Disaster Preparedness Daily News

Posts Tagged ‘disaster management’

The Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator Craig Fugate today addressed presidents, provosts, chancellors, and deans from a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) from across the country at FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute (EMI) in Emmitsburg, Md.

The meeting — part of the second offering of an Emergency Management Planning, Preparedness, Training and Education Workshop for Colleges and Universities — is designed to provide schools and their leadership with an introduction to emergency management, a basic overview of EMI’s higher education programs and an opportunity to hear from  leading professionals in the field of emergency management. Read the rest of this entry »

The U. S. Small Business Administration (SBA) moved its disaster assistance operations from the Governor H. Rex Lee Auditorium in Utelei to the Disaster Service Center at the Convention Center on Monday, December 7, 2009 at 8 a.m. The new location will be open Mondays through Fridays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. until further notice.

Individuals and business owners who sustained losses from the September 29 earthquake, tsunami and flooding can continue to meet face to face with SBA customer service representatives to answer questions about SBA’s disaster loan program and close their approved disaster loans. No appointment is necessary at the center to speak with a representative.

Although the deadline to apply for property damage loans has passed, SBA is still offering working capital loans of up to $2 million at an interest rate of 4 percent with terms up to 30 years for small businesses and most private, non-profit organizations of any size. These loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster’s impact.

These loans provide vital economic assistance to small businesses affected by the disaster to help overcome the temporary loss of revenue they are experiencing. The filing deadline to return Economic Injury Disaster Loan applications is June 29, 2010. SBA customer service representatives can answer questions about SBA’s Economic Injury Disaster Loan program, explain the application process and help each individual complete their application. Read the rest of this entry »

Two new studies published in the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness journal suggest that sufficient hospital capacity during a disaster can be achieved through evaluating resources and discharging non-critical patients.

“Making hospital beds available for victims of a mass emergency may be easier than once thought,” said study lead author Gabor D. Kelen M.D., professor of emergency medicine at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. “Reverse triage, which is a system to create more inpatient hospital beds by discharging non-critical patients, can significantly increase surge capacity without a corresponding increase in resources.”

A related study suggests that refining and standardizing definitions of surge capacity relating to space, staffing, and supply concerns help implement surge capacity strategies for hospitals and health facilities during a mass casualty incidence.

“There is currently no accepted protocol for a detailed, phased way to increase hospital space during a disaster,” said John L. Hick, M.D., associate professor of emergency medicine at the University of Minnesota and physician at Hennepin County Medical Center. “Surge capacity is affected by many variables, so systems and processes are critical to support surge-capacity decision making.” Read the rest of this entry »