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Alcor News Bulletin
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Number 35: February 9, 2005
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Authors This Issue:
Jennifer Chapman [JC], Diane Cremeens [DC], Tanya Jones
[TJ], Joe Waynick [JW].
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In this issue
* Comprehensive Member Standby Reminder
* Staff Changes
* On Neuro-Vitrification with Whole-Body Cryoprotection
* Transport Vehicle Development
* Transport Team Matters
* Cryonics Magazine Update
* Regular Team Member Training in Florida or Arizona
* Facility Expansion Project
* Employment Opportunity for Medical Professionals
* Media and Community Involvement
* Membership Statistics
* Next Board Meeting
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Comprehensive Member Standby Reminder
As of January 1, 2005, U.S. and Canadian members are no
longer required to fund emergency-based standby coverage via
credit card authorization or prepayment (does not include
elective standby). Instead, each member contributes $10 per
month to a pooled Standby Fund that will cover standby costs
for any member in a near-death situation. The CMS Fund
already has over $100,000 available. CMS charges apply to
all members, including Life Members; but members under age
18 and full-time students under age 25 will have CMS charges
waived.
Additional benefits of this program include: No more
worrying about credit card balances and expiration dates.
Credit cards are no longer required to fund this critical
aspect of your cryopreservation arrangements! For just $10
per month Members receive Standby coverage that can total
$35,000 or more. No additional funding for Standby and
Transport is required at the time of need. Members will be
billed at the same frequency as Membership Dues (Life
Members will receive annual invoices). Terminal Members with
a prognosis of 90 days or less who relocate to a care
facility near Alcor receive up to $5000 for relocation
assistance. For faster Transport, Members may secure charter
aircraft for an additional $500 per year (contact us for
enrollment instructions). CMS participation is mandatory to
maintain membership status. Members are automatically signed
up for the Standby coverage offered under CMS. [JC]
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Staff Changes
There have been a number of personnel developments in
January that will be highly beneficial to Alcor and its
membership. The first is that former Alcor board member
Steve Van Sickle will be joining Alcor on February 14th as
its new Technical Development Leader. Steve's primary
responsibilities will be to lead engineering projects for
the organization. He will be a welcome addition. Second, we
are very close to being able to hire a new full-time
researcher to regain momentum in our research program. And,
as you already know from last month's issue, our new
Transport Coordinator, Bill Voice, started on January 4th.
In addition, the functional organization typography that was
started last year with the re-titling and rewriting of
employee job descriptions was continued in January with the
addition of two new staff members and a realignment of
existing job titles and job functions. As part of that
realignment, Jennifer Chapman has accepted a new position as
Alcor's Marketing Director. Her primary responsibilities
will be to direct all programs related to Marketing, Public
Relations, and Fundraising. Reporting departments include
Membership Services and a new, yet to be staffed Fundraising
department. Jennifer will also be responsible for managing
the WalshCOMM relationship. Diane Cremeens, our Membership
Services Coordinator has stepped into Jennifer's prior role.
And finally, we have separated the development
responsibilities from the operational responsibilities and
Tanya Jones has assumed the role of Technical Services
Leader. Tanya's primary responsibilities will be to direct
all activities related to delivering suspension services,
regulatory compliance, training of ACT field personnel, and
protocol improvements. Bill Voice will continue reporting to
Tanya. [JW]
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Transport Vehicle Development
The development of this vehicle is still a top priority for
Alcor. With it, we would re-establish our local capability
to the highest quality. Work is progressing nicely and
according to schedule, and we fully expect to have completed
this project by the end of the first quarter. In the past
month, we accepted delivery of the seat belts, glass mat
batteries, temperature sensor and inverter. An order was
placed and received for the personnel bench framing. I met
with our contract cabinet maker to inspect the locking
mechanisms for the swinging and flip-up doors and to choose
the laminate for the counter tops. We will be taking the
transport vehicle to their location on February 14 for
cabinet installation. The sink, faucet, and refrigerators
will be left there to facilitate the proper placement of
holes for drainage and power connections.
Installation of the ice machine is complete, and by the time
we take the vehicle in for cabinet work, I hope to have the
water tank and personnel bench installed, complete with seat
belts and side-mounted water pumps. Bruce Cohen and Hugh
Hixon have been instrumental in the secure mounting of the
ice machine to the frame of the vehicle, and the vehicle
would have to be in a really serious accident before the ice
machine would budge even a fraction of an inch. [TJ]
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Neuro-Vitrification with Whole-Body
Cryoprotection Development
A prototype tubing pack for the whole-body enclosure was
diagrammed, cut and tested with water. The perfusion system
itself is operating well, except for one height issue that
caused air to be introduced unnecessarily to the system
through a filter. When the clamping apparatus that holds
this filter was lowered, the problem was eliminated.
The system was also tested with the automated nitrogen
cooling, which was designed to regulate the environmental
temperature in the patient enclosure and the mechanical
section. Temperatures were dropped to -43 degrees Celsius
before the testing was stopped, and they system performed as
expected. Minus 43 degrees is significantly lower than the -
22 degrees that will be required for M22 perfusion, so we
expect no problems when that protocol is eventually
implemented. Because it took some time to initially cool the
enclosures, future operating procedures must include a pre-
cooling of the system prior to the introduction of a
patient.
Work is continuing on the sampling system, with the location
of sample ports being tentatively integrated into the
refractometry system. This would be advantageous, because
then the cryoprotectant uptake data would correlate fairly
well with the analysis of samples performed by Sonora Labs.
Sampling systems will be mounted in such a way as to
eliminate the need for personnel to open the enclosure to
obtain samples, as must currently be done with the cephalon
enclosure.
The chiller has proved unexpectedly noisy. We intend to
investigate possibilities for a baffling device, so that
communication in the operating room is not compromised.
Making the enclosure completely of transparent plastic has
made troubleshooting easier in this developmental stage, and
it's only once the enclosure is cooled to the more extreme
range of tested temperatures that visibility becomes an
issue. This issue is still minor. As a separate--and later--
project, it would be a good idea to create an integrated
control panel for all components, a panel that is separate
from the LabView system we expect to implement. This would
make managing the perfusion a much simpler task. [TJ]
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Transport Team Matters
In accordance with the preliminary schedule, transport
training was held in northern California. Two primary topics
were covered: the first was safety precautions and personal
protective equipment, all of which is part of our hazard
communication protocol for transport team members; the
second topic was airway management, and included general
considerations and the theory and practice behind use of a
"Combi-tube". This is a simplified airway introduced by Bill
Voice, and is an item that will be deployed to all field
personnel for inclusion in their kits. Ten people attended
the training. All were tested on course material retention,
and all performed well on the tests.
Our next training session is in southern Nevada, and will
include at a minimum surface cooling, medication
administration, airway management and safety protocols.
Southern California training will be held in late February.
Powerpoint lectures have been created for nearly 75% of
transport-related topics, most of which were seeded by
traditional emergency medical system lectures and modified
for cryonics purposes. The remaining lectures will be
complete by the end of the month, at which time we will turn
out attention to the more extensive revisions to the
transport manual and standard operating procedures.
The development of a new contract for Alcor's transport team
members and Regional Coordinators is nearing completion.
This contract will formalize the relationship between those
team members and Alcor central, providing clear instruction
on the scope of responsibilities for each side and ensuring
legal protection for participants in standby and transport
operations, as long as the care provided to our patients
meets the requirements of Alcor's established protocols.
Discussion has been primarily limited to the southern and
northern California Regional Coordinators, though all of
their team members and the Florida team have been given an
opportunity to comment on the drafts.
Once complete, execution of this contract will be a required
for participants. In exchange for their participation in
cryopreservation procedures, team members will receive
membership discounts of up to 75% of the standard membership
fees. Regional Coordinators will also receive monthly
stipends of $250.
This contract also creates an appointed role for quality
control purposes called"Field Representative." The Field
Representative will be an Alcor member assigned to each case
who is independent of the regional team. He or she will be
responsible for scribing the activities of the case,
collecting case data, and for evaluating adherence to Alcor
protocols by field team members. [TJ]
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Magazine Update
Jennifer Chapman recently reviewed the market research
performed by WalshCOMM and found many helpful tips for
improving the magazine. She has assumed responsibility for
the development of _Cryonics_ magazine, and will be
implementing changes to the magazine that are intended to:
* Enable our members to feel like they are a valued part
of the organization
* Enable our members to understand the state of things
and where we are heading
* Build confidence in the organization
* Enable our members (and other readers) to feel like
they can "pass it on"
* Appeal to a wider audience beyond the cryonics
industry
The magazine is often our members' main or only link to
Alcor. The market research report indicates our members want
to see more member profiles and the "human side" of
cryonics, more open discussions, more honesty about our
strengths and weaknesses as an organization and how we are
addressing our weaknesses, more about the state of research
pertaining to cryopreservation, reanimation, complementary
sciences, and more about our mission and how we can succeed.
Of course, our readers also want the magazine to be timely
and provide up-to-date information. Alcor is continuing with
a bi-monthly schedule for _Cryonics_ magazine through 2005,
a good pace for keeping our Members informed. Unfortunately,
we are on a short deadline for the first few issues. Our
plans for mailing the first three issues of 2005 are:
Jan/Feb issue by the end of February; Mar/Apr issue by the
end of March; and May/Jun issue by the end of April.
Adjustments may be necessary as Jennifer becomes acquainted
with the production process. As we get back on a regular
schedule, we will start refining the look and content to
better meet the needs of our target audience. Suggestions
are always welcome. [JC]
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Regular Team Training Available in Florida or Scottsdale
Members of our transport teams do not need to wait until
Alcor comes to their regions to provide training. Anyone
traveling to Scottsdale or to Florida might wish to stop by
our offices or those of our Florida Coordinator, Todd Soard.
Bill Voice is available to provide personal instruction to
anyone in Scottsdale, and Todd will teach in Florida.
Available topics include: cardiopulmonary support, airway
management, surface cooling techniques, bloodborne pathogens
and safety protocols, and more. [TJ]
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Facility Expansion Project
Our architect, Dave Ross, was at the facility this week to
assist with interviewing our first General Contractor, and
to discuss minor adjustments to the building plans. We
intend to interview at least two more contractors before
making a final selection. By February 25th we will submit
our drawings to the city zoning office to pull permits for
the Phase I tenant upgrades. We must then wait for the plan
check review from the city of Scottsdale. Once the first
review is done we can apply for a demolition permit; which
should be by March 21st. At the same time we will obtain the
redline comments from the city. Most of the activity at this
point is on the part of the city of Scottsdale.
If this schedule can be maintained we should be able to
obtain the final construction permit by April 7th. It
typically takes two or three submissions before receiving
city approval, but work can usually begin upon applying for
the demolition permit which is prior to the final permit
being issued.
At this time, our planned completion date for the new
Patient Care Bay and Operating Room is June 30th. [JW]
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Employment Opportunity for Medical Professionals
Have you ever thought about joining the Alcor team? We have
immediate needs for licensed Paramedics, Emergency Medical
Technicians, Registered Nurses, Lab Technicians and more to
join our nationwide Transport Teams. Participation would be
on a contractual basis.
You'll be given cryonics training that will enable you to
participate in our patient rescue and transport cases.
Licensed professionals do not have to be Alcor members to
work with us. We welcome your expertise and interest. If
you're interested, send your resume to:
[JW]
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Media and Community Involvement
In January, Alcor participated in an interview conducted by
Harald Biskup who writes for Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger in
Cologne, Germany. He interviewed Joe Waynick and Tanya Jones
as Alcor's representatives, as well as some local Alcor
Members.
One key way Alcor will be expanding its profile in the state
of Arizona during the first quarter is to distribute
_Cryonics_ magazine to public libraries. We have obtained a
mailing list of 251 new libraries and are establishing
complimentary subscriptions for each of them. The same will
be done for appropriate Arizona legislators with the
guidance of Alcor's lobbyist, Barry Aarons. Joe Waynick also
spoke at a rotary club meeting this month.
Editing for an Alcor documentary has been completed and will
be ready for replication as soon as the graphic artwork for
the DVD case insert is finished. The DVD has been reviewed
by several people at Alcor, by 21st Century Medicine, and
Critical Care Research. Our distribution plans include
showing the 10-minute version at the beginning of each tour,
marketing the 30-minute version on the website, in the
magazine, in Alcor News, on PBS, and selected cable stations
in urban markets.
Additionally, be on the lookout for a feature article about
Alcor on the front page of the business section of this
Sunday's New York Times (that would be February 13th ). It
is an article about the marketing of cryonics. We do not
know if it will have a positive or negative spin, but
apparently it is a big deal for the NY Times folks. Let's
all hope they portray Alcor in a fair and balanced manner.
[JC/JW]
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Membership Statistics
On January 31, 2005, Alcor had 721 members on its Emergency
Responsibility List. Ten memberships were approved during
this month, no memberships were reinstated, two memberships
were cancelled for insufficient funding, and no members were
cryopreserved. Overall, there was a net gain of eight
members this month.
At the end of this month, Alcor had 156 applicants for
membership. There was a net loss of 8 applicants with 10
approvals, 3 incoming applicants and one person chose to
exit the application process. [DC]
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Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 5,
2005 at 11:00 AM (MST).
Board meetings are held on the first Saturday of the month
at the Alcor facility (7895 East Acoma Drive in Scottsdale,
AZ). Members and the public are encouraged to attend.
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End of Alcor News bulletin #35 dated February 9, 2005.
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