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Show April 21, 2011 Measles in Utah —get informed to stay healthy 75th Medical Group Public Health R ecently a handful of isolated measles cases were confirmed in Salt Lake County. During these uncommon occurrences misinformation can get mixed in with solid, reliable facts. Please take a minute to look at the following regarding measles and what you need to know to stay healthy. 1) As of April 19, there are seven confirmed measles cases, all located within Salt Lake County. The first case was linked to a family with a history of travel to eastern Europe. The cases that followed were a result of exposure to the initial individual. 2) Measles is a highly contagious, viral disease spread by coughing and sneezing. Classic signs and symptoms include a high fever (typically greater than 104 degrees), conjunctivitis (red, watery eyes), tiny white spots inside the mouth and a rash which starts at the head and ultimately encompasses the entire body. Although most people recover without problems, there is the potential for severe complications, some of which may be fatal. 3) The Centers for Disease Control currently recommends all those born after 1957 who have not been previously vaccinated to receive the immunization. This is especially important for children. They should receive the first dose at 12-15 months of age with a second dose at 4-6 years. This series can be modified by your health care provider if concerns of exposure exist. The vaccine has been proven to be 99 percent effective when appropriately followed. 4) The Hill Air Force Base Public Health office is working closely with local county and state agencies to ensure you have the latest information in order to keep your family safe and protected. You are encouraged to visit the CDC website at www.cdc.gov/measles for the latest information and recommendations or feel free to call the 75th Medical Group Public Health Office at (801) 586-9768. Hill SARC gets two prestigious awards But really the award is making a difference in victims' lives, she says BY MARY Lou GORNY Hilltop Times editor anaee Stone, Installation Sexual Assault Response coordinator, would much rather talk about her victim advocates and the work her office is doing to help victims feel more comfortable in coming forward than any awards that have come her way. "Of my twelve years of active duty in the Navy, nine of those I was a victim advocate serving the Navy and Marine Corps," she said. "So now I've been doing this for over eleven years — so I've been doing this for a really long time, and I can tell you that every single case is so unique and special in its own way. So every single victim or survivor that I have I treat them as though they're my first (victim or survivor) because they are." This attitude on her part, which she has success- j fully passed along and encouraged among her victim advocates, as well as the ability to arrange coalitions with off-base agencies and departments, has led to at least two high level awards recently. She was awarded Al Air Force Program Manager of the Year and the Utah Coalition Against Sexual Assault awarded her its 2011 Sexual Assault Awareness Month Award. The UCASA award was a Stone nomination by her peers for her organizational efforts for this year's Sexual Assault Awareness Month activities. "I'm just happy that people are getting the help that they need," said Stone. Her program has been benchmarked by both civilian and government agencies including Air Force Materiel Command Sexual Assault Prevention and Response. AFMC also gave her honors as SARC of the Year and See STONE I page 12 Hill volunteers get recognition at VEA breakfast BY MARY Lou GORNY Hilltop Times editor T KIM COOK/U.S. Air Force Col. Patrick Higby, 75th Air Base Wing commander, presents Jennifer Walsh, Key Spouse, 421st Fighter Squadron, with the Volunteer Excellence Award. his year's Volunteer Recognition Breakfast, held April 14 at Club Hill provided the setting for recognizing three times as many nominees for the Volunteer Excellence Award (VEA) than in 2010. "At last year's recognition breakfast we had six nominees for the VEA. This year we have 18!" said Colette Geiss of the Airman and Family Readiness Center and installation volunteer coordinator. As host for the event, she introduced the nominees and announced the winner, all of whom were recognized and presented a certificate by Col Patrick Higby, 75th Air Base Wing Commander. This year's winner, Jennifer Walsh, Key Spouse, 421st Fighter Squadron, said afterward that she was surprised to receive the honor. "(Key Spouse) is such an important program," Walsh said. "I think it's important to see when someone is hurting and having trouble and (it's important) to seize the opportunity to help them - that you don't let it pass you by." She said that volunteers in the program work independently and then come together and build on each other's efforts. See VEA I page 10 Hill Fire Department sees far fewer fires, but still plays crucial role BY JEFFREY BECK Hill Air Force Base Fire Department T he Hill Air Force Base Fire Department has a long and rich history of saving lives and supporting the installation's role in national defense. Founded in the midst of World War II, the then all-civilian and all-male workforce struggled with daily fires as the base doubled and tripled in size. Seven years later the department grew to an organization with more than 70 firefighters and three fire stations. From May through August 1951, firefighters used five World War II era vehicles to respond to multiple major fires including three crashes involving four aircraft, a hangar explosion and 10 facility fires. Back then, the department was primarily a fire fighting organization and its firefighters were highly experienced veterans. In the 60 years, since that 9 summer the fire service has worked to prevent fires and diversified into a full spectrum response force. Today the Hill AFB Fire and Emergency Services Flight is a team made up of highly trained professional fire protection specialists. Currently staffed with 86 men and women, the flight is a member of the base's disaster response force. The fire department currently partners with security forces, the medical group, emergency management, explosive ordnance disposal and local mutual aid organizations to effectively leverage agency capabilities into a cohesive all emergency response team. Incident command As a central member of the team, the base fire department provides incident command for all multi-agency emergencies. Just like a coach is important to the success of a football team, incident command is one of the central capabilities inherent to the fire officers in a fire department. A coach calls offensive and defensive plays from kickoff until the game's final whistle blows, and the incident commander is the individual, normally on scene, who has the responsibility and the authority needed to mitigate an incident from cradle to grave. Why is the fire department the incident commander? "Besides our Air Force Instruction requirements, traditionally the fire department is the only emergency agency routinely trained in incident command," said Paul Erickson, Hill AFB fire chief. Incident commanders are provided with state-of-the-art technologies essential for coordinating between multiple agencies. Traditional equipment such as handheld and mobile radios can be supplemented with cell phones, Webbased applications, as well as face-to- face communication. Computer mapping using global positioning software can also provide the incident commander and others with additional situational awareness. When the incident commander on scene updates a computer map, the update is almost instantly available to base leadership. Additional communication with base leadership and higher headquarters can be established using Defense Connect Online, an Internet application that allows communication and situational awareness up and down the chain of command. "An effective incident commander is a high paid logistics officer. The troops, in the heat of the moment, tell you what they need and you get it for them," Erickson said. "The incident commander capitalizes on capabilities using command presence, See FIRE I page 13 |