Module 1 of our Social Media and Emergency Management Training is up on Facebook. Click here to check it out.
Module 1 of our Social Media and Emergency Management Training is up on Facebook. Click here to check it out.
Over the course of the next few months WRHSAC is revamping the Social Media and Emergency Management (SMEM) training project. This will be done on a module by module basis and includes information for individuals specifically targeted to the needs of the Western Massachusetts first response and emergency management community. Each module emphasizes the why and how: Why and how should first responders and emergency management professionals use these web-based communication tools? Some of the content includes how to write a social media policy; how to set up and use a blog for an agency for use in a crisis and how to monitor and archive social networks in real time during a crisis. The SMEM page tab State and Regional Social Media links will also be continuously updated throughout this project which provides web- based/social media communication sites for State and Regional agencies throughout Western Massachusetts. Each module will include questions to answer as well as tasks to complete, because we understand that the best way to learn these tools is to use them! We look forward to your participation every week! Here is the link to the main SMEM website.
Facilitated by Susan Santos, PhD, MS, national expert in Risk Communications and Public Information and Burt Peretsky, FOCUS GROUP Consultants
Recent emergencies and exercises in the region have demonstrated the critical need to coordinate information across agencies and jurisdictions. This advanced level Public Information Officer (PIO) training builds on previous basic public information training workshops hosted by WRHSAC and MEMA. It is intended for trained and/or experienced PIOs from all response organizations including police, fire, selectboards/mayors, public health, hospitals, colleges/universities, and EMS.
The workshop will focus on the key elements of a Joint Information System/Center, including:
To ensure time for practice and performance review, the workshop is limited to 30 qualified participants who are recommended or sponsored by a Local/Regional Emergency Planning Committee, Public Health Coalition, Hospital Coordinating Group, MMRS, Chief Elected Official or Responder Agency head.
There will be a rolling admissions process with all registrants initially waitlisted, so event planners can ensure that all counties and disciplines are effectively represented and can simulate a regional Joint Information System.
This training builds on plans recently developed by WRHSAC for a Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC). The MACC Concept of Operations includes a Joint Information System to help coordinate timely and accurate messages across agencies, communities and regions. The MACC model is in the process of being adopted in Berkshire County and will be introduced over the next several years in Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden Counties. The MACC PIO Standard Operating Guidelines are here for your review.
The training will be held on Thursday, June 18, 2015 at the Hotel Northampton, Northampton MA. Registration and breakfast from 8am to 8:45am. The Welcome and training will begin at 8:45 and run to 4:00pm. Lunch will be provided. The training is free thanks to funding from the Western Region Homeland Security Council and the Hampshire and Hampden Public Health Coalitions.
Registration is closed for this training.
Helpful Resources:
Public Health Region 1 PIO SOG
And some PIO Training videos:
EOC Planning and Operations is a three-day Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services course which focuses on the core functions, processes and best practices necessary to ensure effective and repeatable performance of an emergency operations center at any level. The core functions and process are reviewed and demonstrated via facilitated discussion and computer enhanced scenario exercises.
The course will be held at the North Adams Ambulance Station, 10 Harris Street, North Adams, MA, June 3, 4 & 5, 2015. The course is free and breakfast and lunch will be provided. The course will start at 8am and run to 4pm. Daily registration will begin at 7:15am. Course participation is limited to 40 people. You must attend all three days to receive a certificate.
REGISTRATION FOR THIS TRAINING IS CLOSED
WRHSAC has recently completed Phase II of its Multi-Agency Coordination Center (MACC) project. This phase established a pilot regionally based MACC in Berkshire County. Follow this link to learn more and review the documents created in this phase.
The Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council will host the second Community Organizations Active Disasters Summit on Thursday, April 30 at the UMass Center in Springfield. Click here to register. The event is free.
The Western Massachusetts Community Organizations Active in Disasters (COAD) Summit provides an excellent opportunity for emergency personnel to learn about the wealth of non-governmental, ready-to-serve organizations that exist in their communities, and to take stock of the vital resources these agencies supply.
Participants will become familiar with the function and mechanics of the emergency response system and learn about the ways in which their particular organization or personal skill fits into the many-faceted network of volunteers.
Keynote speaker Susamma Seeley is a certified emergency manager and the statewide director of response for Catholic Charities agencies in Missouri. She also serves as the Chairperson of the Missouri Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). When deployed on their behalf, Ms. Seeley’s primary role is to assist local Catholic Charities agencies with integration of their response and recovery activities into the broader disaster response community. Her most recent deployments include the 2011 Joplin, Missouri tornado response and the 2012 Hurricane Sandy response in New Jersey. With a background in both emergency management and VOAD, Ms. Seeley’s keynote speech will offer insight into and discuss strategies for relationship-building between these distinct disaster response camps.
The two-session agenda will include continental breakfast, lunch, opportunities to network, and a low-stress, low-stakes functional exercise in which participants will practice coordinating their response through a disaster scenario. Morning registration will test an existing plan for operating a volunteer reception center.
Individuals and groups interested in volunteering or actively involved in preparing for emergencies and assisting victims before, during, and after disasters are encouraged to attend. This year’s summit promises to be an exciting day of informative workshops, problem solving, and networking with other participants who share an enthusiasm for helping others through disaster.
The Daily Hampshire Gazette reports on the upcoming large scale UMass / Hampshire MRC shelter exercise. More than 275 people are expected to participate. WRHSAC is providing funds to support the exercise. To read the article click here.
The Western Region Homeland Security Advisory Council has set the date for its Community Organizations Active in Disasters Summit 2015. The summit will be held on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at the UMass Center at Tower Sqaure in Springfield, MA.
Workshops for both community organizations and emergency management are being arranged and will likely include: a look at online tools useful for recovery; a training on the emergency rest center guide prepared by WRHSAC; food safety in a shelter or emergency rest center environment; working with children in disasters; and looking at the role libraries can play before, during and following a disaster.
The summit will be free and lunch will be provided. Please save the date to join us! Watch your email and this website for registration information.
What if a catastrophic event occurs? Will you be ready? Will you need a special level of protection? Is decontamination necessary? Do you have the right medications?
Medical Management of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosives, (CBRNE) Events answers these questions and more as you learn how to distinguish between different agents of concern that could be used in a major incident.
This two-day course is a combination of facilitated discussions, small-group exercises, Human Patient Simulator hands-on scenarios, and traditional classroom discussions. Exercises are conducted in a CBRNE scenario using both adult and pediatric Human Patient Simulators to reinforce classroom lectures and interaction.
This course promotes critical thinking skills while utilizing the RAPID-Care concept. The multi-discipline make-up of the participants helps to strengthen information sharing, communications, and medical surge capabilities.
This course is taught by Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services. The course is free. Lunch will be provided. Registration will begin at 7am. Class begins at 8am.
This training is appropriate for the following disciplines:
It is recommended that you take the following online courses prior to attending this training:
Class size is limited to 50 participants. The registration and wait-list for this course is full.
Thank you for your interest!
16 hours of OEMS credit for Basic, Intermediate and Paramedic are available.
WRHSAC has developed and helped western Massachusetts entities implement a Regional Shelter Plan. This comprehensive plan provides Job Action Sheets, Standard Operating Guides, Forms and more.
WRHSAC has developed an on-line training with individual modules for each job associated with operating a shelter. The training is free and accessible for anyone to take. Once a module is completed, participants are able to print out a certificate indicating they have taken the training. These certificates can be used by shelter managers to track staff training. The modules can also be used as just-in-time training during shelter activation.
A goal of this project is to familiarize people with the WRHSAC Regional Shelter Plan documents, how to use them, and encourage municipalities to adopt them to assist in creating common operating pictures in shelter operation throughout the region. The number of people that need to understand this content is also quite large: everyone from local Selectboards, to local Boards of Health, to Emergency Managers, to Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers, to local church organization active in disasters and even people who might show up the day after an event who just want to help out in any way they can. It became clear that online training or E-training was a positive solution and a contract was signed with a training development firm with a focus on emergency management.
The E-training was designed to provide learners with knowledge about how to carry out their assigned responsibilities in a shelter. The underlying instructional design is simple: apply problem solving versus memorization based on scenarios they would likely encounter in a shelter environment. The training builds on the regional and other national guidance documents and it contains all of the forms necessary to carry out shelter operations under the National Incident Management System.
The training has the following features:
● Scenario-based content
● An emphasis on ADA compliance
● Applied Learning
● Mobile ready
● Embedded and printable certificates
