Fire departments and outreach agencies encouraged to apply 
NFPA is seeking applicants to attend its 'Remembering When' Conference
The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is now accepting applications for attendees to the third annual Remembering When™: A Fire and Fall Prevention Program for Older Adults Conference. NFPA will sponsor representatives from up to 40 communities to attend the conference, which will be held at the Hyatt Regency in Boston, Massachusetts on November 15-17 2009.
Sponsored representatives must be two-person teams comprised of one fire department member partnered with an individual from an agency whose main outreach to older adults is through home visits; for example, visiting nurse associations, home healthcare agencies, church outreach programs, etc. Each partnership must support the implementation of Remembering When at the local level, have the authority, commitment, and ability to oversee local implementation of the Remembering When program, and each partner agency must have a home visit mechanism in place.
Each team will receive sponsorship to the training workshop in Boston (including the expense of travel, hotel, and group meals), the Remembering When Fire and Fall Prevention program curriculum, and "How to Prevent Fires" and "How to Prevent Falls" brochures for distribution to older adults.
After the conference, each team will be required to:
- Conduct a minimum of five group presentations
- Conduct at least two train-the-trainer sessions for the partner agency home visitors
- Conduct at least 25 home visits
- Integrate agreed-upon materials from the Remembering When program into their home visits
- Submit a final report to NFPA, including a summary of how the agency integrated Remembering When materials into the home visits to all older adults served
According to Sharon Gamache, director of high-risk outreach programs: "Those who stand to benefit most from safety education on preventing fire and falls also tend to be the most difficult to reach. Encouraging the use of the Remembering When program and providing education to organizations that work with older adults through home visits will get safety messages to those most in need of them."
The emphasis of the conference is reaching older adults through home visits and ensuring that the program reaches the most vulnerable of older adults. NFPA is committed to helping communities reduce fire and fall injuries and deaths among older adults and has used the Remembering When program since 1999 to reach and educate thousands.
The deadline for all submissions is August 3, 2009, and the award recipients will be notified before September 4, 2009.
