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COMMUNICATION & INTEROPERABILITY ARCHIVES

Food Safety: An Emergency Manager’s Perspective

Emergency management is an evolving discipline that requires a progressive emergency manager to fulfill new and expanding requirements for success. Successful leaders in this field follow a systematic problem-solving process and excel at coordinating multiple agencies and information sources rather than simply being experts in one subject. The seven and

Protecting the Milk Supply During a Foreign Animal Disease Outbreak

With thousands of farms and millions of cattle scattered across the United States, regulators, dairy producers, and veterinarians strive to protect the nation’s food supply, including the milk supply chain from cow to breakfast table. Emergency preparedness planners, therefore, must work with agricultural suppliers to protect milk and other food

Defending the Food Supply: The Basic Recipe

Protecting the food supply chain and defending against intentional contamination requires preventive/defensive efforts at all levels of government, particularly within local communities. All stakeholders therefore must be able to identify vulnerabilities, integrate federal requirements, and determine the resources and training needed to effectively protect the nation’s food supply.

The Boston Bombings – Redefining Shelter in Place

When a bomb explodes, a biological or chemical agent is released, or an active shooter is at large, time is of the essence. In some situations, having residents shelter in place, although costly and inconvenient, may be the fastest and only way to stop the perpetrator and reduce the number

Protecting Water, Diluting Threats, Saving Lives

Water, water everywhere, and all of it fit to drink. Reservoirs supply drinking water to communities throughout the United States. Protecting such a large area, including the surrounding land, poses many challenges and raises red flags when unauthorized visitors come too close.

Protecting Schools – Tornadoes & Other Natural Disasters

As the southwest areas of the country face deadly tornadoes, other areas are preparing their communities and schools for the 2013 Hurricane season, which officially starts on the first day of June. Unlike tornadoes, hurricanes usually give advance warning – sometimes several days – before making landfall. Schools, though, must

Incident Command for Natural Disasters: A Natural Fit

In February 2003, President George W. Bush signed Homeland Security Presidential Directive Number 5 (HSPD-5), which directed the establishment of a National Incident Management System (NIMS). That directive mandated, among other things, the adaptation and adoption of an Incident Command System (ICS) as a core component of the NIMS. As

Reauthorizing the Nation’s Preparedness

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast of the United States. One of the most important lessons learned from that disaster was that the federal government must work with local authorities to support communities in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from the adverse health effects of major public

Transportation Requirements for Special Needs Populations

Decision makers, managers, and responders who focus on special needs populations require additional planning to ensure the safe evacuation and well-being, following a major disaster, of those entrusted to their care. Among those populations, there are three distinct groups – those with transportation; those without transportation; and those who cannot

Catastrophic Planning vs. Conventional Disaster Planning

Since 9/11 and Katrina, significant federal funding has been invested in planning for similar incidents and events that may (or may not) happen in the future. Meanwhile, state and local planners must focus their efforts on the incidents most likely to occur within their own jurisdictions. This approach seems eminently

Key Hazards & Security Guides

Established in 1920 as the “National Advisory Board on Highway Research,” the Transportation Research Board (TRB) facilitates information sharing and broadly disseminates valuable transportation research. Understanding where to find the data needed to make policy and procedural decisions is the first step in managing all-hazards incidents.

The Security of Healthcare Facilities – A Growing Challenge

Whether the situation involves person-on-person violence, forensic patient management, or the handling of patient property, healthcare facilities (HCFs) across the United States are finding themselves with a growing number of security-related issues that require well-trained and highly skilled security officers. Today’s healthcare facility security officer is no longer a “guard”

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