While initially useful, the term “all hazards” no longer accurately describes the functions or mission of the emergency management discipline. The current generation of emergency management has moved beyond all hazards to become “hazard agnostic.”
Training standards ensure that all law enforcement officers receive a consistent level of knowledge and skills to perform their jobs safely and effectively. One training model incorporates “pracademic” professionals and garners trust from practitioners as well as academics. Its integration of theory and practice sets a training standard that can be applied industry-wide.
Sadie Martinez is on the advisory board for the Domestic Preparedness Journal. Sadie is the Colorado State Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management’s Access and Functional Needs Coordinator. Sadie uses the Communication, Maintaining Health/Medical, Independence, Support Services and Safety, and Transportation (CMIST) resource framework, which provides a whole-community inclusion approach to identify the actual resource needs of a community. She sat down with Journal Marketing Coordinator Nicolette Casey to share her passion for her work.
Overlooked until disaster strikes, many emergency management departments struggle with personnel and budgetary constraints, yet the demand placed on these departments continues to increase. Nevertheless, hospitals and health systems need to be prepared, and full-scale exercises are a comprehensive method for achieving this preparedness.
From historic catastrophes to today’s challenges, crises pose significant public threats. By returning to the basics and prioritizing deliberate preparation, organizational leaders can build greater resilience, enhance performance, and lead effectively when it matters most.
A dual-world tabletop exercise simulating an electromagnetic pulse event in Chicopee, Massachusetts, revealed startling discrepancies in outcomes between the city’s current preparedness and a moderate-preparedness simulation.
Disaster wargaming may significantly change the future of tabletop exercises in emergency management and homeland security. Long used effectively to win and prevent wars throughout history, wargaming offers more realistic and engaging scenarios for emergency managers to prepare for real-world disasters.
As the U.S. contemplates withdrawing its membership from the World Health Organization, there are potential impacts on both local and global emergency preparedness and response to consider. Emergency managers should evaluate their current programs to determine ramifications in their local sectors.
High-profile business leaders like UnitedHealthcare’s murdered CEO have been at an elevated risk of targeted violence in the past several years. Although such attacks on corporate executives and other public figures are rare, they are targeted. In response, many corporations have increased personal protection for executives, but the permanence of these measures is undetermined. Lesser-known but important security measures can mitigate risks to business leaders and other public figures.