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Risk Management

• CIMP: Drafts
  
  • Crisis Communication
  • Readiness
  • Response
  • Recovery
• NFPA1600

Contingency Plans

• Wildfire
• Earthquake
• Pandemic
• Imminent Threat
• Other

Kicking Into Action

These elements are key to a swift and caring response to whatever threat assails us.

Initial Action Protocol

In the event of an incident that may be deemed “critical”, the Situation Response Team (SRT), and possibly the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), are activated upon the direction of the President, or at the request of a Vice President.

Immediate On-scene

• Call 911 if life-threatening, and report all incidents to Public Safety at 805/565-6222.
• Department activates their Departmental Emergency Plan (UEP).
• Public Safety secures site.
• If it appears the need exceeds the present available resources, the CIMP will apply.
• The VP/Admin or a designee is the initial college Incident Commander on the scene, and communicates with local authorities as applicable. This person is authorized to make decisions on the scene for immediate needs.

Notification Plan

• The Director of Public Safety or designee calls the SRT Admin rep to activate the notification process.
• The SRT Admin rep or designee contacts the President, chief academic officer, and appropriate vice presidents and UECs as needed.
• Incident Commander consults with the President and the SRT to determine the incident’s level of severity and level of response needed.
• Depending on incident level, the SRT Admin rep makes additional contacts to departments (chair/director and/or UEC) through other methods of communication (see sidebar on Page xx).
• Upon notification of an event, SRT members are expected to either immediately report to the designated EOC, or else if unavailable to contact someone in their backup chain to sit in for them. The SRT Admin rep will follow up on any member not accounted for.
• If the event requires urgent notification of people across the campus (such as for a shooter), the IRIS alert sent to all building wardens will be followed up using the Warden phone tree in order to positively confirm message receipt.
• In the event of natural disaster (such as a significant earthquake) all SRT members and their backups will be notified. As soon as possible, each should call the remote check-in service to report their status.

Early Actions

• The SRT ascertains the scope of the situation and advises the President on response level needed
• The Executive Team, in conjunction with the departmental representative and local authorities, determines what calls may be necessary to appropriate family members or designated emergency contacts—abiding by privacy guidelines.
• Westmont representatives should not transport any injured party with a medical emergency due to life safety concerns and potential liability. Local paramedics should be called to the scene first, and should transport anyone with a medical emergency. (College personnel may transport in voluntary non-emergency situations.)
• During any level of response, local authorities may take over the scene; if so, SRT representatives will support their authority in a Unified Command Center effort. Once they stabilize the site and complete their investigation, the site is returned to SRT for further internal investigation or review for insurance and liability concerns. Once all investigations are complete the site is returned to the department as promptly as possible.
• The Director of Risk Management or a designee contacts insurance broker and/or property/liability carriers as appropriate for internal review and investigation and per insurance contractual obligations.

Procedure for Declaring a Campus State of Emergency

The President (or in his/her absence, the chief academic officer or a designee) may declare a state of emergency when a catastrophic event occurs that disrupts multiple operations of the college. (The Emergency Operations Center may have been activated prior to this level of escalation, and will serve as the location of management of the incident.)

Activating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC)

• The EOC may be activated any time the Incident Commander feels it necessary to manage a critical incident in a high-touch coordinated fashion.

• The EOC may be established in cooperation with local authorities in a unified command approach.
• The EOC  is equipped with specialized emergency communications equipment and supplies. Incident management and recovery coordination is conducted from this site, which may need to remain open 24 hours per day for several days throughout the critical emergency response and initial recovery stages of an incident—and may continue until normal operations are restored.
• EOC participants are responsible for helping departments establish an effective working environment for essential employees from the response phase through the recovery and restoration phases. While departmental plans may address some needs, institutional decisions will be made with appropriate authority from the EOC.
• The EOC and SRT are authorized to prioritize resumption and recovery of critical operations such as network or computer operations, if limited access is available. Core life-safety and business functions will take priority over all other functions. Careful consideration will be given with the involved departments in order to continue the college’s core mission.

Public Information [this section will be moved to Crisis Comm]

• When an incident occurs, the Manager of Media Relations (or designee) is notified as a matter of course. This person will maintain communication with the SRT and with their own upline as appropriate.
• The Office of Public Affairs coordinates all college contact with media sources. No individual is authorized to make media contact or to appear before the media to speak (or appear to speak) on behalf of the college regarding an incident without prior approval from the Incident Commander or designee.
• With assistance from the Incident Commander and the Planning team, Public Affairs creates “Talking Points” to be distributed to those who may receive media and other inquiries on the subject matter.
• When warranted, a separate Media Operations Center (MOC) will be established as a setting from which to convey information to members and constituents of the institution, and the public at large. At the MOC, members of the media may obtain regular updates as available. Interface with the media will not take place in the EOC, although the college they may have a representative posted at the EOC to maintain updated information.

Human Resources Considerations

Particularly in an emergency—but possibly under less acute circumstances—the following Human Resources management procedures provide guidance to managers and employees during emergencies or events that interrupt normal business routines.

• All Westmont  managers (President’s Staff, Deans, Chairs, Directors, laboratory and facility managers) are considered “essential personnel” during major emergencies or disasters, and their emergency roles and responsibilities will be specified in this Plan and/or in their respective Unit Emergency Plans. These employees are expected to practice preparedness at home so that their families can more likely get along without them if possible and necessary.
• Employees who have been formally defined in writing as being “essential” must report to designated work sites per job description.
• Those expected to respond for emergencies in Unit Continuity Plans may have this service mentioned as an essential duty in their job descriptions. Department supervisors or facilitators should make designated or appropriate employees aware of their Unit  Continuity Plans and responsibilities during orientation, and should alert them that they are expected to be available for emergency response if necessary.
• An employee’s first concern during a community-wide emergency is the safety and protection of his/her family. Until that concern is alleviated, an employee may be distracted from giving full attention to meet business needs. In these instances, Human Resources personnel and the employee’s supervisor will work with the employee to assist in appropriate and reasonable response.
• Compensation: Continuation of services to support the mission of the college begins with workforce continuity. Compensation during an event will be based on appropriate policies in place at the time of the disruption. All reasonable and prudent efforts will be taken to provide uninterrupted payroll services for employees.