Quick morning phone call for the upcoming 2020 Democratic National Convention. So glad to hear public safety from both the 2020 DNC and 2020 RNC in attendance this morning. Hope to see all of you in July.

But back to your regularly scheduled program…#Coronavirus. As we continue to respond, our metrics are starting to improve. With this, I am starting to see a trend from the local news as they are focusing in on the congregate living…aka nursing home facilities.

As the External Affairs Officer, I believe that breaking the chart down and having clear cases of residents vs Long Term Care Facilities (LTCF) might help the news media in separation to better tell their narrative of the congregate living.

Media in our area seems to be focused on the proximity of residents at nursing home facilities and their separation. Sounds about right as a county in the State of Washington was the first to see exponential growth of cases and deaths. My guess is they want to see/forecast the same issue in our area.

Conversely, nursing homes are scrambling to manage their current staff as well as accommodate the increase in distance between their populations. Remember, the majority of those in nursing homes have compromised immunity and frequently go to the hospital for injury/illness. Lots of challenges and every LTCF is going to have a different response and hazard level. No two places will be similar.

For every reporter that has called me for information, facts, interviews, press conferences, etc…..I have managed to eek in a few personal questions for them.

1. How are you doing/doing OK?
2. Like me, are you tired about this Coronavirus thing too?
3. You safe? Protected with proper PPE? Do you have a mask?

Despite some real unfriendly and impatient reporters, I am happy to be able to provide some breath of relief to their hectic schedules. Some of them aren’t working their normal shifts, which I am sure it makes them uncomfortable. Additionally, there are some reporters who are operating outside their scope, which is very apparent to me.

Regardless of your role and agency, I am happy to talk to all of these reporters and pitch them stories too. Like always, I am keeping a log of who I talked to and hope to check back in with all of them once this thing is over.

Whether you are a international star, national news feature reporter, or just the local newsie, lets all try to be nice to each other because we are far from being done with this story. I project this issues to continue on through 2021…so now is the time to be real nice to each other. Please.

Reporting live from the JIC…

@rusnivek

Sunday Funday huh? I can tell you the sun is shining and it’s been a calm day.

Glad to see a more peaceful day esp since we have been working the magic for this COVID response. Seems like the media is a bit more relaxed on Sundays as they wait for national political commentary from the Sunday pundit shows.

Reporting live with a good view this afternoon…

@rusnivek

Since almost all daily routine/activities have been curtailed, going grocery shopping seems to have changed a bit.

While apprehensive to online ordering shopping, I opted to dive right in.

I crack myself up.

I know, you too are eggcited to hear the results.

My puns are like poultry in motion huh?

And here you thought I was just going to wing it…

OK OK OK OK…..Just trying to share some DadJoke humor with you to cheer you up.

I better go before these DadJokes keep you up around the cluck…

@rusnivek

One of the things that have been keeping me somewhat in normal routine during this Coronavirus is exercise.

Prior to this response, I have been so consumed in the actual response that there was zero time dedicated to exercise and probably stress relief. That was not good. I understand the importance to normalize yourself during this long duration response.

What’s open? Any thing cool? Nope, not much.

Where do I go? All over, but mainly places that have lots of lights and security cameras.

Yep, happy to report the Bean has not contracted COVID-19 yet.

Since all gyms throughout the State of Illinois are closed, this self-initiated exercise routine makes me feel better and allows me to get some fresh air at night. With not a lot of businesses open and almost everyone working remotely, the city is eerily calm

And if you were wondering, I do wear my mask the entire time.

Also good reminder note to all of you…consider washing your mask on the regular.

@rusnivek

Despite the Coronavirus and a cracked/extracted tooth…the show must go on.

Back at it in the EOC as we have some ugly weather inbound to our area with a late season snowfall expected.

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

And don’t fool yourself, that rapid snow melting isn’t good either. (Think flooding)

It’s times like this that I am so glad we have built a strong relationship with our local National Weather Service Office. In our case, NWS-Chicago is our crew.

In the past few months, we have been are fortunate to partner with NWS-Chicago Mike Bardou to teach the FEMA Basic Academy Science class that is heavy into the science of weather and how it pertains to Emergency Management and the safety of any community. Audience hailed from 4 different FEMA Regions and ultimately provided some outstanding insight into weather forecasting.

This kind of ongoing partnership has allowed our Emergency Management staff to really understand the issues that severe weather brings to our areas and ultimately provides a better way to match the resources with the needs from each community.

Proud to continue our solid relationships with NWS-Chicago.

@rusnivek

Late last night, I found that I definitely can’t talk right.

But my brain and fingers were OK…so I slapped together a press release.

Despite not being able to talk on camera, your hardened and dedicated EAO can still work the magic from behind the scenes supporting the operations.

Now about that Jello cup…

@rusnivek

Decided it would be nice to have some almonds for a change. Seemed healthier than honey roasted peanuts right?

As I was chewing through my first handful, the 4th bite in was….heart stopping.

As soon as I bit, my left rear molar was in some pretty serious pain. Like shooting excruciating pain.

As I was making the emergency appointment with the dentist, I had a weird feeling. Like Han feeling.

After x-rays were shot, I was informed that I would be losing a tooth in a few minutes.

Not chipped, not cracked, not cavity, not root canal…but a complete tooth extraction.

And here we are. The almond cracked my rear molar in half.

Almond=1 vs my tooth=0

The Dentist asked what I do. I said I am currently serving as the External Affairs Officer. He laughed and then said I just bought myself 3 days off of work because I won’t be able to talk properly to anyone…including news reporters and TV interviews. Sigh.

And here we are.

Looks like I’ll be OOS for a few days.

@rusnivek

After a long day as the External Affairs Officer, I noticed that there is a significant amount of gloves and masks scattered on the sidewalks throughout the city.

C’mon now – this is why we can’t have nice things!

Look, I am proud that you opted to wear a mask, but please dispose of them when you are done. By being responsible, we can continue the decrease in spreading Coronavirus. Simple ask huh?

But as I made the turn to the front door, I noticed a bunch of bubbles in the air.

I had to take a deep breath as this little 60-second break was sooo nice. My phone didn’t ring, no checking social media….nothing. Just me and some bubbles floating around on a nice clear day. 

During these stressful times, it’s important to take a few moments to reflect and laugh at simple things. We all have tough jobs that are incredibly demanding.

As professionals, we all need to find outlets on how we can de-stress, de-clutter, and disengage for a bit. Honestly, I am not that good at any of these three things, but I am making a more converted effort in 2020.

If you were wondering, my brief bubblemania trance was stopped after a meres 60 seconds as my phone rang. It was the Chicago Tribune.

Sigh.

“Emergency Management, this is Kevin. Can I help you?”

@rusnivek

Phew! Saturday looking a bit better.

TP for me!  TP for me!  TP for me!

This looks waaaaaaaaaaaay more promising than what I saw on March 28th.

I don’t know who needs to hear this, but we don’t need to hoard TP.

Reporting from the paper goods isle at Target…

@rusnivek