03.07.06
After a successful Summit meeting last August the Connecticut State Animal Response Team is currently under development through the cooperation of the Connecticut Veterinary Medical Association with several other organizations and agencies in Connecticut.
At the Summit, it was agreed that the most practical way in which to create a viable SART program in CT was to emulate the other states by working towards creating 5 Regional ART programs to correspond to the 5 DEMHS Regions of the state. Connecticut, having no county government, will use Regions instead of "County" teams as in other states ("CARTS").
A leadership nucleus has been created for each of the 5 Regions in Connecticut as well as a Region 3 pilot program. Regional programs for the other areas will follow.
In addition, the CTSART web site has been launched with cooperation from UCONN (www.ctsart.org), is under further development, and will serve all 5 Regional teams. The Region 3 program will soon include dedicated equipment for large and small animals, formal training opportunities (to be announced soon) and enough structure to be recognizable. The remaining Regions are organizing and will be looking to Region 3 as a model.
The CT SART organization is now ready to accept volunteers. In order to become a trained CT SART volunteer, it is requested that the following steps are taken:
First, please identify in which DEMHS Region your town is located, (the one from which you might respond from or will be involved in) and then make email contact with the CTSART Regional leader in that area. Please provide the leader with your name, address, telephone, email, and any credentials or special training you may have applicable to emergency management or animal protection. This information will allow us to "sort" who is based where and create a database of potential Regional ART members and their credentials so far.
A map of the DEMHS Regions can be seen at: http://www.ct.gov/demhs/cwp/view.asp?a=1903&q=295316&demhsNav=%7C
The CTSART Regional Leaders to contact are:
Region 1: Sheldon Yessenow DVM, 203-378-5229, syessenow@earthlink.net
Region 2: Kimberly McClure DVM, 203 393-7387, kamdvm@aol.com
Region 3: Arnold Goldman DVM, 860 690-9306, ctsart@ctvet.org
Region 4: Dennis Thibeault DVM, 860 546-6998, docdennis@peoplepc.com
Region 5: Donna Cobelli DVM, 203 438-8878, dacdvm@aol.com
Second, CTSART Volunteers must be trained according to SARTUSA standards. This will ensure that those in the emergency responder community recognize us as a valid and credible resource. The ideal CT SART volunteer will have the following experience:
• Animal restraint and handling of species likely to be involved in a disaster rescue effort
• Basic ICS training
• HazMat awareness
Veterinary technicians, veterinarians and ACOs should already have appropriate animal handling and behavior experience and training, but should verify before volunteering. For those without prior experience, a Behavior/Handling course will be offered. This and other additional training will be made available in the near future. As you complete training courses you will receive certificates of completion. Verification of volunteer training and qualifications will be requested of all volunteers.
Check our website www.ctsart.org or www.fema.gov using the links below for more training opportunities:
FEMA Emergency Management Institute: SELF STUDY COURSES:
There are many other modules. CTSART encourages the use of these tremendous training resources.
