Meet
Susan Eldridge-
PARMA Member Spot Light
What inspired you to pursue a career in risk management?
In the early 1990's insurance companies were undergoing a change in their products, pricing and staffing levels. As a result, I was left with the choice to stay in the insurance industry, or move back east and give up my job that I worked in for over 26 years. Prior to joining the county, I worked in commercial lines, underwriting with a major insurance carrier, but I didn't have much knowledge in risk management.
What did you specialize in?
While I had worked with large insurance contracts and policies, I had no idea what I was going to be doing when I went to work for the county. My background was insurance, so my plan of attack was to start with what I knew and build on both insurance, self-insurance, and risk exposures until I became more familiar with the county's insurance portfolio. Eventually, my general knowledge of risk management grew to a more detailed understanding.
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Attention Public-Entity PARMA Members!
Applications for Nomination as a PARMA Director Are Now Being Accepted!
The terms of three PARMA Directors will be ending at the Annual Conference, and nominations are now being solicited. Any public-entity PARMA member who is currently employed or is a lifetime member is eligible for nomination as a PARMA Director.
All nomination applications must be received no later than the close of business December 1, 2016. Adherence to the filing deadline will be reviewed by the Nominating Committee for compliance with the selection criteria.
The
nomination
a
pplication and eligibility requirements are
available on the PARMA website. By hitting submit on this online form your completed application will be submitted to the Executive Director and directed to the Nominating Committee.
Nomination Deadline - All Applications for Nomination must be received no later than by close of business December 1, 2016.
Questions?
Please direct questions to Executive Director, Gloria Peterson at 1-844-GO-PARMA (1-844-467-2762) x104 or by e-mail at
ed@parma.com
.
The Nomination Committee will recommend the most highly qualified candidates to the PARMA Board of Directors and the membership at the annual conference in February 2016. The election of directors will follow the Nomination Committee report.
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Ride the Risk with PARMA in 2017!
February 12-15, 2017
43rd Annual Risk Management Conference
Disneyland
®
Hotel!
Join risk management colleagues from across the state for what is sure to be a high-quality educational experience.
As part of our mission to promote, develop, and facilitate educational and leadership training, we have developed an outstanding list of interactive sessions that are taught by renowned speakers with immense knowledge of the risk management industry. Attend in-depth sessions on liability, safety, workers' compensation, risk management, and professional development.
Don't miss out on this exciting educational experience at the happiest place on earth!
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PARMA Annual Conference Scholarships
PARMA's vision is to assist Public Entity Risk Managers in achieving success in their careers and to provide Public Entities with the support they need to make their Risk Managers successful. With this in mind we design a conference to provide quality education and training in all the aspects of risk management. To help assist in funding, PARMA offers scholarships for the conference from both PARMA as an association and also through its chapters.
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The PARMA Annual Conference scholarship includes the following:
- Conference registration;
- Hotel accommodations, at the lowest priced option for Conference Host Hotel, for a maximum of three room nights;
- Round trip travel the IRS mileage rate and/or airfare, not to exceed $600. PARMA will consider written requests in which extenuating circumstances are presented that would justify travel expenses to exceed the maximum dollar limit. Such requests should be addressed to the PARMA Treasurer.
Conference Registration and hotel will be paid directly by PARMA.
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Learn more about PARMA Conference Scholarships
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Please complete the application if you wish to be considered for a PARMA scholarship. The deadline for scholarship applications is
October 31, 2016
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Earlier this morning, I was on the elliptical at the gym in my home town where I proudly serve as a volunteer firefighter. Like every call for help in my community, I received a text notification on my cell phone. This is the method used to notify volunteer firefighters to respond to calls for help. This particular text notification was for a reported person in cardiac arrest. I recognized the street address to be fairly close to the gym. I jumped off the elliptical, grabbed my belongings and hurried from the gym to the home address of the cardiac arrest. I arrive quickly; the home is less than one mile from the gym.
The paid district paramedic who is hired to quickly respond in a first responder vehicle was already on scene, along with one of the local police officers. They had assessed the scene and begun working on the patient - a young man - who was in arrest. Work continued feverishly on the patient and the ambulance with additional help soon arrived. The patient was packaged and transported to the hospital where he is expected to survive.
Due to the heroic actions already in progress upon my arrival, I did not contribute much to the lifesaving efforts that occurred, however the fact that I was nearby and notified as a volunteer firefighter underscores the value that notification systems can have. I was notified because I was in the town where I am a firefighter. However, what if I were in a neighboring town? I would not have been notified that help was needed and therefore would have been unable to respond and possibly make a lifesaving difference.
This cardiac arrest call occurred less than 12 hours after I received my initial approval on my [Naval Postgraduate School] master's thesis. Coincidentally, my thesis is about saving victims from cardiac arrest. The best way to save victims of cardiac arrest is to provide the victim with quick CPR. When a patient receives CPR in less than four minutes, the odds of survival are great; after four minutes the odds of survival quickly diminish. However, it is difficult for any response agency to arrive and begin CPR in under four minutes from the time a person stops breathing.
This is why the premise of my thesis research was on promoting and increasing bystander CPR. Bystanders as the "first" first responders have the greatest opportunity to perform CPR within the short four minute window of opportunity. There are many people trained in CPR throughout our communities. Many of them are members of the fire department. When these members are out of their town, they are out also out of their response areas, and therefore would not be notified if someone needed CPR. Through mutual aid agreements and integrating existing technology, these barriers can be easily overcome and lives can be saved.
Additionally, the public can make an enormous difference. Today, bystander CPR consists of compression only. There is no longer the mouth to mouth component that prevented many bystanders from performing CPR in the past. Studies have shown that when a bystander performs CPR prior to the arrival of first responders, survival dramatically increases.
It is critical to spread the word:
- Bystander CPR saves lives
- 15 percent of all deaths in the U.S. occur from sudden cardiac arrest
- Hands only CPR can be learned in minutes
- More than half of all cardiac arrests occur at home, the life you save is likely to be a family member or other loved one.
- Send someone to find the closest automated external defibrillator (AED)
- Take 1 minute and 32 seconds to learn CPR - watch this video
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2017 PARMA Annual Golf Tournament
February 12, 2017
8:00 a.m. registration/9:00 a.m. shotgun start
Coyote Hills Golf Course
1440 E. Bastanchury Road, Fullerton, CA 92385
Cost: $150.00 per golfer/$600.00 per foursome - includes: green fees, cart, range balls, food & drink
Note: All proceeds go to the ben francis scholarship fund
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PARMA 2016 Conference Photos and Videos
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PARMA 2017 Annual Conference
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Upcoming PARMA Chapter Events
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