What is OEMS?

The mission of the Office of Emergency Management & Safety (OEMS) is to provide guidance, direction and training to the College and its students, faculty, staff and visitors in the prevention, protection, response and recovery from all incidents or events. OEMS also serves as a liaison to federal, state and local emergency management offices and to public safety agencies.

Emergency management, as a profession, aims not just to prepare a community for disaster but to create community resilience for when the inevitable disaster does occur. Emergency managers operate under the knowledge that disaster is not a question of IF but WHEN. The goal is to help the community prepare to respond to the disaster and to be resilient against disaster occurrences.

OEMS has five members who work to keep the college safe and prepare it for the worst. The office has three campus coordinators, who work with their assigned campuses to carry out preparedness efforts (i.e. fire drills, warden training, campus response); a planner; an exercise and training coordinator; a safety officer; a fearless leader (director); and an assistant director. These five members wear different hats for each of them to fulfill multiple roles.

To help get you prepared for the upcoming semester keep an eye out for articles in the Daily Flyer on different preparedness topics. Make sure you’re prepared to respond in an emergency!

Submitted by:
Hayley Holmes, OEMS Safety Coordinator, HHolmes@nvcc.edu