Arts & Humanities, by Jamie Lafreniere
Camp 911 set for June 22 in Negaunee

Area seniors will get a chance to brush up on their safety training at Camp 911, a one-day training session with local fire, police and EMS departments.
“The whole camp is designed to change people’s perceptions and help seniors and law enforcement officers be comfortable with each other,” said Kathy Herrala, executive director of RSVP (Retired and Senior Volunteer Program). “We want to make a connection between law enforcement and the community. The first thing seniors think when they see a police car in their driveway, or someone else’s, is that something horrible has happened or the person has done something wrong.
“The positive reasons for the presence of the squad car don’t spring to mind. Camp 911 reinforces the positives.”
This free program, held on June 22 in Negaunee, is sponsored by the Marquette County Commission on Aging, Triad (a partnership between senior leadership, police and sheriff’s departments) and RSVP.
The program is similar to the Camp 911 for Kids, held every May, and this will be the second senior session. Last year’s event attracted almost 100 people from Marquette, Baraga and Alger counties.
According to Herrala, they knew at the end of the first camp that it was worth doing again.
“It was just a fantastic, fun-filled day,” she said. “The evaluations that came back were really positive. Seniors got a lot out of it and there were also benefits for the agencies involved.”
For these agencies, it’s a unique opportunity to get their message out. The No. 1 goal of the camp is to familiarize seniors with area emergency procedures.
“Seniors really appreciated meeting the workers and talking one-on-one with them,” Herrala said. “I think if you are in an emergency situation and you know the person or recognize the equipment, your comfort level is going to be greater than if you’ve never seen them and are wondering what they are going to do.”
Last year’s session included a demonstration with an ambulance and a simulation of someone falling and breaking their hip. The EMS technicians went through their standard procedures and demonstrated all the equipment someone could expect to see in that situation.
This year there will be similar demonstrations with emergency vehicles from most Marquette County fire, police and EMS departments. The Coast Guard and sheriff’s department will cover search-and-rescue equipment, the Red Cross will discuss emergency shelter procedures and the Salvation Army will serve lunch out of their mobile unit (the Canteen).
By introducing procedures in a non-emergency setting, they plan to give seniors more complete knowledge of what goes on during accidents.
Gary Gustafson from Marquette General Health System’s EMS unit says this camp will have a more focused approach.
“Last year we had breakout sessions for each item, but people were missing things they wanted to see,” Gustafson said.
This year all events will take place in one location so nobody will be left out. Some of the larger demonstrations will be on home safety, fire prevention, identity theft and 911 procedures.
“We’re tying to highlight the things that concern seniors,” Gustafson said. “It’s for time-sensitive things just like falls, strokes and heart attacks. We hope they can prevent something from happening or get the help they need in a timely fashion.”
Of course, the best protection is to prevent accidents from happening in the first place.
“We want to focus on safety awareness, because that brings in the whole scheme of injury prevention,” Gustafson said. “The whole key to health and well-being revolves around safety awareness.”
Training will be provided on stroke and heart attack prevention, and fall prevention and flexibility. Gustafson said falls are the No. 1 thing hurting the elderly population.
“I don’t think people realize some of these falls are fatal,” he said. “If you look at a graph on injuries, you wouldn’t believe how high falls compared to the next thing on the list.”
Camp 911 is adding a strength-and-flexibility exercise class to the schedule to help with this issue. Gustafson is glad to include a physical therapist from the rehabilitation unit to the team who will give a half-hour demonstration. He said staying active is crucial in accident prevention.
“If flexibility isn’t where it should be, it might cause them to fall, may cause strokes or they may even drive poorly,” he said. “This (training) may prevent some of these things from happening.”
But if accidents do happen, Camp 911 wants to get the message out that local departments are standing by to help. Surprisingly, most seniors are hesitant to dial 911.
Triad chairperson Joan Zbacnik said this is a serious problem in the area.
“Seniors don’t understand they can call for help without it being a big emergency,” she said. “It’s really surprising!”
Zbacnik said people are afraid to bother busy emergency workers or feel they are overreacting to the situation. But in reality, they are wasting crucial moments when EMS workers could be en route to help them.
“If you need someone, regardless of how big or small it is, you have to call,” she said.
Gustafson agreed and deals with the problem often at MGH.
“[Seniors] don’t think it’s necessarily an emergency,” he said. “We’re trying to tell people calling 911 is something you shouldn’t hesitate to do. We’ve even had that problem with Lifeline because they don’t want to bother the people that respond. Education in that is very important. The service is there for them.
“We’d rather have them use it when they shouldn’t, rather than not use it when they should.”
Camp 911 will be held from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on June 22 at the Negaunee Township Hall. People older than fifty-five, health care professionals and relatives with elderly family members are encouraged to attend. The space is limited to 100 people, and pre-registration is required by calling 226-4180.
Herrala looks forward to another successful event this year. “It’s a fun and interesting day where seniors can come and get good information on how to best protect themselves. We have fantastic emergency services in our area and people will be surprised by what they find out.”
—Jamie Lafreniere