S Grant - Authorize Emergency Preparedness Grant Application to BlueCross/BlueShield of North Carolina Foundation

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Project Summary Orange County is a robust area that contains 400 square miles of land area and has approximately 118,227 residents. The County is at high risk for natural and man- madedisasters. Within the past fifteen years, the County has been impacted by six hurricanes, two tornadoes, four winter storms, one windstorm, and one moderate flood., !n addition to these wide area disasters, the County has also experienced more localized emergencies such as hazardous materials emergencies and lockdowns in schools.. The County is at risk and vulnerable to all types of natural disasters with the exception of tsunami and volcanoes. The proposed project will fund a telephone notification system #o benefit the vulnerable populations in Orange County, such as those on the special needs registry maintained by the Department on Aging, and the non-English speaking population. The project will also provide benefits to the entire county in the event of a large-scale disaster. This system will assist in notifying predetermined groups, such as the list developed by the Department on Aging that contains over 250 persons who require specialized assistance. Other lists that can be added to the notification system are the ones for the Non-English speaking residen#s, and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing residents. The project consists of procuring equipment and database information that will allow us to make automatic telephone calls to multiple groups, such as during an emergency. We also plan to use this system far day to day use as well, so all users can stay current on how to use the system. A further result in the day to day use, is that this will not be a °one- shot" project. The system will also have the capability of notifying all those in the county that have a telephone number on file if the local telephone switching system is operational. Primarily, the expected outcomes from the project include: • To ensure that 100% of the vulnerable persons on the various lists know the speck information issued by the Department, of Emergency Management on protective actions to take during an emergency when that information is released, • To ensure that 100% of those on the-special needs lists who wish to evacuate are evacua#ed whenever an evacuation order is given.,. The project budget is $51,000 for the system with a County Match of $10,000. This budget covers the purchase of equipment, first year lease of the telephone lines, training, and other implementation expenses., The County is requesting $41,450 to implement the system. Project Description Orange County is a robust area that contains 400 square miles of land area and has approximately 118,227 residents. The County is at high risk for natural and man- madedisasters. Within the past fifteen years, the County has been impacted by six