Prepare With ICEBUDDY

Humanitarian Response

• Pamela Norris

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Pamela Norris, CEO of ICEBUDDY Systems, Inc. explains how the ICEBUDDY System can expedite emergency response.
Background Music: Memories 
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On

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September 14th, 2022,

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two p lane loads of migrants from Venezuela a nd Columbia w ere s ent without notice to Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, a small island, my family and I called home for many years. I'm not here to speak on why they were shipped there. Many others will tackle that issue. My expertise is in emergency preparedness.

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I have been sounding the alarm for over 17 years that this and many other unexpected events were going to occur. I said, these situations would require local officials and emergency preparedness groups to adopt new multifunctional equipment. Equipment, enabling the reduction and improvement of response time, making the overall process more manageable. I have been so committed to confronting this need, head on that I designed and created the ICEBUDDY System. A product that would provide solutions to a multitude of unmet needs identified over the years during my work as a first responder and security consultant. An emergency preparedness product that has won and achieved national awards and international recognition. If locations experiencing unexpected arrivals like Atlanta, New York City, Chicago, Washington DC, and islands like Martha's Vineyard have pre-packed ICEBUDDY Systems, within minutes they will be able to immediately distribute them. This provides relief while buying time to marshal the necessary organizations and supplies needed for longer sustained service. It's ironic that years ago, students of Marths's Vineyard Regional High School actively participated in creating marketing materials for this emergency preparedness product.

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Here we are today

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at a time when the island of Martha's Vineyard could really use the ICEBUDDY System with its two components,

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The QPACK and QOOLER to meet the needs

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of these migrants. It is important to understand that color is universally recognized and best used

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to aid in communicating information,

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Especially in

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situations like Martha's

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Vineyard is facing where the people

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being served do not necessarily speak the same language as the

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first responder. For that reason, the

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QPACK comes in six colors, enabling color coding. Color can be used

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to identify the

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intended user of each prepacked QPACK. The QPACK is a backpack style bag that is designed not only for

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the

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able bodied like regular backpacks. It is specially configured for use also by the elderly and physically challenged who may need it to fit on wheelchairs and walkers. Imagine having one color of QPACKs filled with needs for infants like diapers, baby clothes, pacifiers, baby blankets, and baby food. Other color QPACKs could be prepacked to meet the needs of children, men, women, the elderly, and one with nothing but medical supplies. Having different color QPACKs address the needs of specific populations. The end user, even though they may not speak your language would quickly understand who in their family should receive each color QPACK. The QOOLER component of the ICEBUDDY System

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provides

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an immediate Kosher and Halal certified food dish and container by which those in need can

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receive whatever is available. Should local medical facilities determine they need medicine requiring refrigeration, the QOOLER, once activated, is capable of keeping medication requiring refrigeration cold for three day intervals without the need of ice, electricity, gel packs, or solar. By having the ICEBUDDY System in storage and prepacked local officials have something to immediately give to those in need while they ramp up for a more robust response. When an unexpected event occurs, whether it be natural disasters, forcing evacuations, or the unexpected arrival of migrants at your airport, how quickly you can respond is critical. This is the difference between emergency preparedness and emergency response. The ICEBUDDY System was created to be on hand at all times, and prepositioned as part of emergency preparedness so it could be employed to expedite emergency response. In a time like this when communities are being called upon to come together through collaboration, cooperation, and communication, how quickly we respond impacts not only the quality of the service we deliver, but also how we are perceived by those we serve and the public at large. September is National Preparedness Month. It is time that those responsible for financing the supplies needed by first responders conduct an assessment of what is available to enhance emergency response. First responders willingly rise to the occasion whenever called upon, but are only as effective as the tools available to them. This is an opportunity to improve our humanitarian effort to Save Lives, Relieve Suffering, and Maintain Human Dignity.