einstein emigrated here.
Yes we need disaster preparedness, for we must be open to new information at all times even if it threatens our current belief system and hence our identity’s, sadly society today has failed to recognize this, and the established institutions continue to paralyze growth by preserving outdated social structures.
The american cultural tendency to resist change, and uphold existing institutions for the sake of identity, comfort, power and profit is COMPLETELY unsustainable and will only produce further imbalance, fragmentation, distortion and invariably destruction..
So prepare my friends, sooner or later…..
“All conditions and all circumstances in our lives are a result of a certain level of thinking. If we want to change the conditions and circumstances, we have to change the level of thinking that is responsible for it” -Albert Einstein-
Sierra Lady….Maybe would be a good idea for Inyo County to do the same with a CERT team…looking over the sites you posted here to check out,what I feel should maybe be done is more personal training for individuals and families on how to deal with,survive and maybe get through a (God forbid) major disaster…and not so much organize what could be just a civilian extension to Law Enforcement,if it were to happen….again,maybe I’m wrong thinking it or saying it,but,let’s face it….if there were a major catastrophe,like some of the ones we’ve seen on television over the years with Katrina in New Orleans,the tornado’s in the midwest,the world-wide earthquakes in past years,Mt.St.Helens in 1980….9/11….I’m trying to think how to say it without rubbing some people the wrong way…when it really comes down to it,the best way to survive is knowing what to do YOURSELF,and not rely on others so much….or have some people that I mentioned in my first post over-stepping their boundries and trying to take control of a situation some people might not agree with or maybe take the wrong way….or even feel forced to do…A wide-scale catastrophe is kinda the same thing as one on a smaller scale involving one person,two people or a family…maybe getting lost,or your vehicle breaking down in the middle of nowhere and no cell-phone,getting hurt on a hike…if you want to survive it,people have to know how to do it on their own…if the CERT training involves doing that,I’m all for it….but if it involves civilians going door-to-door barking out orders,or a way for some to act as authority and knowing best what people should be doing or not doing,I’m not so sure that’s what some would need or want in a dire situation.
Wayne, CERT does exactly that…teaches community members how to be prepared for disasters in their homes first and their communities second. Think “Preppers” on a modified scale! 🙂 We are taught/shown what food/water/medical items to have on hand at home to last 2 days/72 hours/2-3 weeks if needed during a disaster. We are taught basic First Aid/CPR/AED use, light Search and Rescue and how to assist other community agencies in traffic control/road closures for special events. CERT members are not authorized nor allowed to conduct any form of law enforcement. We are an organization to help ourselves, our families and our communities in that order.
Please stop the paranoia! 😉
B. Richter
Mammoth Lakes CERT member & Historian since 2008
Sierra Girl….If what you say is how the CERT program works,then I’m all for it….no paranoia here…..just some past experiences I’ve had maybe make me kind of skeptical when civilians kinda view themselves as Law Enforcement,as it DOES happen sometimes…(AKA George Zimmerman)..but from what your saying,not how the CERT program works..Back in the 90’s ,had a problem with a “neighborhood watch officer” up in Oregon, thinking I was dealing drugs,and instead of contacting Law Enforcement about his premonitions about me,thought it was O.K. to do his own survalilence and confronting and taking photos of people and their license plate numbers after 10 P.M in front of my house…. which led to a big problem for him when he did it to the wrong person that was coming to visit me and took exception to it..Another time,again up in Oregon,there was a flood and rising water in a creek that was turning into a river behind my travel trailer I was staying in at a ranch….and was totally prepared to back my truck up to the trailer and hitch and pull out….if needed…but ,again,had a problem with someone that was thinking he was smarter and more educated than I was concerning the situation the neighborhood,and MY place of residence was in….AND the situation I mentioned in my first post here in Lone Pine….a CalTrans employee telling people(and how he was doing it) to leave the area,which happened to be close to where I worked, to go home and prepare too evacuate from a fire that was two blocks from my house…but it sounds like what I’m saying and what you describe CERT to be is like comparing apples and oranges..sounds like a good program to have in place.
“here in Lone Pine….a CalTrans employee telling people(and how he was doing it) to leave the area,which happened to be close to where I worked, to go home and prepare too evacuate from a fire that was two blocks from my house…”
There is no such thing as manitory evacuation in California. Tell him to pound sand. In SoCal the Sheriff tries to tell people to leave because of brush fire then when you refuse they ask you to sign a form.
At that point you tell them you’re not signing anything to remain on your property.
Or just be sheep and live in a police state.
WillyJ…..That is exactally what I did when he tried to order me around….only not in that nice of a manner…and what you say about the so-called “mandatory evacuations”.so true…even if it’s Law Enforcement telling you to leave,you don’t got to go,if where your at is where you live…thing about it is if you do leave,then it’s up to the “authorities” when your allowed to return..Back in 2003 when they had those big fires in the San Bernardino Mountains I knew a family that was “told” to leave their home,thinking they had to, they did…and then not allowed to return,not only while the fire was burning away from where they lived,but not untill the mop-up crews were finished,as to allow the fire departments full road access into the area….and when they did return,their home had been burglarized.
@ Wayne and Willy
I can understand one not wanting to leave their own property, especially not under “orders” from a Caltrans worker who has no authority whatsoever.
But there is another side to that coin – see the Australian wildfires of 2009. Over 200 citizens were killed by wildfire because they decided not to leave when they should have. There are many other examples of stubbornness gone bad too.
I believe you should be able to stay If you so choose. But if you DO decide to stay when directed to leave, please don’t expect law enforcement or firefighters to come and rescue you and your family if you suddenly decide you’ve bit off more than can chew. The direction to evacuate is for their safety as much as yours. And they don’t deserve to die because you made a bad choice.
Ch….I understand where your coming from….but if I decided to stay,wouldn’t expect anyone to rescue me,or risk their lives if it were a bad decision for me to do so…but I like to think I could make the correct decision on my own whether to stay or go…sometimes it seems those setting up evacuations..or in some cases,just the opposite,trying to order people to stay when they shouldn’t(Port Authority in Tower # 2 on 9/11),the authorities are the ones either making the wrong decisions or maybe jumping the gun and being too cautious when it’s mot really warranted….we’ve all seen it happen,even in our small little towns here in the Owens Valley.
I want to give the Inyo Sheriff’s Department credit for how they handled the fire that nearly burned the community of Independence in 2007. Fire was moving down the foothills of the Sierra
toward the town. Officers came by and said we could voluntarily evacuate. Residents started to think about what they wanted to save – pets, pictures, important papers. Then when
you could see flames rapidly advancing toward your property, it was time to go. We went to the Manzanar air strip and waited. Thankfully the wind shifted. Residents returned to
their homes, no problems from deputies. They were nothing but helpful.
Benett Kessler
I think this is a really good idea….people maybe learning to deal with a possible disaster…and learn personal disaster preparedness…..maybe wrong to say it,but when I’ve noticed incidents that were troublesome or maybe a dangerous situation that involved the public population,seems to me way too many agencies are involved,running around and trying to control it and barking out orders and telling people what and what not to do….example…A few years ago,we in Lone Pine had a structure fire in town that advanced to two homes and almost a third,and it was kind of disturbing seeing all those involved that really had no business telling people what to do, telling people where to go,and how they were coming across as “in charge”…..along with the normal Law Enforcement agencies,there was DFG,BLM,DWP,USFS,the Inyo County Road Dept….and even CalTrans !!…maybe I feel different about things,but if there were a major disaster in Inyo County to deal with,I’d have some trouble if DWP workers or a CalTrans employee was to think they would be giving orders for us “regular” people to follow in order to survive and get through it…..some of us might be able to get through it on our own.
^ Some good thoughts so maybe you’d like to start up your own CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) in Inyo County? We’ve had one here in Mammoth since 2008 and Walker since last year. It’s a great way to learn more about home and community preparedness in time of disaster.
http://www.fema.gov/community-emergency-response-teams
http://www.j.mammothlakespd.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=91&Itemid=101
Mammoth Lakes will be hosting its 6th CERT Academy (FREE!) starting in October for three consecutive Saturdays. Folks can become active or auxiliary members. For questions or further information, please email [email protected] or come to our pre-academy introductory meeting on Thursday, October 3rd, at the Best Western Hotel on Main Street from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.