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Emergency, Preparedness

Emergency Preparaedness at Home – Do 1 Thing – Make a Plan (January)

NOVA’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) wants you to be better prepared for emergencies and disasters. Emergency preparedness at home is a big job, and many people never get started because they don’t know where to begin.

To help get you started, OEM challenges you to follow ‘Do 1 Thing’ (http://do1thing.com) each month in 2015. Do 1 Thing is a web-based, 12-month preparedness program that makes preparing easier by helping people take small steps each month toward becoming better prepared for emergencies or disasters.

It’s as easy as this:

  1. Click on the current month’s topic.
  2. Select one of the easy “things to do.”
  3. Do that one thing!

If you follow along for an entire year, you will be better prepared to handle most disasters and emergencies. You can jump in anytime and you don’t have to do things in any order (all 12 things are in the little yellow box on the left). You can choose whatever topic you like.

Each month on this blog, OEM will post Do 1 Thing’s monthly topic and we encourage you to follow the program. January’s topic is: Make a Plan.

If you would like additional information about how to make a plan, you can also visit:

http://www.vaemergency.gov/readyvirginia/makeaplan

 

 

Inclement Weather

Reminder-Inclement Weather Procedures

As the temperature drops, the Office of Emergency Management would like to remind faculty and staff of the College’s inclement weather procedures. If the College is going to be closed, a text alert will be sent to cell phones registered with NOVA Alert, a notice will be posted on the home page of the College’s website, and major local media outlets will broadcast the closing information. If the College closes early due to inclement weather, an email will be sent out to all faculty, staff, and students with the closing time.

In the Fall of 2013, the College adopted a new closing procedure for faculty and staff. If the College closes early due to inclement weather, faculty, staff, and students will be provided with specific times they can leave. This will help to ensure a safe and orderly departure from building and campuses.  An example of a message you may see is as follows:

NOVA classes and activities will end for students at X:XX p.m. due to inclement weather. Faculty and administrative will close at X:XX p.m.

For more details on the College’s inclement weather procedures as well as a listing of the media outlets that will carry the College’s closing and delay information, please go to the Office of Emergency Management’s website at www.nvcc.edu/emergency. As a reminder, we ask that you do not contact Police Dispatch or the Office of Emergency Management for closing updates.

Uncategorized

Commonwealth Taking Additional Steps to Safeguard Against Ebola

Governor Terry McAuliffe announced that the Commonwealth is taking additional steps to strengthen the level of preparedness for the Ebola virus by mobilizing a statewide unified command group. This group is responsible for coordinating resources and personnel.  

“The Virginia Department of Health works every day to prevent the spread of infectious diseases of all kinds,” said Governor McAuliffe. “The department’s focus will be to keep the community informed, and ensure that, if there is any risk, the appropriate public health actions will be taken.”

The statewide unified command group will be composed of officials from the Governor’s Office, Department of Health, Department of Emergency Management, State Police, Department of Social Services, Department of Transportation, Virginia National Guard, Department of Environmental Quality, Department of Education, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and others. 

“Ebola prevention is based on principles and approaches that we use every day,” said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “However, there are unique aspects of Ebola that require us to make sure our plans and processes are up to date for this new concern.” 

Dr. Levine has activated the regional hospital coordinating system, which was developed after 9-11 and the anthrax attack of 2001, to assess our capability in each region of the state and ensure appropriate coordination. The Virginia Department of Health will lead the state’s ongoing health preparedness efforts supported by these other agencies.

VDH, including its 35 health districts and local health departments, is working closely with the state laboratory (Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services), individual hospitals and first responders/EMS to make sure they have adequate training and protocols, established with the best guidance available, to care for Ebola patients safely. Following these guidelines thoroughly will help health care workers who are caring directly for patients with Ebola stay safe from infection. 

Over the next several weeks, this group will be developing additional statewide protocols for first responders to enhance their safety and readiness.

For more information about Ebola, visit www.vdh.virginia.gov.

Drills, Preparedness, Training

NOVA will take part in the Great SouthEast ShakeOut Regional Earthquake Drill on 10/16

On Thursday, October 16th at 10:16 AM, NOVA will participate in The Great SouthEast ShakeOut Regional Earthquake Drill.

What do I do?

An announcement will be made on the campuses and off-site locations at 10:16 AM using the intercom telephone system to start the drill.  Once the announcement is made, you should DROP, COVER, and HOLD ON!

The Timeline will be as follows:

10:16   An announcement will be made that the drill is starting. “This is the start of the Regional Earthquake drill, please drop, cover, and hold on!”  At this time, you should drop to the ground, take cover under a table or sturdy desk, and hold on to it until the shaking stops.

10:21   An announcement will be made that the earthquake is over.  “The earthquake is over, please evacuate your buildings.”  At this time, evacuate the building and report to your assembly point.  *Persons with disabilities should seek assistance in evacuations.

10:35   No announcement will be made, but the drill has officially concluded.  You should re-enter your building and go back to your office or continue class as scheduled.

Note* Mobility Challenged Individuals are encouraged to do the following:

If you are in a wheelchair: Lock your wheels and remain seated until the shaking stops.  Always protect your head and neck with your arms, a pillow, book, or whatever may be available.

  • Practice your individual emergency evacuation plan during the evacuation phase of this drill.
  • Relocate to an Area of Assistance (if you are on a floor that does not exit directly outdoors) and wait there until the drill is complete.
  • Please refer to the Emergency Action Plan for more information
Drills, Preparedness

Emergency Notification Systems Test scheduled for 10/10

The College has scheduled a test of the Emergency Notification Systems for this Friday, October 10th beginning at 9:30 am for the campuses and off-site centers.  The systems that we will be testing are listed below.

 •              NOVA desktop computer alerts (pop-up messages for networked computers only)

•              Digital signage (flat panels)

•              Automated and live broadcasts to all College phones

 The message that you will either hear or see will be, “This is a test of the NOVA Emergency Notification System. This is only a Test.”

  *Please note that the NOVA Alert text messaging system will NOT  be tested at this time, so you should NOT receive a “Test” message on October 10th  if you are registered on the NOVA Alert text messaging system.