The KOIN Connection- Summer 2008

Inside this issue:                                  
Fall 2008 KOIN Workshops Planned       	   
Transition to Digital Television is Coming	                                         
New Visor Communication Card Program	     
Talking with a KOIN Member - Celeste Goodwin	                                    
Helpful Preparedness Resources for KOIN Members	                                                             

Fall 2008 KOIN Workshops Planned
Time has slipped away since our last newsletter this past winter. We have been busy planning for the annual fall workshops to be held September 9-12, 2008. This year’s fall workshop locations include:
•	 Sept. 9 - Elizabethtown (Lincoln Trail District Health Dept., 108 New Glendale Road, Room B)
•	 Sept. 10 - Bowling Green (Western Kentucky University Downing University Center, Room 349)
•	 Sept. 11 -  Lexington (Lexington Public Library, 140 E. Main St., Room A)
•	 Sept. 12 - Louisville (University of Louisville Shelby Campus, Founders Union Bldg., Room 218A)
All workshops will be held from 1-4 p.m.
This year’s workshops will include a new, discussion-based format in which participants will work through an emergency scenario and practice responding to a KOIN alert.
An invitation to the workshops will be mailed to you shortly.
We hope to see you at one of the fall workshops!
Be Prepared for Transition to Digital Television
Please mark  the  date  of February 17, 2009 for when local over-the-air full-power TV broadcasts will transition from analog to digital in the U.S. This transition to digital TV (DTV) will affect those who watch free over-the-air television (through a rooftop antenna or “rabbit ears”). 
Why Is The Switch To DTV Taking Place?
Federal law requires this switch to occur, which will free up frequencies for police, fire and emergency rescue communications, allowing broadcasters to offer programming with better picture and sound quality, provide more programming choices and allow for commercial advanced wireless services.
What Should I Do To Be Ready?
There are three choices you can select from:
1.	Connect your analog TV to a digital-to-analog converter box. Digital-to-analog converter boxes are currently available in stores and cost $40-$70. To help consumers with the cost of the boxes, the U.S. Government is offering two $40 coupons per household. For more information on the coupons, visit www.dtv2009.gov or call 1-888-388-2009 (voice) or 1-877-530-2634 (TTY). Current broadcast antennas should work for receiving digital broadcasts.
2.	Buy a digital TV with a built-in digital tuner. You don’t have to buy a High Definition TV (HDTV) to enjoy digital broadcast television. Plus, your current broadcast antenna should work for digital broadcasts.
Subscribe to a paid TV service. If you subscribe to a paid service such as cable or satellite TV, contact your provider to see if you may need additional equipment. Remember that you will need a digital-to-analog converter box for any analog TV in your home not connected to your paid TV service.

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has contacted the KOIN and requested that the network assist with spreading the word about the transition to DTV to those Kentucky residents we serve, including low-income, seniors, people with disabilities, rural citizens, multilingual citizens and minority populations.

For a listing of DTV publications such as fact sheets and instructions available in several different languages, go to http://www.dtv.gov/publications.html.

Please note that coupons expire 90 days after they are mailed to you so it is important that you redeem them in a timely fashion.

Tips for First Responders on Interacting with the Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Contributed by Elden May, Information Office Supervisor, Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Being a first responder in a crisis is, by nature, a highly stressful situation. The responders who can most quickly gain control of a situation are those who can bring calm to the sea of calamity. Often this means cutting across many different barriers that can prove harmful to delivering a clear, concise message, which often can mean the difference between life and death.

This is especially true when first responders encounter deaf or hard of hearing citizens in a crisis. Delivering important information in a simple, concise way is often the only effective way these citizens will receive this vital message. Unlike radio and television warnings, such messages have proven difficult or misleading to the deaf and hard of hearing population.

Delivering the message clearly to deaf and hard of hearing people is not difficult if responders remember to follow a few simple guidelines. Among these are:

•	Tap the person on the shoulder/arm or wave to get their attention (with deaf-blind, lay hand on individual until they face you).
•	Face the person directly (avoid having bright light at your back and any background noise if possible).
•	Speak slowly and clearly, not loudly. 
•	Keep a pen and note pad available.
•	Avoid covering your mouth and face (facial covering or apparatus of any kind will interfere with lip reading ability of deaf and hard of hearing people).
•	Repeat what you said, keeping it as concise as possible.
•	Rephrase the word, sentence or question.
•	Use appropriate facial expression.
•	Give visual cues or gestures. 
•	Write notes (use black markers with deaf-blind) or use palm print.
•	Use gestures, sign language, finger spelling or mime.
•	Ask individual which mode of communication they prefer (if they inform you on how you can communicate with them effectively, follow their request).
•	Do not assume that the person understands you – follow your intuition.
•	Just because they can speak clearly does not mean they can hear.

Above all else, please do not get frustrated. If someone is having trouble understanding, remember to keep the message as simple as possible and rephrase if it helps. First responders are the best, and often only resource for deaf and hard of hearing people to rely on in the event of an emergency.

The service responders provide is greatly appreciated by the deaf and hard of hearing community and, though it may take place in a way that is unusual to first responders, both parties require effective communication and will work together to make sure it occurs.

New Visor Communication Card Program Removes Communication Barriers Between Hearing Loss Individuals and Law Enforcement
The Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has collaborated with the Kentucky State Police on developing training materials to assist with communication barriers often experienced between individuals with a hearing loss and the law enforcement program.
The new Visor Communication Program provides interested applicants with a  visor communication card that can be used by the deaf and hard of hearing to effectively communicate with law enforcement officers.
The front side of the card contains a violations section showing pictograms (pictures used to represent words) of various driving and safety situations such as failure to stop, no safety belt restraints, speeding, no child restraints, reckless driving, driving under the influence or incarceration. Also included are symbols for help, hospital, lost, flat tire, tow required and out of gas. Law enforcement officers will point to the situation that the driver has been stopped for and card holders should point to the situation that they are experiencing.
On the backside of the card, instructions are printed for law enforcement officers to follow for properly communicating with a deaf or hard of hearing individual. 
A contact number and Web site for locating a sign language interpreter in Kentucky are also located on the backside of the card. 
If you are interested in obtaining an application for the new Visor Communication Card Program, please contact the Kentucky Commission on the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at V/T (502) 573-2604, 800-372-2907or www.kcdhh.ky.gov for more information.
Talking With a KOIN Member….Celeste Goodwin
We are happy to spotlight Celeste Goodwin in this edition of our newsletter. Celeste is a valuable KOIN member and serves as an Adult Education English as a Second Language (ESL) Coordinator for the Jefferson County  Public Schools. Now let’s find out more about Celeste.

What do you like about your job?
I am the Adult Education ESL Coordinator, but I always assign myself a class to teach.Being in the classroom so I can help people adjust to life in this country and teach them English is a great privilege.I get to meet people from around the world and I have the opportunity to learn from them as well as teach them.

What is your favorite hobby or past time?
Learning languages.

What is your favorite food?
Mashed potatoes.

Why are you a KOIN member?
Kentucky is becoming so international and Louisville is especially a microcosm.In our Adult Education ESL program, we have students from more than 80 countries representing more than 60 different languages.I became a KOIN member to represent those voices and to help find ways to make emergency communications more universally accessible.

Online Training Course - Assisting People with Disabilities During Disasters
Ready, Willing & Able is providing a free, professional, 2-hour introductory online training course that will allow participants to become familiar with the needs of persons with disabilities during a disaster. The course is primarily designed for public health and hospital staff, health professionals, disaster preparedness managers, emergency response workers and personnel working with people with disabilities.

To learn more and register for the training, visit www.train.org.

Helpful Preparedness Resources for KOIN Members!
•	Kentucky Preparedness for Aging e-Newsletter - http://cwte.louisville.edu/ovar/emergency/2nd/partnership.htm
•	National Resource Center on Advancing Emergency Preparedness for Culturally Diverse Communities - www.diversitypreparedness.org (Web site has a link to our KOIN network)
•	Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network - www.cepintdi.org

KOIN Member Preparedness Tips

1.	If you don’t have an email address for yourself or your organization, please make it a priority to establish one 
      because it can be useful for 
      emergency purposes. Many 
      are available online free of 
      charge (Gmail.com, 
      Yahoo.com, Hotmail.com).
2.   Keep two copies of your 
      contact lists in separate 
      locations (in car, house or at 
      work for example) for easy 
      access.
3.	Be sure to keep all contact
      information updated for both
      your organization’s contact 
      list and your information  
      with KOIN.
    
Accolades from Our KOIN Members!

“Thanks for the Braille magnets...we gave them out at the deaf blind retreat and they were  a great hit...especially since our program was on emergency preparedness. Thanks again!” - Janis Friend

“THANK YOU! We received the coloring books and they have been a big hit with the children at the Village Branch of the Lexington Public Library!!” - Betty Abdmishani

HELPFUL EMERGENCY CONTACT INFO:

How to Get Help/Medical Emergency - Dial 911

Poison Control Hotline - 800-222-1222

Disease Reporting Hotline - 800-973-7678

Division of Emergency Management -  
800-255-2587 or 502-607-1611

KY Dept. for Public Health - 502-564-3970

Cabinet for Health and Family Services Office of Communications - 502-564-6786

We’re on the Web!
www.chfs.ky.gov/dph/epi/
preparedness/KOIN.htm

Division of Communications
Cabinet for Health and Family Services
275 East Main Street 4C-A
Frankfort, KY 40621
Phone: 502-564-6786
Fax: 502-564-0274
E-mail: BarbaraJ.Fox@ky.gov