Executive Housekeeping Today - June 2008 - (Page 6)

frugal housekeeper It Will Not Happen Here! The Need for Emergency Planning The location—Richmond, Indiana. The time—5:37 a.m. on April 18, 2008. The Frugal Housekeeper was just awakening from a night of sleep. As he lay in bed trying to determine if he was awake or asleep, the bed shook. He turned over to the Frugal Housekeeperess and asked her if she had moved and she indicated that she had not. What seemed odd about the bed shaking is that it went on for more than a couple of seconds. It seemed that the very firm mattress had turned into a bowl of jelly. Later on, we were made aware that the shaking was caused, not by the occupants of the bed, but by a 5.2 magnitude earthquake that was centered near West Salem, Illinois. Seemingly, the earthquake was felt from Nebraska to Atlanta and from Indianapolis all the way to Wisconsin. We in Richmond are prepared for a tornado; they can happen here, but an earthquake—not likely. But are we prepared? Most people I talked to were either asleep or just waking up. Did we act appropriately? Did we have an emergency plan to follow ? On April 16, 2007, I was at a conference in the beautiful mountains of West Virginia. A group of facilities managers were sitting in the lobby of the hotel eating breakfast. I was chatting with one of the men, both he and I were getting ready to make presentations, when his beeper went off. At the same time, the screen on the television in the lobby changed to “Breaking News.” The man beside me made his phone call and he t by Alan S. Bigger and Linda B. Bigger turned around to me with a look of shock on his face—his niece had just been shot while in a classroom at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. His niece eventually recovered; however, 33 people died, including the shooter. Such a thing could never happen in Blacksburg—but it did. According to Virginia Tech’s own Web page, “The town of Blacksburg and the Virginia Tech campus experience very little crime. In a recent National Citizens Survey, 91 percent of Blacksburg’s residents reported that they feel safe in their neighborhoods.” (http://www.vt.edu/ where_we_are/blacksburg/index. html) Even in a safe neighborhood, such as a rural area of Virginia, a disaster can strike—and yes, a disaster can happen here, or where you are but are you prepared? The method in which we handle an emergency may not only save lives, but can also have a direct impact on our students, our patients, our organizations, and our communities. Tragically, disasters do happen, and they are a wake-up call for us to take action now! It makes sense for us to be prepared. In the May 2008 issue of Reader’s Digest (p. 15), there are two little inserts that could easily be overlooked. One states, “After the Virginia Tech shootings, NIU (Northern Illinois University) instituted a response policy, and it was put to the test in February. Alerts went out to students and faculty within minutes of the shooting. Bravo to NIU for its handling of this tragic incident. I hope your special report will be a wake-up call for parents of college students everywhere.” The writer of that quote was G.W. in Chicago, Illinois. Who would have thought that a campus shooting like the one at Virginia Tech would happen again? But it did. Madeline Conway of Naperville, Illinois, is also quoted as stating, “I’m a high school senior trying to decide where to go to college next year. I’ve been leaning toward the University of Michigan. I learned from your article that U-M has a comprehensive security plan—another plus.” It makes sense for us to be prepared, like the University of Michigan and other institutions and organizations. You can find out more about the University of Michigan’s emergency management procedures at the following Web site: http://www.umemergencymanagement.umich.edu/epp/ flipchart.shtml. We can learn from these tragedies and develop an action plan—a plan made today to minimize the impact of emergencies tomorrow. An emergency could happen anywhere! Many institutions have begun developing disaster plans or have shaken the dust off the plans that they have. Recent disasters—from the hurricanes in the Gulf, to the tornadoes in the central states, and from the droughts in the southeast, to the shootings 6 Executive Housekeeping Today/June 2008 http://www.vt.edu/where_we_are/blacksburg/index.html http://www.vt.edu/where_we_are/blacksburg/index.html http://www.vt.edu/where_we_are/blacksburg/index.html http://www.umemergencymanagement.umich.edu/epp/flipchart.shtml http://www.umemergencymanagement.umich.edu/epp/flipchart.shtml http://www.umemergencymanagement.umich.edu/epp/flipchart.shtml

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Executive Housekeeping Today - June 2008

Executive Housekeeping Today - June 2008 Contents Executive Corner The Fundamentals of Safety Man vs. Machine: Equipment Safety in Professional Cleaning Operations Frugal Housekeeper Planning for Disaster Eliminating Bed Bugs 2008 Candidate Information Executive Profile IHW Product Information The Green Scene Spring Board Briefing 2008 Call to Convention 2008 Convention Information USGBC Green Tip Product Highlights New Members Joint IEHA/ISSA Members CEH/REH Members Advertisers' Index Calendar of Events Inside I.E.H.A. What I.E.H.A. Has Done for Me

Executive Housekeeping Today - June 2008

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