The Importance of Continuity of Services in Emergency Management Planning

We have come to a time where it is imperative to reset our courses associated with the safety of the employees, the safety of the brand and the longevity of the company alongside their competitive edge. As senior manager, consideration should not be limited to solely short-run solutions. It is primary for the company’s decision makers of all tiers manage the negative and positive potential of any crisis as time can carry the possibilities of unknown limits. Accommodations must be made for the entire community (Senior Management, Ergonomists, Labor Leaders, Politicians of the city, Service Staff, Human Resources and Line Management) under the company’s payroll that has been affected by this natural disaster using our revised Crisis Management Portfolio.

An emergency operations plan for the community in which we live is a document of great importance to each of us whether we know it or not. This paper examines the emergency action plan for Knoxville, Tennessee. In the course of the examination, it will compare and analyze the plan for Knoxville with the standards set forth in the textbook for this course along with other recognized sources in the field of emergency management.

In day to day operations, uncertainties do occur. Henceforth it would be important to have a contingent and well detailed disaster preparedness plan and procedures. Healthcare systems, on a day to day basis, are faced with emergencies in form of disasters. As a result, majority of medical centers have well-structured exit plans in the event of a disaster occurring("Hospital Disaster Preparedness: Your Guide to Getting Started - Emergency Preparedness", 2011). However, this essay will aim at interviewing one of the top disaster preparedness staffat the Houston Methodist Hospital. In the interview, I will seek to identify the top three disasters that the Houston Methodist Hospital is prepared for. Similarly, in the interview, I would seek to identify the top lessons learnt from disaster preparedness at the hospitals.As it concludes it would summarize the findings with regards to the interview stated below. Below is an excerpt from the interview to answer the two aforementioned questions.

We have established a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan to handle our resources to provide safe environment for our patients in the event of adverse conditions such as power failures, water, fuel shortages, flooding, and communication breakdowns. Our facilities are prepared, staff knows responsibilities to extend patient care under disrupted utilities and other emergency situations.

During a disaster or emergency, the company must maintain normal operations required to address time-sensitive, disaster-specific issues. No plan can anticipate addressing all the human, operational and regulatory issues raised during a disaster or emergency.

Hospitals are dependent on external support and supplies, which makes them vulnerable institutions in an event of disaster. Any disruption of external supplies or support services can halt essential hospital operations, which can put the community, patients and staff at increased risk during a disaster. Having an emergency preparedness plan that is current along with performing continuous testing and training of the hospital staff ensures that hospital staff can respond effectively and efficiently to any disaster whether it is terrorism, weather or a pandemic

Make the case for retaining an all-hazards approach to emergency management that includes terrorism and its associated hazards as one of many hazards. Discuss the pros and cons of such an approach as it relates to all four phases of emergency management: Mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery An all all-hazards approach provides a basic framework for responding to a wide variety of hazards, it does not mean literally being prepared for everything.

An effective emergency operation plan (EOP) is a key component of an emergency management program which establishes the overall authority, role, and functions performed during an incident response (Federal Emergency Management Agency, 2013). During an EOP, it can be used as a baseline for numerous actions that can be effective during an emergency situation by looking at methods to better protect people and property while be flexible enough to be utilized during any and all emergencies that may be encountered. The development of an EOP also dictates the functions of personnel by establishing actions that will be taken by proper authority and developing organizational relationships so operations during such an emergency can be accomplished

Senior management concern in the development of plan helps in creating a more robust plan where every need is met in a more effective way. In case of any disaster recovery or business continuity plan, main focus is always to find a way through which business operations keep on the track. For this purpose, plan should include methods through which workers would interact with each other and carry out their routine

The main purpose of this paper is to prepare a business continuity plan for the White House security staff during any natural or manmade disaster on geographic locations in order to carry out daily activities in an efficient and effective manner. This plan provides an effective guidelines that is required to be followed by the security staffs of White House under such circumstances in order to protect the security staffs from severe personal injuries and accidents and the CIA triad of information and assets as well. In this paper, the business continuity planning is elaborated using the plan objective, plan scope, plan scenarios, plan assumptions and recovery strategies and activities.

Emergency management faces many challenges in today’s modern society. In the years prior to 9/11 emergency management was primarily focused on natural disasters. That has since changed; we now face a diverse variety of risks and hazards on a constant basis. As we continue to grow in population current and newer have compounded into more problems that emergency planner must face and find solutions for.

Through this course, I have learned that the main concept key to the overall success of emergency management is planning. The contingency planning involves key steps that have to be undertaken by the stakeholders identified in the scheme to prevent and respond to emergencies if they occur. The planning process is important it helps the stakeholders to respond fast and efficiently by knowing beforehand what to do to prevent the emergency from escalating and minimize its adverse effects if the emergency occurs. Regarding my professional development, the contingency planning is essential because it coordinates with my professional development and helps me to determine priorities and key steps that I have to undertake in the course of my work

Owning a business can have many stressors day to day. When starting a business there is a lot of planning and preparation involved. Many small businesses are owners who have put their own money into the business and look at it as an investment. Unfortunately with all the planning that goes into starting a business, one thing is often over looked. Most of the time the “what ifs”, are not part of the planning stage. One reason for this is that people do not like to think of the bad things that could or may happen. So with all the time and planning put into starting a business why not put some extra thought into a plan B if a disaster strikes? This plan B could be a business continuity plan or a disaster recovery plan. Business continuity plans are an essential part of the modern day business. There are so many potential disasters for small businesses that could seize the production or even close the business down for good. A recent study from Gartner Inc., found that “90% of companies that experience data loss go out of business within two years. It also found that 80% of company owners have not thought about how they would keep their businesses up and running if a data disaster occurs.” According to the Association of Records Managers and Administrators, “about 60 percent of businesses that experience a major disaster such as a fire close

The effective contingency plan should only include the high-priority items and it should be as simple as possible. The purpose for the contingency plans is to response quickly when there are changes of an organization’s current strategy. For example, the predefined strategy is based on some assumptions about the economy but the outcome is not what the organization assumed, the contingency plan can support the organization to react promptly. The effective contingency planning includes a seven step process. First, Identify both beneficial and unfavorable events that could possibly derail the strategy. This step includes the development of the formal contingency planning policy statement in order to provide it to relevant stakeholders the authority and guideline that required developing the effective contingency plan. Policy will be published when executive confirms it. To gather the high-level business requirements, define scope and allocating project resources. Second, Specify trigger points and calculate about when contingent events are likely to occur. It involves the Business Impact Analysis (BIA) to identify threat scenarios, prioritize key business processes and critical systems for business continuity. Executive approval on those choices of the critical business functions and the priority to recover during the disaster. Third, Assess the

The objective of this study was to develop a strategic contingency planning model to be used to fully incorporate emergency management and business continuity into organization structures. (For the purpose of this study, Emergency Management and Business Continuity were collectively referred to as “contingency planning.”) Presently, contingency planning is mainly done on an operational or tactical level. Current thinking suggests that contingency planning should be an active part of organizations’ overall strategic planning processes as well. Organizations will ultimately be better prepared for future disasters and crises.