Group home staff, clients team to film safety video

Steve Chamberlin, left, Jessica Swaisgood, Geoff Dennis, and Amy Knauss talk with Bowling Green fire department Lt. Mike Leestma during filming this summer. Ms. Swaisgood is a home supervisor for Wood Lane. Ms. Knauss is a staff member. WOOD LANE RESIDENTIAL SERVICES Enlarge

BOWLING GREEN — Training residents for emergencies is a priority for Wood Lane Residential Services, but getting the message across can be a challenge.

This summer, staff and clients who live in group homes and apartments across Wood County got together with the Bowling Green Fire Department to film a video that instructs developmentally disabled adults about what to do in case of fire, tornado, a bomb threat, or a power outage. The 12-minute video features faces and places residents will recognize, and, staff hopes, will enable them to understand and retain the information better.

“The emergency response video we were using was pretty dull and had a lot of information they didn’t really need. It seemed more geared to staff than to consumers,” said Jessica Swaisgood, a home supervisor for Wood Lane. “We show it to our consumers on a yearly basis, and it just didn’t seem very effective.”

Ms. Swaisgood and fellow staff member Amy Knauss worked with members of Wood Lane’s Residential Consumer Advisory Board to create the video titled, Be Prepared For An Emergency In Your Home.

It officially debuts at 3:30 p.m. Monday at Wood Lane Residential Services’ office, 541 Pearl St., although the 150 or so clients who live in group homes and apartments overseen by Wood Lane were shown the video at their annual safety training last month.

“We received very positive feedback,” Ms. Swaisgood said. “Consumers were more interested, and we feel they retained more information from the video we created.”

Bowling Green Fire Lt. Mike Leestma, who participated in the filming but had not seen the finished product, said the safety tips offered to Wood Lane residents are the same for anyone — children and adults.

“The big thing is that they’re not afraid when fire alarms go off, that they don’t get panicky. That’s the big thing I like to stress,” he said. “Every time the smoke alarm goes off, you need to exit the building … Even if you think it’s a false alarm, you need to exit the building every time.”

That can be an added challenge for residents who are physically disabled or dependent on a wheelchair or other assistance.

“They need to know how to get out and they need to know more than one exit out,” Lieutenant Leestma said. “If the exit is blocked, they need to know how to get to another exit.”

Debbie Leibig, program director for Wood Lane Residential Services, said the new video is not only a good training tool, it was also a learning experience for those involved in the production.

“They learned a lot from their first attempt at doing a video and the things they would do differently,” she said, adding that more films are planned.

The consumer advisory board hopes to make videos for Wood Lane residents that talk about taking care of your home as well as one on personal hygiene, she said.

Contact Jennifer Feehan at: jfeehan@theblade.com or 419-724-6129.