Strong Foundations – What Every Disaster Plan Needs
Catherine L. Feinman
January 25, 2023
The initial goal of a disaster plan should be to avoid the disaster. The secondary goal should be to respond effectively when a disaster cannot be avoided. To be clear,
Crisis Standards of Care – A Mental Health Perspective
James Greenstone
January 25, 2023
Crisis standards of care and sufficiency of care are topics of great controversy and debate in professional circles. The reasons may be obvious to most. Traditionally, health care responders are trained and held to the standard of care of their profession when rendering aid. Nothing less is acceptable. The public understands this and demands this high level of care, even under disaster conditions. Medical and allied professionals experience stress when they cannot deliver high-level care and may subsequently fear liability exposure and litigation.
Applications for a Newly Developed Risk and Resilience Tool
Kyle Pfeiffer, Rao Kotamarthi and Christina Nuñez
January 25, 2023
A new, publicly available tool provides a window into how future climate realities could affect U.S. cities and towns. Learn how planners and decision-makers can get map-based analyses driven by peer-reviewed climate data using this free portal.
Virtual Reality Training Revolution Is Here
Peter Johnson
January 18, 2023
The click-through, good-enough training, ubiquitous in many organizations, is not good enough anymore. A Harvard Business Review article titled “Where Companies Go Wrong with Learning and Development” (L&D) discovered that only 12% of employees applied
The Pony Express Rides Again
Monty Dozier
January 18, 2023
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers and facilities, local jurisdictions, and state agencies struggled to acquire personal protective equipment (PPE), such as masks, gloves, gowns,
Benefits of Industrial Liaisons – A Harris County Example
Jamie Hannan
January 11, 2023
Planners in the Harris County, Texas, area are successful specifically because of the relationships
they have built over many years. For example, the county’s Industrial Liaisons Program provides many
positive takeaways and best practices practitioners can implement throughout the U.S. and abroad.
Building Design for Safety and Resilience – First Steps
Paul Marshall
January 11, 2023
An all-hazards design process considers the function of the building during normal operations as well as the safety of the occupants and the surrounding community against possible risks and threats. Like layers of an onion, effective security should take a multi-layered approach. Safety and security do not need to be compromised for a facility’s functionality and beauty.
How One Town Stood Up to a Category 4 Storm
Jennifer Languell
January 4, 2023
When Category 4 Hurricane Ian crossed Florida in September 2022, more than 4 million Florida homes and businesses lost power. However, one town kept the lights on and was spared the devastation the cities surrounding it faced. With resilience and sustainability in mind, this author shares the planning involved in creating this resilient community.
Beachie Creek Fire – A Practitioner’s Firsthand Account
Charles (Chuck) Perino
January 4, 2023
When disaster strikes, sometimes those trained to respond find themselves and their families fleeing from the fire. Once their families are safe, they jump back in to assist wherever needed. This scenario happened to one emergency manager when the Beachie Creek wildfire engulfed surrounding Oregon communities with little warning.
