Volunteer team prepares
for day disaster strikes
By dave benjamin
Staff Writer
MANALAPAN — Preparing for the day when a disaster could strike the community, the members of a local emergency preparedness committee are making plans for how to respond.
The volunteer committee is under the auspices of the township Board of Health.
"We’re very fortunate to have this dedicated group of volunteers," Mayor Rebecca Aaronson said in discussing the panel. "They’ve spent a lot of time and a lot of effort, and for that we are grateful."
Board of Health members in attendance for a recent presentation at town hall included Walter Stein, chairman; Karen Rothenberg, nurse, Jersey Shore Medical Center, Neptune; David Richardson, township health officer; Steve Levine, EMT; and Vice Chairwoman Kim Silverstein, a public health nurse.
Aaronson said members of the township Board of Health attended the national conference of the National Association of Local Boards of Health to better the community. While there, the Manalapan representatives made a presentation explaining the development of the volunteer medical response team which will go into action in the event of a major medical emergency or disaster.
Aaronson said the Manalapan team was asked to make the same presentation in Trenton for state officials. She said Manalapan’s volunteer medical response team will be used as a model for the rest of the state.
In discussing the events that have made this type of response team important in a community, Stein said, "We reacted very strongly to the events of 9/11. We lost (many) residents and others who had grown up here. We are also very close to bioterrorist ground zero in Mercer County (referring to the anthrax scare in the Princeton-Hamilton area). It’s hard to say that we are isolated from what happened.
"The first thing we decided to do, which turned out to be a model for the entire state, was to establish a volunteer emergency task force, or response team, which would consist of doctors, nurses, other professionals, or anyone in town who is interested in helping," he said. "They would be dropping whatever they are doing and respond at a moment’s notice."
Stein said the type of emergency to which the team members will respond doesn’t necessarily have to be bioterrorism. He said the condition could be a tornado, a hurricane, flooding, outbreaks of disease, unhealthy air quality caused by smoke from fires, weather conditions, insect spraying or hazardous materials.
"By the time the state and county respond you could have a disaster here," Stein said. "We know it could take days. We want help to come immediately and that includes the hospitals. They will be overwhelmed."
Silverstein said services provided by the volunteers would supplement a response from municipal, county and/or state services or plans. She said volunteers who can be available at any time to respond to an emergency are needed. Interested residents may call the township health department and ask for a volunteer questionnaire.
Stein added that about two months ago, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that grants were available to municipalities which would establish a volunteer medical reserve corps. The Manalapan group has applied for funding and could form some type of partnership with the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad, he said.
Aaronson thanked the board of health members and volunteers for their hard work.
The emergency preparedness committee welcomes new members and/or volunteers and will meet in town hall at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month. An orientation meeting is expected to be held on Dec. 3 at the Monmouth County Library Headquarters, Symmes Drive. Residents who are interested in attending are asked to call (732) 446-8345.