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Alcor News Bulletin
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Number 40: July 22, 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:
* Facility Upgrade Project
* New Cryoprotectant Implementation
* Transport Vehicle Development
* Regional Cryofeasts
* Regulatory Update
* Media and Advertising Update
* Personnel Update
* Database Enhancements
* Fundraising Efforts
* Membership Statistics
* Employment Opportunities
* You Can Help!
* Next Board Meeting
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Facility Upgrade Project
Demolition for the Facility Expansion Project has shown
considerable progress. Most walls that need to be moved
have been torn down, doorways have been stripped or re-cut,
framing for the new armor plating is done, one new air
conditioning unit has been installed and ductwork is being
run.
Overall, the project is gaining momentum. Workers are on
site almost daily at this point. Obtaining the final
construction permit was unexpectedly delayed until July 7th
due to additional safety requirements from the zoning
office for handling liquid nitrogen. Now we finally have
all of the permits necessary to complete the project. The
45-day buildout will officially take us to the third week
of August.
Making predictions for completing construction projects is
more guesswork than science. Even when we think things are
set to go something unexpected can always upset the apple
cart (like the city getting nervous about the amount of
liquid nitrogen we store). However, our new air
conditioning units have been installed and most of the
ductwork is done. Plumbing for the new scrub room and ADA-
compliant restroom is completed. Almost all demolition work
is done. Things are beginning to move along quite nicely.
[JW]
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New Cryoprotectant Implementation
The perfusion circuit has been constructed and is awaiting
sterilization. We'll have two sterile circuits, but we
won't be building more until we have fully tested the
design in an operational setting. Once it's been field-
tested, we'll complete enough circuits to meet the
inventory requirements for readiness.
Hugh Hixon and Steve Van Sickle completed an extensive
spreadsheet on the components needed to meet our readiness
needs; and it was decided to prepare for a slightly
expanded inventory, because of the lead time necessary for
the custom synthesis of one of the components. We will be
prepared for four whole-body cases and five neuros once we
have the authorization to make purchases. [TJ]
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Transport Vehicle Development
Since the last report, a great deal of work has been done
toward completing the transport vehicle. The electrical
system is installed and is fully functional. We've tested
the generator, inverter and batteries; and everything works
as planned. We've acquired and installed all of the safety
equipment mounts for the personal protective equipment,
including sharps containers, biohazardous and regular waste
containers, eyewear and glove boxes, respirator dispenser,
a fire alarm and carbon monoxide detector. To the sink, we
added an eyewash station. Two fire extinguishers have been
mounted in the back of the vehicle, and an HEPA/UV air
filter has been mounted in the ceiling, as has our surgical
light. Our centrifuge has arrived, and Diane Creemens made
the privacy curtain for the cab. We have an external hose
port for the water supply and plugs for connecting to
external power.
If we had to use it today, we'd need about three hours to
prepare the vehicle for deployment, because none of the
stabilization supplies have been ordered; but the vehicle
could be used almost immediately nonetheless. All elements
of the original project plan have been completed, with the
exception of building a center mount for performing surgery
on patients in the MRC and completing the necessary
paperwork. We need to finish assembling the binder of
manuals for the equipment, develop a regular maintenance
schedule, build a lockout/tagout program (an OSHA
requirement), and develop the inventory of what we intend
to maintain in the vehicle immediately (with an eye to
expansion when the vehicle will be parked inside). We'll
also be building a padded headrest to protect team members
traveling in the back of the vehicle with a patient,
because the seat frame we constructed is tall. This was a
necessary part of securely mounting the frame to the studs
in the walls, and was not something we could avoid.
As the plan has been executed, we had a few surprises; but
these were not significant, and there was little deviation
from the original design. We have spent slightly more than
the budget, but expect to be within 3% of the allocated
amount when everything is complete. [TJ]
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Regional Cryofeasts
Do you know who your fellow Alcor members are in your neck
of the woods? Come out and meet and greet nearby Alcor
members at one of our officially sponsored CryoFeast
gatherings! We've learned that referrals from existing
Alcor members account for about 38 percent of Alcor's
growth, so we plan to ask each member attending the event
to bring a non-member guest. Any member who brings a guest
who submits an application will be given a free quarter of
membership dues. Everyone attending will receive a
complementary gift from Alcor. Joe Waynick and/or Tanya
Jones will attend each gathering to do presentations and
support the organization's outreach efforts. You'll have a
great time so be sure to watch for upcoming announcements
for dates, times, and locations - and don't forget to bring
a friend! [JC]
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Regulatory Update
Since we've been doing significant development in both the
construction project and in the transport vehicle, I
invited Alcor's neighborhood OSHA consultant (on-staff with
ADP) to visit, in an attempt to anticipate any safety
hazards that might have been overlooked in our planning
processes. The ADP representative was pleased with the
development that has already been done on our OSHA policies
and documentation, and perhaps her most significant
recommendation was that we implement formal testing in our
transport training. This will be done, beginning with our
two August training classes (Florida and northern
California).
I've also looked into HIPAA compliance this past month,
though it is by no means required for a research
organization. It is my hope that if we can assure hospitals
and medical administrations that we are HIPAA-compliant,
this will smooth our access to medical information in an
emergency. In an attempt to determine how close we are to
being compliant, I contacted Silkthread Information
Assurance, LLC (http://www.silkthreadllc.com) for a
consultation.
After spending some time on the phone with them completing
a survey about the state of our policies and procedures for
protecting private member information, they provided a
report on what gaps exist in our policies. We have some
gaps in risk assessment and compliance; but the evaluation
was deemed "above average" compared to the other companies
that contact them for assistance. I hope to work with this
company in the coming months to implement a comprehensive
information security solution, one that will satisfy
medical personnel that we are protecting information well
enough to allay their fears during an emergency. [TJ]
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Media and Advertising Update
In June, Alcor participated in the following media events:
* CBC/Newsworld Today, aired live in Canada: This was a
live interview with Simon Smith, Editor-in Chief of
Betterhumans. We provided the CBC with B-roll footage and
advised Simon of the main points to discuss pertaining to
cryonics. The CBC chose to interview Simon for their week-
long "Staying Alive" series because he is a transhumanist
residing in Canada
* TalkSport Radio, aired live in the UK and worldwide via
the Internet: This was a live interview with Joe Waynick
for a show called "The Unexplained with Howard Hughes"
which is an Art Bell-style program.
On our advertising efforts:
* We are seeking a new graphic designer for the ad for Life
Extension Foundation magazine.
* The article for The Director has been placed on hold
until a later issue.
* We are in negotiations with the editors of Betterhumans
website (www.Betterhumans.com) regarding an exchange of
website ads. The Betterhumans website is dedicated to
helping people understand and create a better future by
establishing a community of informed forward thinkers. The
site runs regular articles about anti-aging, longevity,
genetics, transhumanism, and a host of other topics
pertaining to life extension. They are actively seeking to
establish reciprocal advertising partnerships with like-
minded companies, such as A4M, Life Enhancement Products,
Singularity Institute, and Longevity Meme, among others.
They want to include Alcor in this campaign. An advertising
exchange will drive targeted traffic to our website. We are
working with the Website Working Group on this.
* In addition to ads via Google, Alcor now has a variety of
ads that appear when certain keywords are entered using a
number of search engines, such as Yahoo, MSN, CNN,
InfoSpace, AltaVista, and Excite.
* Alcor has also received written permission to distribute
reprints of the New York Academy of Sciences paper as
authored by Dr. Jerry Lemler, Dr. Steve Harris, Charles
Platt and Todd Huffman. Reprints will be included in the
info pack and on the website. [JC]
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Personnel Update
I'm happy to report that we have brought a new bookkeeper
aboard. Her name is Aleetha Castro, and she has done an
amazing job of getting familiar with our books after Tim
Reeves left. Aleetha has a very strong accounting
background and she's quite proficient with our QuickBooks
software program.
The Board of Directors voted at the July meeting to approve
the hiring of Aleetha and also D'Bora Tarrant, as permanent
employees. Welcome aboard! [JW]
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Database Enhancements
Several significant enhancements have been implemented that
will improve the accuracy and integrity of our central
database. First, an interface was created with Alcor's
website to allow data entered into an online form for info
pack and tour requests to be downloaded daily directly into
our database. In addition, mailing labels for the info pack
requests are now automatically generated on a weekly basis.
Finally, a duplicate record routine was created to purge
existing duplicated records from the database. [JW]
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Fundraising Efforts
To date we have received $32,500 in pledges toward our $1
million goal. That's an increase of $22,500 since last
month. More emphasis will be consistently placed on
fundraising in the coming months.
In the May/June issue of Cryonics magazine you'll find a
pledge form for making donations to the Endowment Fund. You
can help Alcor by pledging towards our goal. Fill out the
form and fax it to Alcor TODAY and help fund some of the
most important research on the planet. [JW]
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Membership Statistics
On June 30, 2005, Alcor had 757 members on its Emergency
Responsibility List. Seven memberships were approved during
this month, no memberships were cancelled, none were
reinstated, and no members were cryopreserved. Overall,
there was a net gain of seven members this month. We have
an average net gain of 7.3 members per month, which
compares favorably to the average net gain of 4.3 members
per month last year.
At the end of this month, Alcor had 78 applicants for
membership. There was a net loss of four applicants with
seven membership approvals, five incoming applicants, and
two people withdrawing from the application process.
During the month of June, 133 information packs were
distributed. Of those, 122 were mailed, and 11 were handed
to facility tour participants. Our average for 2005 has
grown to 101 per month, compared to 50 in 2004. We also had
708 subscribers to Alcor News, as of the June issue release
date. [DC]
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Employment Opportunities
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 Team. 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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You Can Help!
Alcor's research and development does not have the benefit
of large government grants, private foundations, or a huge
fundraising organization to raise the millions of dollars
necessary to develop much-needed technology and protocol
enhancements. What we do have are loyal, dedicated members
like you who have a personal interest in the success of
cryonics.
Alcor has a long and proud tradition of innovation and
technical excellence in the field of cryonics. This will
continue to be our overriding mission in the years ahead.
Yet, the organization is only as great as its people,
starting with its supporters. Membership dues and
cryopreservation cases cover just 60% of our annual budget.
The remainder must come from generous individuals within
our small community.
You can help achieve that success with your tax-deductible
contribution to the Alcor Life Extension Foundation. We
have many projects that would benefit from your generosity.
You can also make a credit card donation TODAY by calling
Alcor at (877)462-5267 ext. 101. Or you can mail your check
to: Alcor Life Extension Foundation, 7895 E. Acoma Drive,
Suite 110, Scottsdale, AZ 85260.
Your generous gift will help create a more secure Alcor, so
we can be there for your future, as well as the future of
your friends and family who also belong to our small
community of cryonicists. [JW]
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Next Board Meeting
The next Board meeting is scheduled for Saturday, August 6,
2004 at 11:00 AM (MST).
Board meetings are typically 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 #40 dated July 22, 2005.
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