Volume 8 Issue 12 June 2006

n May, the AppalachianCouncil of Governmentsprovided Weapons ofMass Destruction (WMD)

training to 23 members of the Upstate’sUrban Search and Rescue (USAR)Team. Members were given instructionand participated in demonstrations ofpotential terrorist radiological, chemi-cal, explosive and biological weapons.Students will receive certificates quali-fying them for more advanced WMDtraining at federally sponsored schoolsacross the U.S.

ACOG instructors are certifiedby the U.S. Department of HomelandSecurity (USDHS) to teach the AWR-160 WMD course, awareness leveltraining. ACOG classes include stan-dard USDHS awareness level materials,some operational level information anddemonstrations involving actual testequipment and simulated chemicals andweapons. Over 1,400 students havebeen instructed by ACOG since the pro-gram began in 2002.

The primary mission of theUrban Search and Rescue Team is to

provide statewide response to largescale disasters involving the collapse orpotential buildings or structures. Spe-cifically, USAR teams are responsiblefor the location, rescue (extrication),and initial medical stabilization of vic-tims trapped in confined spaces. TheSC Region I USAR Response Team ishosted by the City of Greenville and iscomprised of 24 highly trained volun-teers. There are three other regionalteams based in Hilton Head Island,Charleston and Myrtle Beach.

To date, the team has been is-sued over a quarter of a million dollarsworth of equipment and is receivinghighly specialized urban rescue trainingcourses including: rope operations,confined space rescue, lifting and mov-ing heavy objects and crane operations,basic and advanced collapse shoring,breaching and breaking concrete, burn-ing and cutting metal and Technical(camera) search operations.

For information concerning the(USAR continued on page 4)

USAR—Urban Search and RescueACOG Provides WMD Training to Team

David Acker has joined thestaff of the Appalachian COG as Hous-ing Rehabilitation Specialist in theGrant Services Department, replacingJoe Smith. David has lived in the Up-state for most of his life and has workedin several local government positionssince 1969. He served the AndersonCounty Fire Department for 13 years,including 4 years as Fire Marshal. Heserved as Fire Chief and Safety Engi-neer for Michelin Tire Corporation forten years while also volunteering as anofficer and commissioner for the NorthSpartanburg Fire Department. Over thepast several years, David has owned aconstruction and remodeling business.He brings more than 15 years of con-struction experience to his new position,along with several decades of servingthe public.

David’s hobbies include col-lecting classic cars and motorcycle rid-ing. He is also a licensed FAA privatepilot, a PADI certified scuba diver, andis actively involved in his church.David and his wife, Judy, have threesons and three grandchildren and residein Spartanburg.

ACOG WelcomesNew Staff Member

Members of the SC Region IUSAR Team training to deal witha collapsing building.

New threats, new solutions… A FEMA UrbanSearch and Rescue Team responding to hurri-cane Katrina.

VIEWPOINTPage 2

he U.S. Census Bureaurecently released datafrom its 2005 Annual Sur-vey of State and Local

Government Employment and Payroll.This survey measures the number ofState, Local and Federal civilian gov-ernment employees and their gross pay-rolls for the pay period includingMarch 12, 2005. The survey providesdata on employment and payroll statis-tics for governmental functions such aseducation, hospitals and health care, po-lice and fire protection, government ad-ministration, solid waste managementand sewerage, utilities, highways andtransportation, among other functions.

A review of the data for SouthCarolina local governments (county,city, township, special district, schooldistricts) revealed a total March 2005payroll of more than $482 million, rep-resenting a total full-time equivalentemployment of 167,783. Not surpris-ingly, education spending accounted formore than half of the total payroll, fol-lowed by hospitals and health care, po-lice and fire protection, and governmentadministration.

Provided below is a compari-son of the spending breakdown by localSouth Carolina governments versus lo-cal governments nationwide.

GovernmentFunction

S.C. %of

Total

Avg %of

TotalTotal Payroll 100.0% 100.0%

Elem. & Sec. Education 55.3% 52.2%

Hospitals/Heath Care 16.5% 6.7%

Police/Fire Protection 9.5% 12.1%

Gov't Administration 3.4% 3.9%

Waste Mgmt/Sew erage 2.5% 2.0%

Water/Electricity/Gas 2.3% 2.5%

Other and Unallocable 2.0% 2.1%

Judicial and Legal 2.0% 2.3%

Highw ays/Transp. 1.8% 5.0%

Parks & Rec./Nat'l Res. 1.6% 1.9%

Correction 1.5% 2.1%

Libraries 0.8% 0.9%

Housing & Comm. Dev. 0.7% 1.0%

Public Welfare 0.1% 2.2%

For access to the full data seton federal, state and local governmentemployees and gross payrolls, pleasevisit the following U.S. Census Bureausite:http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apesloc05.html, or contact Information Ser-vices staff at (864) 242-9733.

he Appalachia AreaAgency on Aging and theGreenville and Spartan-burg Councils on Aging,

in partnership with the S. C. Departmentof Social Services and the Department ofAgriculture, will be issuing free couponsto individuals age 60 and older who havelimited income. The coupons can beused to purchase produce at designatedlocal farmers’ markets from Junethrough October 15, 2006. This is thefourth year our agency has administeredthe program in Greenville and Spartan-burg counties. Unfortunately, the grantfrom USDA was reduced this year, sothere will be a reduction in the numberof individuals who will be served in eachcounty. The grant is also based on thevoucher redemption rate, and the re-demption rate for Greenville and Spar-tanburg counties is in the bottom 5 forthe state.

Individuals with a monthlyincome of $1476 or less, or who receiveSSI or food stamp benefits, are eligiblefor the coupons. Individuals must applyin person, provide proof of identity, andresidency in the county where sign up isbeing held.

This program is intended tosupplement the diets of seniors withfresh, nutritious produce and to supportSouth Carolina’s small farmers. SouthCarolina is one of several states that re-ceived USDA funds to operate the Sen-iors Farmers’ Market Nutrition Program.

Oconee older adults can sign upwith the United Way of Oconee on June6-8. Contact the United Way of Oconeeat (864) 882-9743 for times. The Ander-son County Recreation Department ishandling sign up in Anderson County onJune 5; contact Anderson County at(864) 231-2237 for location and times.Sign up for Greenville County is June19-23, and Spartanburg County is June26-30. For Greenville and SpartanburgCounties’ locations and times, contactthe Appalachia AAA for additional in-formation.

Census Bureau Releases Reporton Local Government Spending

Seniors Farmers’Market NutritionProject

Seniors ProvidingKincare

In our country, nearly 6 mil-lion grandparents have grandchildren intheir homes, and at least 2.5 million ofthese grandparents are the children’sprimary caregivers. Senior familymembers providing care to youngerrelatives are providing “kincare” daily.In the Upstate region, we provide sup-port to these caregivers through theFamily Caregiver Support Program(FCSP).

To help meet the needs thatthese caregivers face, the Family Care-giver Support Program encourages sen-ior caregivers of children in the Upstateto call us regarding the possibility ofassisting. The summer can be a par-ticularly stressful time for senior care-givers who realize the need for childrento take part in outside activities andlearn new skills, both socially andphysically. The opportunity to takepart in camps and special programs canprovide these senior caregivers withboth respite and ways to enrich thelives of the children in their charge.Funding through the FCSP may beavailable to meet those needs.

In the Upstate area, there aremany opportunities for children of allages. If you are a senior caring for achild, please call the FCSP regardingactivities and possible scholarships forcamps and related activities. We canprovide information and are happy to

(Kincare continued on page 4)

Page 3 VIEWPOINT

Working Together to Create Person-Centered Care Plans

Care planning is a means to anend. The care plan itself is not the de-sired outcome. The desired outcome isa life worth living. The care planningprocess connects the plan to this out-come. Care planning is a dynamicprocess that creates a living plan toguide and direct the way in which theresident is supported. Ideally, the careplanning process starts with identifica-tion of the care planning team, whichconsists of the resident, paid staff andthe resident’s family or significant oth-ers. Step one is information gathering;step two is plan design; and step three isregular review and evaluation of theplan. An effective process is reliant onclear communication among team mem-bers, a genuine effort by everyone tounderstand each other’s perspectivesand opinions and a willingness to learnfrom one another. Positive and optimis-tic attitudes of team members, alongwith the care planning process, will domore for the resident than any amountof clinical expertise alone. Care plan-ning is an exercise of cooperation towhich each team member contributes.The lessons learned from working as agroup for a common goal come in dif-ferent ways and at different rates foreach of us. Sometimes the process issmooth and even, and at other timesthere may be tensions and opposingviewpoints.

Know Your Rights!Resident and families should:1. Ask for meetings to be held at a

time so as to allow them to attendin person or join by telephone, ifthey choose;

2. Contribute to the design of the planat whatever level of involvementthat is comfortable for them;

3. Ask for a copy of the plan duringthe review meetings so they canfollow along and participate;

4. Write questions and issues on paperprior to the meetings to assure thatnothing is left unanswered;

5. Ask clarifying questions during themeeting if they don’t understandsomething or wish changes to bemade to the plan;

6. Think about supports and services“outside the box” and be willing toproblem solve how to achieve thenew service or support; and

7. Have the names and phone num-bers of the paid staff and feel freeto contact them at any time be-tween meetings to offer sugges-tions, questions and observations.

The traditional approach tocare plans was “what is wrong with thisperson.” The staff would:1. Assess issues of health and safety

first and foremost;2. Determine what the resident

can/cannot do;3. Write a plan that describes how to

keep them healthy and safe;4. Make token attempts to include

CNAs and family members; and5. Often exclude the resident from

meetings.The more supportive and in-

clusive approach starts with “how theperson wants to live.” The staff will:1. Learn what is important to the per-

son in everyday life;2. Find out what “health,” “safety”

and “risk” mean to the resident andto those who know and care abouthim;

3. Always include the CNAs, familymembers and residents in the plan-ning and review processes; and

4. Negotiate scheduling of care con-ferences so it’s workable for every-one.

Most family members arenever notified of the care plan meeting;some have sadly never heard of thisconcept. It is with information that theresident and family will have a betterlife in the facility.

Local Ombudsman: Nancy Haw-kins, Jamie Guay, Rhonda Monroe, SandyDunagan, Celia Clark and Jessica Arnone;phone 864-242-9733.

Information gathered from:NCCNHR, “Giving Voice to Quality” hand-out.

s the need for federal disasterassistance has continued toincrease, the Federal Emer-gency Management Agency

(FEMA) and the State of South Carolinahave placedrenewedemphasis onreducingdisasterlossesthrough theimplemen-tation ofhazard mitigation programs. In accordancewith FEMA’s Disaster Mitigation Act2000 legislation, each county has beendeveloping a local disaster mitigation plan.The South Carolina Emergency Manage-ment Division (SCEMD) enlisted the helpof councils of governments across the stateto facilitate the development of these plansfor each county in their region. That planrecently received its final approval fromthe Federal Emergency ManagementAgency (FEMA). With FEMA approval,the last step in the process will be forCounty Council to endorse the plan byresolution. This approval clears the way forthe County to begin receiving federal haz-ard mitigation funds that were made avail-able following the ice storm in December.

The premise of the county hazardmitigation plan is to lay the foundation forindividualized county, hazard-specificmitigation measures that ensure local juris-dictions are in the best possible position tominimize damage, expedite the recoveryprocess, and take advantage of federalassistance to individuals and/or publicentities. The plan includes a risk assess-ment that identifies all potential naturalhazards, profiles the risks posed by thosehazards, and assesses the vulnerability of acommunity’s residents and critical facili-ties to those hazards. There are also goalsand objectives that prioritize where effortsand resources should be focused to maxi-mize the effectiveness of mitigation activi-ties based on the list of assets identified asbeing at greatest risk. The plan shouldserve as the focal point and basis for miti-gation decisions made in each county inthe future.

Ombudsman Corner Regional MitigationPlan Approved byFEMA

(Pendleton, SC April 26,2006) The Pendleton District Work-force Investment Board (WIB) an-nounced today that Teri Cox Gilstrap,currently Assistant Director of thePendleton District Workforce Invest-ment Board, will become the Ander-son Local Office Director for the S. C.Employment Security Commission(ESC), effective April 28.

According to WIB DirectorJulia Hoyle, Gilstrap’s duties at theAnderson ESC office will still becloselyalignedwith theWIB andits mis-sion.“Teri hascontrib-utedgreatly to our organization over thepast seven years. She will definitelybe missed, but her experience at theWIB and her role at the AndersonESC will no doubt strengthen the pro-

grams of both organizations—to ulti-mately match people with jobs.”

Gilstrap has almost 20 years ofexperience in non-profit administration inthe Tri-County region. In particular, shehas seven years experience in the devel-opment, planning and implementation ofemployment and training programs, andworked for three years at the S. C. Em-ployment Commission in the nineties.She earned a BA in Economics fromClemson University and has extensivecommunity service, including graduationfrom the Leadership programs of Ander-son, Pickens and Pendleton.

Pendleton WIB Announces Staff ChangeThe Pendleton District Work-

force Investment Board is a non-profitorganization representing AndersonOconee and Pickens counties to connectcompanies to employees.

PRSRT STDU.S. POSTAGEPAIDGREENVILLE, SCPERMIT NO. 1604

VIEWPOINT

Appalachian Council of GovernmentsP. O. Box 6668Greenville, South Carolina 29606

Address Service Requested

Region I USAR Team, contact DavidWright, Technical Rescue Coordinator,Greenville City Fire Department, e-m a i l a twrightd@greatergreenville.com. Forinformation concerning ACOG’sWMD instruction, contact Joe Newtonor Mike Sell at ACOG.

(USAR continued from page 1)

receive new information regarding anyrelated opportunities in the Anderson,Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickensand Spartanburg Counties’ areas. Forfurther information, call Debra Brown orSam Wiley at (800) 925-4077 or (864)242-9733.

(Kincare continued from page 2)