Guernsey County Selects Emergency Notification Provider, Hyper-Reach, to Help Protect Lives and Property

 

1/24/2024

For Immediate Release:

Telephone-based mass notification systems are used by thousands of public safety agencies across the US to warn citizens about local emergencies, hazards, and other threats.  Now Guernsey County announces they have selected Hyper-Reach to help bring this same life-saving capability to the area.  Hyper-Reach is a state-of-the-art mass emergency notification system designed specifically for public safety.  The county expects to have the service fully operational by February 2024.  During the transition period from the current provider, RAVE, both systems will be utilized until RAVE’s end date of May 1, 2024.

The new emergency alert system will provide rapid notification of hazardous and urgent situations using a mix of telephone calls, text and email messages, and even TTY/TDD service for the hearing impaired.  The system sends thousands of these messages to geographically targeted households in seconds, and can simultaneously deliver them to an even broader audience via social media, as well as sending broadcast messages to most current mobile telephones (made since 2011) in an affected area by providing access to FEMA’s Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) system.

“Our job is to protect the citizens of Guernsey County as effectively and cost-efficiently as possible.” said Benjamin Bonnell, Director of the Guernsey County Emergency Management Agency.  “We reviewed all of the major vendors for emergency notification service, and Hyper-Reach met the standards and abilities we required at a competitive price.  We’re excited about the new capabilities this service has to offer.”

The County plans to use the service primarily for alerts about weather and environmental hazards, criminal activity, and missing persons.  Landline phones are automatically enrolled for Community alerts, but Weather alerts to landline phones and Community and Weather alerts to VoIP phones, mobile phones, and email addresses are only included when people enroll.    Residents and people who work in Guernsey County are encouraged to enroll now (using a county address) either by calling or texting “Alert” to 740-638-0898 or by going to the website:

http://hyper-reach.com/ohguernseysignup.html

 

Residents can get emergency alerts via their Alexa-enabled smart speakers just by saying “Alexa, enable Hyper-Reach” and following the Alexa-provided instructions. With more than 50 million US households using Alexa devices, there are hundreds of County residents with Alexa units.

Residents can also download the Hyper-Reach Anywhere app on their smartphones.  Hyper-Reach Anywhere is a free smartphone app that allows individual residents to manage and monitor the alerts they receive, both for their home, office, and other addresses they care about, such as those of elderly relatives or friends.

 

“We’re honored to have been selected by Guernsey County to provide its emergency alerts,” said Sam Asher, President of Hyper-Reach.  “It’s gratifying to be part of an effort to save lives and protect property and we take that responsibility very seriously.”

 

Hyper-Reach is now live and available for use by all Guernsey County Residents.  The previous RAVE system will remain online through May 1, 2024 to allow adequate time for transition into the new system.  The Guernsey County Emergency Management Agency encourages all County residents and businesses to utilize this system.

oh_guernsey_hyper_reach_signup_brochure_ENG

 

 

 

 

 

June 27, 2023       

Ohio Department of Health Director Encourages Precautions

Amid Unhealthy Air Quality

COLUMBUS – Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Bruce Vanderhoff, MD, MBA, is once again encouraging Ohioans to be aware of possible health effects, as smoke from Canadian wildfires is causing poor air quality in the state.

For the second time in three weeks, the wildfire smoke has created unhealthy conditions in Ohio, according to AirNow.gov.

“It is important to take poor air quality seriously, as exposure to smoke can cause health problems,” Dr. Vanderhoff said. “Certain groups of people are at higher risk, such as those with chronic heart or lung disease, children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Please take precautions until these conditions improve.”

Smoke from wildfires contains particulates. Particulates can be inhaled into your lungs and cause irritation of the eyes, nose or throat, coughing, shortness of breath, and chest pain; and can also aggravate chronic heart and lung conditions.

The most important precaution is to limit outdoor activity, especially outdoor exercise, and spend more time indoors.

Other precautions include:

• Spend time in a room you can close off from outside air.
• Avoid using candles, gas, propane, wood-burning stoves, fireplaces, and aerosol sprays. Smoking tobacco products and vacuuming may worsen indoor air pollution.
• If you have a central air conditioning system, use high efficiency filters to capture fine particles from smoke. If your system has a fresh air intake, set the system to recirculate mode or close the outdoor intake damper.
• Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water. If your eyes, nose or throat are irritated, running a humidifier may provide some relief.

It also is important to check in on anyone who is more at risk and to carefully monitor children.

Those with asthma are encouraged to carefully follow your asthma action plan, if you have one. Make sure you have enough medication for several days.

Those with heart disease or COPD should pay close attention to symptoms such as chest pain or tightness, a fast heartbeat, feeling more out of breath than usual, or extreme fatigue. Contact your doctor, or if symptoms are severe, call 9-1-1.

To see real-time air quality in your area, visit the AirNow website.

For more health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, visit Protect Yourself from Wildfire Smoke.

About the Ohio Department of Health
The Ohio Department of Health’s mission is advancing the health and well-being of all Ohioans by transforming the state’s public health system through unique partnerships and funding streams; addressing the community conditions and inequities that lead to disparities in health outcomes; and implementing data-driven, evidence-based solutions.