Emergency Management Archives

Force Multiplier – Empowering the Public

Roger Parrino and Terry Hastings February 20, 2019

Perhaps one of the biggest myths in emergency management is that the public will panic during a crisis. Instead of panicking, the public often pulls together and even puts themselves in harm’s way to help each other. Furthermore, the public, not first responders, are often first on-site during an emergency.

The Importance of Legal Preparedness for Tribal Nations

Tina Batra Hershey February 6, 2019

Public health emergencies, including infectious disease and natural disasters, are issues that every community faces. To address these threats, it is critical for all jurisdictions to understand how law can be used to enhance public health preparedness, as well as improve coordination and collaboration across jurisdictions. As sovereign entities,

High School Interns – A Valuable Community Resource

Jennifer Pearsall January 30, 2019

New York City Emergency Management (NYCEM) has designed an internship program specifically tailored for high school students. The agency shares its lessons learned to help other agencies understand why such efforts are important, how the program works, and what steps agencies can take to start their own intern programs. Engaging

Force Multipliers for Public Safety

Catherine L. Feinman January 30, 2019

As a hurricane approaches, a leader must decide whether to issue an order to evacuate or to shelter in place. When creating active shooter plans, school officials must determine what information can and should be shared to mitigate the threat. To mitigate disaster, each community must consider the unique risks

Balancing Privacy & School Safety Within FERPA

Robert C. Hutchinson January 23, 2019

On 2 January 2019, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission (MSDHSPSC) released its initial report. The commission report addressed many critical issues and lessons learned within its 15 chapters. The chapter on information sharing discussed the actual or perceived restrictions from privacy laws such as the Family

Crisis Leadership – Doing More With Less

Terry Hastings January 9, 2019

During a crisis, leaders must be able to adapt and operate in an uncertain environment. In doing so, leaders are required to make more consequential and challenging decisions with less information and less time to decide. They also have fewer options to consider and likely garner more scrutiny for their

Trauma Lessons Learned From a School Shooting

Robert C. Hutchinson December 26, 2018

At the end of the school day on 14 February 2018, a former student entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (MSDHS) in Parkland, Florida, and committed a mass murder on the campus that forever changed numerous lives and an entire community. During the attack, 17 students and staff were killed

Building a Healthy & Resilient Community

Catherine L. Feinman December 26, 2018

A healthy community is a resilient community. From pandemic threats to school shootings, crisis events continue to affect the health and wellbeing of the surrounding human population long after the crisis ends. These health effects can then weaken a community’s ability to cope with future disasters. As such, physical, psychological,

Environmental Health – Profoundly Local & Profoundly Useful

David T. Dyjack December 12, 2018

Nutrition, community resilience, and poverty are just a few factors that are of great importance to public health professionals, which include representatives for maternal and child health, preparedness, nutrition, epidemiology, and land use planning, among others. However, the second largest segment of the public health workforce – the environmental health

Combating Pandemic Threats – Global Health Security Agenda

Gary Flory December 5, 2018

On 6-8 November 2018, global health leaders from around the globe met in Bali, Indonesia, for the 5th Global Health Security Agenda (GHSA) Ministerial Meeting. At the meeting, the GHSA launched a five-year plan to address health security issues called GHSA 2024 and U.S. Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary

Combating Public Health & Security Concerns

Catherine L. Feinman November 28, 2018

In 2014, the United States was directly exposed to the Ebola virus, which was at that time relatively unknown on domestic soil. The nation was underprepared to manage the public relations issues associated with this scenario. Since that time, roundtables have been conducted, responder trainings have been created, and information

A 2017 Best Practice for Private Sector Communications

Kathryn Howard, Ira Tannenbaum, Amanda N. Coats and Ryan Hagen November 21, 2018

Coordination between the public and private sectors are essential for communicating effectively to the public during emergencies. It is important for government agencies to build relationships with private partners during “blue skies” to ensure that proper plans and messaging are in place in the event of an actual emergency. New

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