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First responders get additional response training
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Posted on Aug 19 2019
Participants of the disability awareness and emergency preparedness training pose for a photo. The training was conducted by the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at Northern Marianas College in partnership with the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities. (NMC)
A total of 85 first responders on Saipan, Tinian, and Rota recently learned how to respond to emergencies when the victim is a person with a disability.
The disability awareness training and emergency preparedness focus group seminar was recently held at the Northern Marianas College.
The training was at the behest of the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, or UCEDD, at NMC, in partnership with the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities.
The two organizations were able to gather and collect information to determine emergency preparedness training needs for the CNMI. Based on the data collected, a public awareness campaign to educate the community regarding the importance of emergency preparedness will be created.
Department of Public Safety and Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services personnel listen to a presentation on emergency preparedness and disability training at Northern Marianas College’s Rota Center that was conducted by the University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at NMC in partnership with the CNMI Council on Developmental Disabilities. (NMC)
Kirsten Bamba-Rosario, an American Sign Language instructor from the Guam Community College, was also present and conducted sign language training for communicating with people who are deaf and/or hard-of-hearing. Bamba-Rosario also shared sign language used by Polynesian, Carolinian, and Chamorro peoples in the Pacific.
Participants included staff from the Department of Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Department of Public Safety, Commonwealth Utilities Corp., Northern Marianas College, Commonwealth Office of Transit Authority, Department of Community and Cultural Affairs, Division of Youth Services, Department of Commerce, Center for Living Independently, CNMI Division of Customs, Department of Public Works, CNMI Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Lady Diann Torres Foundation, and the Temporary Emergency Tent and Roofing Installation Support program.
Interested individuals or organizations looking for more information regarding disabilities training and opportunities to collaborate with persons with disabilities can contact Jennifer-Eileen E. Castro, UCEDD director, at 237-6801 or by e-mailing cnmi.ucedd@marianas.edu. (PR)
