MPH Emergency Preparedness Drill
Friday morning, Maria Parham Health in coordination with Vance County Emergency Operations conducted an Emergency Preparedness Drill at Maria Parham Health on Ruin Creek Road. The drill was scheduled to last 9:00 a.m. until 12:00 p.m. EST.
The Emergency Preparedness Drill was a joint training exercise that tested the preparedness and response of local, regional and state agencies should a real crisis occur. More than 100 volunteers, hospital employees and local emergency responders took part in this mock emergency preparedness drill. The drill began at 9:00 am, however set up and preparations began as early as 6:00 am.
The event staged by the Maria Parham Health Emergency Preparedness Team focused on response plans for an actual disaster, which could trigger a sudden influx of patients, media, concerned community members and the “worried well” to the hospital.
The full scale mass-casualty drill was conducted in collaboration with multiple partner agencies including the Henderson Police Department, Vance County Sherriff’s Office, Henderson-Vance County Emergency Operations, Vance County Emergency Services, City of Henderson Fire Department, Duke Healthcare Coalition and Maria Parham Health. The scenario for the practice event was a simulated active shooter on hospital grounds.
Organizers cautioned ahead of time that the event was a significant exercise and the local community could expect to see emergency responders at Maria Parham Health looking and acting as if it were a true disaster. Normal hospital Emergency Department operations and patient care were not be affected by the drill in any way.
Hospitals are required by The Joint Commission to have disaster response plans in place and conduct periodic drills for improvement and training purposes.
Holiday Tea Saturday, Dec. 9
The Relay for Life of Vance County is actively working on a daily basis, planning for this summer’s Relay and helping to raise money for cancer research.
The Conquerors team will host a Holiday Tea this Saturday, December 9th, from 1:00 until 3:00 p.m.
It will take place at the Spring Street Missionary Baptist Church at 511 Orange Street in Henderson.
Cost is $10 per person. Please RSVP at 252-213-5977.
All process benefit the Vance County Relay for Life.
Snow Friday?
The National Weather Service says a little light snow is possible Friday night.
Click here for the latest briefing.
Light accumulations less than an inch, mainly on grassy and elevated surfaces, should have minimal impact. Greatest amounts in the I-85 corridor from Burlington northeast.
Travel is not likely to be impacted, however some slick spots on bridges and elevated roadways are possible.
Light accumulations of less than an inch are possible, mainly on grassy and elevated surfaces west of U.S. Route 1. The greatest
amounts will be in the I-85 corridor from Burlington northeast.
As always, Vance County Emergency Management Director Brian Short will keep us up to date. He said, “They are continuing to forecast some light snow for our area tomorrow evening. No significant accumulations or impacts are expected.”
United Way of Vance County Is In Good Standing; Moving Office
— courtesy United Way of Vance County
The United Way of Vance County Board of Directors has been working over the last several weeks to resolve our organization’s financial concerns and get our United Way in a position to once again support the needs of our agencies and our community. The board has taken steps to greatly reduce the operating costs of our United Way and we are moving our office to a new location at 715 South Garnett Street in Henderson.
After the beginning of the new year, we plan to have the new United Way of Vance County office fully operational. We also plan to begin new fundraising efforts, so that later in the year we can renew our grant payments to the United Way agencies in Vance and Warren counties.
We want to assure all of our contributors and our agencies that all funds donated to the United Way of Vance County during 2017 were distributed completely and appropriately. The United Way of Vance County is in good standing financially with all entities, including the United Way of North Carolina and United Way Worldwide. It was not until the beginning of our 2017-2018 campaign, which started July 1, that financial concerns arose. Due to the decline in donations and fulfillment of pledges, we were forced to suspend grant payments to our agencies in August.
The board is confident that the steps taken to streamline expenses and the strategies we have put into place to move forward with fundraising efforts will allow us to begin grant payments to our agencies soon. There are a couple of United Way fundraising campaigns with local businesses going on now and we are ready to assist their representatives in completing their campaigns and securing donations for those in need in our community.
Anyone with questions or concerns about the United Way of Vance County should contact Heather Hughes, board president, at 252-432-2133 or Terri Hedrick, board past president, at 252-438-8702.
Wake Electric grant provides technology for VGCC Library
— courtesy VGCC
A grant that Wake Electric Membership Corporation awarded to Vance-Granville Community College has been used for a project to provide enhanced technology for students in the Library on the college’s Main Campus in Vance County.
The $3,000 Classroom Technology grant purchased three 48-inch LED smart TV monitors allowing for large-screen displays in each of three study rooms in the library, as well as a Microsoft Surface tablet device that can also be used by students in those study rooms.
“We are very excited that our students can now use this interactive technology in our library to help them study and succeed in their classes,” said VGCC Director of Library Services Elaine Stem, who applied for the grant. “Our study room usage has doubled in the past year, and I know this new technology will only increase the demand for the study space.”
Stem explained that the rooms previously had 19-inch monitors, which were not well-suited for use by groups of students, or even by individual students needing high-quality visual representations. “We are very appreciative to Wake Electric for supporting VGCC students,” Stem added.
Whitney Duke of Henderson, a student in the VGCC Associate Degree Nursing program, uses one of the new monitors to study bones in a study room at the VGCC Main Campus Library. (VGCC photo)
Wake Electric awards Classroom Technology grants to public K-12 schools and community colleges in its service area. The funds for the grants come from WEMC members who agree to round up their light bill to the nearest whole dollar through the “Operation RoundUp” program. Wake Electric is a non-profit electric utility serving over 42,500 consumers in parts of Durham, Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Nash, Vance, and Wake counties.
For more information on library services at VGCC, call (252) 738-3279 or visit library.vgcc.edu.
–VGCC–
(VGCC is an advertising client of WIZS.)
Community Partners of Hope Volunteers Needed
Good things are happening for the Community Partners of Hope Men’s shelter, but your help is still needed. Volunteer supervisors, meals, computer support, and donations are all needed.
Also, Kaine Riggan of the Downtown Development Commission is searching Henderson for an appropriate place for CPOH long term needs. If you have suggestions, contact him at kaineriggan@gmail.com.
CPOH has a new fundraising portal! Check it out online and share it with your friends. You can access the portal by clicking here. CPOH needs cash for day-to-day expenses but will also begin a capital campaign once a permanent location is found.
VOLUNEER NEEDS:
The CPOH calendar is constantly being updated, so to check the latest schedule online at www.cp-hope.org and click on the shelter calendar tab at the top right. Here are the needs:
SUPERVISION:
December 7 – Welcome and overnight
December 8 – Welcome
December 22 & 23 – Welcome
December 24 through January 5 – Volunteers needed for almost all positions!
MEALS:
December 8
December 22
December 23
December 24 (Christmas Eve)
December 27 through January 5