November 4, 2021

Safer Holidays & Safer Families
Family Survive & Thrive Guide^™

Session Overview

More than 1,000 household responses have guided our learning community. Although infection rates and deaths are trending down, the national forecasters indicate we may have surges through and after the holidays. There are key questions we need to answer. The best defense is a strong offense:

How I make an airline flight safer?
How do we design a safer family gathering?
How do we make it safer for the elderly?
What can I do for the immune-compromised?
How about play dates – what can we do?
What if someone has a close contact?
What is a Family CFO – a Chief Family Officer?
What is a Family Lifeguard?
What do we tell our kids, teens, young adults?

We will provide a thorough update on how to keep your employees, families, and business safe through future surges.

Go to https://www.medtacglobal.org/coronavirus-response/ for short videos covering the critical topics. Join as we focus on family Readiness, Response, Rescue, Recovery, and Resilience.

We offer these online webinars at no cost to our participants.

Webinar Video, and Downloads

Speaker Slide Set:

Click here to download the combined speakers’ slide set in PDF format – one (1) slide per page.
Click here to download the combined speakers’ slide set in PDF format – four (4) slides per page.

Introduction:

The Coronavirus Community of Practice and our panel of speakers and reaction panelists were introduced. Professional first responders, emergency response professionals, and patient safety experts were complimented by members of our national student outreach team, award winning educators, and attorneys.

What’s New in 2022?

Many in our community are suffering COVID fatigue and are becoming resistant to the repetitive messages about adopting the four safe practice pillars of social distance, hand hygiene, disinfecting high contact surfaces, and mask use. However, we know much more about the prevention of COVID infections and the harm they generate. We can “turn the science into safety” by applying what we know about aerosol spread, high transmission variants, vaccine impact, and the understanding that we likely will not attain herd immunity.

Washington Post Video – Airborne Spread:

This excellent video produced by the Washington Post demonstrates aerosol spread using infrared cameras and communicates the seriousness of transmission. We now know that large droplet spread of more than 5 nanometers deposits viral particles on surfaces near those infected. We now know that his is not as important as aerosol spread through smaller droplets where evaporation exceeds gravity and virus particles can float in the air and infect those breathing such expired air.

Impact on Essential Infrastructure Worker Families:

Our 1,000 Family Household study started with the 16 industry sectors that the Department of Homeland Security defined as Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers. We address firefighters, law enforcement, and frontline professional caregivers who have lost their lives to COVID. Educators were added to the group in August of 2020 of which 1,000 have lost their lives with COVID. More than 700 children have passed away, 170,000 have lost a parent, and more than 5,500 are suffering from a diagnosis of Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MISC).

Message to Essential Critical Workers:

Dr. David Morris, Chief Bill Adcox, and Dr. Greg Botz share their messages to our critical essential worker families and react to the number of our vital workers that have been impacted by COVID. They reenforce the importance of families acting to reduce the impact of COVID threats by adopting the proven safe practices and implementation of family plans.

Family Transmission:

Our worker family study verified that family transmission chains are an Achilles Heel to our success battling COVID. The study verified that the general public and essential workers really will adopt Family Plans that can keep their loved ones safer. Everyone hopes that COVID will burn out and be a faint memory. Whether it burns out or becomes a regular surging event, families can improve their health security by recognizing we will have a “new normal” requiring new behaviors.

The Family Safety Plan:

We now understand the value of family leadership and the use of plans, checklists, and a systematic approach to COVID. We established the concept of the CFO – the Chief Family Officer. The CFO who can take the lead to help the family follow a plan uniquely designed to address the threats intrinsic to the risks of the family and the background threats evolving in the community.

The 5 R’s – Readiness, Response, Rescue, Recovery, and Resilience:

Our study of the 5 R’s of the Family Safety Plans beginning in March of 2020 has informed the 40 broadcasts and 20 Survive and Thrive Guides for families that will be completed in 2021. Dr. Gregory Botz, our clinical subject matter expert leader addresses what is important about each of the elements of Readiness, Response, Rescue, Recovery, and Resilience as we move forward with new knowledge regarding the reduction of COVID and the harm it can create.

An Update on Children:

Dr. Brittany Barto-Owens, a frequent speaker and advisor to our Coronavirus Community of Practice is a practicing community pediatrician who has provided our families with practical advice as we have taken our journey through the pandemic. She provides an update on vaccines for younger children and the importance of continuing to maintain safe COVID practices. As a mother of young children, she provides very important and relatable advice.

The Chief Family Officer – the CFO:

David Beshk and Charlie Denham are both national award winners who provide practical examples of family action. Mr. Beshk addresses the role of the CFO – the Chief Family officer. He and Charlie Denham address the modifications to the Family Lifeguard concept the Holiday Huddle Checklist updated from its launch in 2021 with tens of thousands of families.

The Family Lifeguard & Holiday Huddle Checklist

The full video addressing the Family Lifeguard program and the Holiday Huddle Checklist produced and launched in Q4 of 2020 is provided for viewing here. It includes the KIDLEADERS concepts developed by Charlie Denham to encourage children and youth in the home to step up and play an active role in supporting their families through crises.

Reactor Panel Responses:

Our reactor panel provided their messages including John Nance JD, a best-selling author, patient safety expert, and former Captain with one of our major airlines. He provided his views regarding the critical value of checklists and addressing the crisis systematically. Heather Foster RN, who is a frontline nurse and infection preventionist who has provided great value to our checklists for family care provided her perspective from the frontline now during the Delta surge.

Holliday Huddle and Play Dates:

Dr. Barto-Owens, our resident community pediatrician provided her reaction to the Holiday Huddle Checklist. She provides her perspective regarding how families may decide to behave as we proceed through a period when not all children will be vaccinatedand we may have family gatherings of mixed immunity and mixed risk profiles.

Safer Travel Safer Families

In 2020, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) recommends we avoid travel and family gatherings. In 2021, now that we have vaccines and a better understanding of COVID and the Delta Variant, the CDC recommends we undertake safer behaviors to reduce our risk. We introduce the concept of “safer” versus “safe” and address how airflow and distance can help us in light of the risk of aerosol COVID spread.

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Air Flow Science

Now that we know that aerosol spread is the main transmission mode and that airflow is critically important, we introduce the science for each mode of transportation. We address the airflow in commercial airliners and the use of HEPA filters, the systems being used in the most modern trains, and surprising concepts we can apply to make automobile travel safer.

Keeping Your Family COVID Free in Transit

Dr. Robert Katzer is a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the University of California Irvine,is an Air Medic with the San Bernadino Sherriff Air Rescue Team, and is the Medical Director of the City of Anaheim Fire and Rescue. Dr. Katzer provides a full presentation addressing safety during travel from home to the airport, on airlines, and when at a final destination. He answers Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) that many ask regarding holiday and business travel.

Safer Singles & Seniors:

The tragic deaths of college students who experienced delays of care due to delays in contacting their parents or In Case of Emergency (ICE) Contacts have driven home the importance of critical issues. We introduce the importance the rapid decision-making by emergency caregivers. We also address how vital it is that both our young and senior adults know where the most comprehensive ED care can be delivered and why it is critical to have medical record availability for emergency care regardless of age.

The ICE Checklist

Singles and Seniors need to have a current Medical Power of Attorney and Advance Directive executed for the state where they reside. This will allow emergency medicine caregivers to gain critical information and make the right decisions as rapidly as possible. We address how most smartphones can be programmed to automatically notify In Case of Emergency (ICE) contacts when emergency calls are made. The phone owner and their friends need to know how this function works. The need to know where the most comprehensive local Emergency Medical services are in relation to college campuses, homes, and travel site locations is addressed. Finally, we stress the critical value of medical records to emergency care professionals in order to undertake the proper tests and make the best interventions when time is of the essence.

The ICE Checklist – A Lawyer’s Perspective:

Gunita Singh JD is an accomplished lawyer for a non-profit organization who is describes the value of the ICE Checklist. She addresses the importance of the medical power of attorney and an advance directive. She reinforced the value medical records and bringing velocity to decision making.

Final Reactor Response and Closing:

Our expert speaker and reactors provided their final responses to the program. They addressed the valuable role families can play in keeping their loved ones safe. They reaffirmed the tremendous contribution our Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers make to bringing our nation back from the COVID crisis. Jennifer Dingman, an award-winning patient safety advocate, and expertise provided the message and voice of the patient in her closing remarks.

Learning Objectives:

Awareness: Participants will learn the latest about the impact of safe practices through surges and the holidays.
Accountability: Participants will understand who can be accountable for prevention of COVID through travel, during family gatherings, and events.
Ability: Participants will learn certain concepts, tools, and resources that can be used to optimize prevention of harm due to COVID from travel, family gatherings, and events.
Action: Participants may understand what actions may be immediately to protect family members from the harm of COVID from travel, during family gatherings, and events.

To request a Participation Document, please click here.

The CAREUniversity Team of TMIT Global, approved by the California Board of Registered Nursing, Provider Number 15996, will be issuing 1.5 contact hours for this webinar. TMIT Global is only providing nursing credit at this time.