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Profile Vicky Kistler Director Allentown Health Bureau 
Vicky has lived and served in the Lehigh Valley her entire life. She came to the Allentown Health Bureau in 1993 as the Communicable Disease Manager. Later, Vicky became responsible for Public Health Emergency Preparedness efforts and subsequently assumed the position of Acting Director in December 2006. Vicky has written, conducted and evaluated preparedness drills and worked closely with a variety of Emergency Preparedness organizations throughout the Lehigh Valley.July 14, 2009 Patti Milot Registered Nurse 
Patti Milot is a graduate of Lehigh Carbon Community College RN program class of 2000. Since October 2005, she has been employed as a Parish Nurse at St. Paul's Ev. Lutheran Church at 36 S. 8th St. Allentown, PA 18101. She works in conjunction with Sacred Heart Hospital's Community Outreach/Parish Nursing Department. As a Parish Nurse, Patti takes care of her clients wholistically, which means, caring for the mind, body, and spirit.
April 16, 2007 Hal Bendit, D.O. Our First Volunteer  Hal Bendit, D.O., Chairman, Dept. of Family Medicine at
St. Luke's Hospital, Allentown PA, has become AVMRC's first volunteer. Hal joined our organizational efforts shortly after returning from an illuminating experience in Louisiana following the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. He has been practicing family medicine in Macungie, PA for over 20 years. Hal will be part of the AVMRC team situated in the Parish of St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 8th and Walnut Streets, in Allentown.January 17, 2007
Issue Please Sign On as an AVMRC Volunteer AVMRC needs your time, your skills, and your heart. Please access the volunteer enrollment form by clicking on JOIN US. February 6, 2010 |
Medical Reserve Corps Seeking Volunteers March 1, 2011 As a result of the deadly explosion and fire in the City of Allentown on February 9, many kind and caring individuals came to the temporary shelter at Ag Hall immediately after the explosion seeking to offer help. The best way to serve in similar situations is to enroll in advance of an emergency in the Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (AVMRC). Individuals do not need to be from Allentown and they can be medical or non-medical personnel. If you are interested in learning more about being a part of volunteer disaster response, please visit the Allentown Health Bureau website at www.allentownpa.gov/health and read about the AVMRC, or call 610-437-7708 for more information. An orientation meeting is scheduled for Thursday, March 3 at 5:30pm in the Community Room of the Allentown Wegmans at 3900 Tilghman Street. If you’d like to attend, please call 610-437-7708 to reserve your spot. Individuals from all walks of life are needed and no experience is necessary. Message to AVMRC Volunteers from Health Bureau Director March 1, 2011 The following is a message to AVMRC volunteers from Vicky Kistler, AllentownHealth Bureau Director: "I am sure as an AVMRC volunteer you are wondering why you were notactivated or asked to help with the recent gas explosion response. Inthis particular situation there were less than a half dozen injuries. Infact, thank God all of the injured were treated and released quickly. That left many paramedics who had responded to the scene available toserve. The shelter at AG Hall remained open from midnight to 6am. Had weneeded to keep it open longer, we would have called upon you for help. I would like to hold a session to touch base and review how thisresponse went and to discuss the lessons we learned." Recognizing that everyone has busy schedules we have scheduled two (2)dates but you only need to attend one of the meetings. Following arethe details: Date: Thursday, March 24, 2011 or Monday, March 28, 2011 Time: 6:30 - 7:30 PM (both dates) Location: Hamilton Family Restaurant, 2027 W Hamilton Street,Allentown, PA 18104 Refreshments: Desserts & Beverages will be provided Please RSVP by Thursday, March 17, 2011 and include the date that youplan to attend. You can respond via email to medreserve@allentowncity.org or call VickyKistler at 610-437-7708. GET READY 2010 Autumn Academy Event September 13 - 17 September 10, 2010 GET READY 2010 Autumn Academy event will take place September 13 - 17. AVMRC plans new activities August 23, 2010 AVMRC is planning activities for National Emergency Preparedness month which is September. More details will be announced shortly. AVMRC Seeks New Volunteers December 17, 2009 The City of Allentown Health Bureau is seeking volunteers interested in serving as a member of the Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (AVMRC). "It is incumbent upon government health officials to review and update plans for handling emergencies," said Allentown Health Bureau Director Vicky Kistler. "We have decided to expand the AVMRC and so we are looking for new members." For additional information and to register, please contact MaryEllen Shiels at the Allentown Health Bureau at 610-437-7510 or email her at shiels@allentowncity.org. Get Ready Event at LCCC in March March 4, 2009 Reminder for the upcoming GET READY 2009 Spring Splash event taking place March 9-14 at the Schnecksville Campus of Lehigh Carbon Community College.
Participants may register for a single class or attend several. There is no charge and food is included for registered guests. Pre-registration required at http://www.lccc.edu/noncredit-students/course-search/index.cfm?category=1349&subcategory=1380 Please feel free to pass this invitation along to anyone you feel may find value in any or all of the training that is being offered. Links to Get Ready videos available December 10, 2008 Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps is featuring two important public awareness tools on emergency preparedness,Get Ready 2 Get Connected, aimed at the needs of special populations, and
Get Ready, a more general video on preparedness, are now online, and you can access them either by going to the AVMRC website, www.avmrc.org, and clicking on the names of the videos at the far right of the headers on the top of the home page, or by clicking on the links below: http://www.avmrc.org/videos/getready2.html http://www.avmrc.org/videos/getready.html If you double click on the video screen when the video begins to play, it will fill the screen. It looks great and can be used to show to small groups. Allentown to conduct HAZMAT drill July 21 July 14, 2008 On Monday July 21st the City will conduct a HAZMAT drill. The Health Bureau will be responsible for operating the call center at Muhlenberg College from 8am-12 noon.
Volunteers are needed. If you are interested in participating, please contact AVMRC by emailing Ara Barlieb at medreserve@allentowncity.org. Emergency Preparedness Drill Saturday May 10 May 6, 2008 Volunteers needed to act as victims are being asked to report to William Allen High School (126 North 17th Street) at 8am on Saturday May 10th. At the school, you will receive a script detailing your "injuries" or situation. While you are acting as victims, others will be performing the duties of operating an emergency call center where community volunteers will be calling and asking for information on the victims and the school schedule. The scenario is that a small cargo plane leaving the airport crashes into the school while a small group is present. The date and time will be real so in the scenario school is not in session. The drill will be conducted according to NIMS protocol (National Incident Management system) therefore the staff participating at the drill will be wearing clearly marked vests and you can certainly approach them with questions or concerns. We will not be using real ambulance transport so some of the victims will be asked to walk two blocks to the LVH-ER at 17th and Chew, some to the ER at 17th and Hamilton and the others will be shuttle bussed to St Luke’s Bethlehem, Sacred Heart or LVH Cedar Crest. Once at the ER you will be greeted by a paramedic and placed upon a litter, into a wheel chair or sat in the chairs based upon the severity of the injuries your script says you have suffered. Those who have been shuttled will be returned to the starting point and everyone will be asked to complete a brief evaluation of the experience. You will then be given your choice of a voucher to go out and have lunch when ever you’d like. We hope to conclude the drill by 12:30pm. AVMRC featured on Ready America Website February 13, 2008 Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps is being featured on Ready America's website that is designed and maintained by the Department of Homeland Security. The featured article describes our regional efforts to enlighten shoppers at Wegman's last fall about emergency preparedness as well as a link to our Get Ready video. Check it out at http://www.ready.gov/america/about/testimonials/story1.html. St. Paul's AVMRC Team Gives Free Flu Shots November 6, 2007 The AVMRC team of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Allentown gave free flu shots to members of the surrounding center city community and parish on Sunday November 4. Visitors were afforded an opportunity to receive the vaccine as well as to discuss other health issues affecting their lives and circumstances. Team members include Dr. Hal Bendit, Patti Milot, R.N., the Reverend Richard B. Baumann, and Vicky Kistler, Director of Allentown Health Bureau. CDC en Espanol on Web October 26, 2007 On October 11, 2007, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Spanish-language Web site, CDC en Espanol , was re-launched with a new look and new features that will make it more usable and functional. The updated Web site is another important step in CDC's longstanding efforts to provide accurate, up-to-date information in Spanish on health issues of special interest to Hispanic communities, including information on a wide range of health promotion and disease prevention topics like asthma, cancer, HIV/AIDS, immunizations, children's health, diabetes and occupational hazards. The CDC en Espanol Web site address is http://www.cdc.gov/spanish.
AVMRC Marks Beginning of Second Year October 9, 2007 Allentown Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps celebrates the end of the first active year of the AVMRC initiative. and the beginning of the second, with a meeting and enlistment event this evening in Moyer Hall on the campus of Phoebe Ministries, 19th and Turner Streets, Allentown, PA. Current volunteers, interested members of the community, and AVMRC administrators and staff will attend. For more information, please call Ara Barlieb at (610) 390-0255. St. Paul's AVMRC Holds PILL DAY Event May 9, 2007 The AVMRC team of St. Paul's Lutheran Church parish held its second PILL DAY event on May 6, 2007 in the Church at 8th and Walnut Streets, Allentown, PA. Members of the Parish and surrounding community were invited to bring their prescription medications to discuss why they are taking them, how to take them properly, and how to store them safely. The team, consisting of a physician, nurse, social worker and pastor was also available to answer questions of a general nature regarding public health. St. Paul's AVMRC Holds First Public Health Event April 30, 2007 Our AVMRC team situated in the Parish of St. Paul's Lutheran Church of Allentown held its first public health event, "Pill Day," on Sunday, April 29, 2007 in the soup kitchen located in the church basement. The event was held to assist members of the parish and its surrounding community to create accurate records of their prescription medications. Team members were also available to offer blood pressure screenings and other relevant medical information. Team members Hal Bendit, D.O., Patti Milot, R.N., Jerry Brucker, LSW, and the Reverend Richard Baumann answered questions of a general public health nature from 8 to 9 A.M. Public Health/Emergency News Feed NYT > Money & Policy rss
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Training Recommended Training Courses On-line IS-700.a National Incident Management System (NIMS), An Introduction More Information
NIMS - IS-702
CERT - Community Emergency Response Team
(Introductory course offered on-line; detailed hands-on course to be offered soon)
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July 14, 2009
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