Emergencies can happen at any time. The most effective way to handle a crisis situation is to prepare in advance by creating an Emergency Action Plan. The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) requires written Emergency Action Plans for many businesses.  Beyond that, there are many reasons for having a solid preparedness program.  The main reason to have an emergency action plan is to do as much as possible to keep your employees safe in case of disaster.  The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides more reasons an emergency action plan is important from a business perspective:

• Up to 40% of businesses affected by a natural or human-caused disaster never reopen. Having procedures in place to deal with disasters can help your business survive this difficult experience.
• Customers may not understand the disaster and its effects on your business. They’ll still expect products or service on time. If there’s a significant delay, they may take their business to a competitor.
• Even if a disaster does slow or shut down your business, a robust emergency action plan has procedures in place to contact customers and stakeholders quickly to keep them up to date on what has happened. News travels fast and perceptions are often different from reality. Staying on top of the information stream reduces negative perception.
• Insurance often only provides partial assistance. It does not cover all losses and does not bring back lost customers.
• Public agencies cannot be expected to provide total relief either. Many disasters can overwhelm their resources, meaning aid may not be immediate even when it is available.
• Many large businesses are now expecting their suppliers to have preparations in place for emergencies, trying to make sure their own business will not be hurt if something happens to another company on the supply chain. Without a plan in place, your business could be given to a competitor.

This Train-the-Trainer session will cover how businesses can prepare for potential emergency situations and review tips and recommendations for emergency planning for businesses.  Included is an overview of FEMA and its resources for the public, preparedness recommendations and steps businesses can take to consider for business continuity following a disaster.

At the end of this presentation, the participant will be able to:

• Understand OSHA-required and recommended practices for emergency action planning
• Understand outside resources that are available for businesses
• Develop an action plan that takes into account various factors that affect the safety of its employees and business practices

The guest speaker is Kimberly Hayward who joined the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 2009 and is currently the Community Preparedness Officer for Region V office in Chicago, Illinois.  In this capacity, Kimberly is responsible for building and sustaining partnerships to ensure that local communities have the tools and information needed to prepare for disasters.  Kimberly supports the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin in promoting preparedness activities related to disaster education in schools, Community Emergency Response Teams, and faith based engagement, among others.

Prior to her current role, Kimberly was responsible for building relationships with international partners to exchange lessons learned and innovative practices in disaster preparedness.  Kimberly earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University and has a personal passion for public service and emergency management.

Lunch will be served at 11:45 AM and the Train-the-Trainer session will begin at 12:30 PM.

MSAP Bonus Points (.5) given for attending Task Force and (.5) for Train-the-Trainer.  Register for each session separately.