SECTION 3: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS FOR STAFF

Goal:

Better understand which members of the organization’s HR team can be available during an emergency, identify protocols for communicating with staff and stakeholders, and consider the staff responses to disasters.

GPD Requirement:

The plan must prepare GPD staff as to how to respond during a disaster. The disaster plan should include procedures to communicate with GPD-funded program leadership. The process should also include a communication procedure with the local VA medical facility to provide status updates and/or to request assistance with coordinating Veteran placement if needed.

Objectives:

Objectives	Outcomes	Tools Checklist
1.    Determine who can help and the needs people may have during a disaster	1.    Emergency contact information for staff 2.    Staff availability roster	• Personnel Emergency Contact & Availability Template  • Staff & Volunteer Roster Template
2.    Develop emergency communication lists 3.    Determine communication policies and procedures that staff need to follow before, during, and after a disaster	3.    Emergency contact information for response agencies, GPD, and stakeholders 4.    Emergency Communication Plan	• Emergency Contact List Template  •  Emergency Communication Policies  •  Emergency Communication Call Tree  •  Emergency Communication Plan Template
4.    Develop a training program and schedule for staff so they know their response roles during a disaster 5.    Create plans and timelines for updating disaster plans, re-training staff, and inventorying supplies and equipment	5.   Staff members should understand their individual response roles during a disaster 6.   Staff members should know protocols for their organization’s relevant disaster plans 7.   Organization will have set timelines for the updating of preparedness plans, the re-training of staff and Veterans, and the inventorying of supplies and equipment	•  Disaster Preparedness Training List Template  • Calendar for Disaster Preparedness Training and Maintenance Template

Additional Resources:

• Section 2 Organizational Disaster Plans
• Existing staff rosters from HR

Actions:

1. Getting Ready
   • Determine who may want or need to be involved.
     • All staff will be asked to fill out and return a form.
       • HR director and volunteer coordinator
       • Department leads
     • Emergency response personnel in VA (including VA GPD Liaison) & community to be asked to confirm roles and contact procedures.
   • Meet with HR to confirm what types of information about individual staff members is considered sensitive or should be confidential. (NOTE: Per EEOC-NVTA-2001-1, federal disability discrimination laws do not prevent employers from requesting and appropriately using information necessary for a comprehensive emergency evacuation plan. However, employee disclosure of this information is voluntary and cannot be mandated.)
     • OPTIONAL: HR director can help collect staff availability forms and identify any confidential staff access and functional needs reported on the forms.
2. Assessing Staff Availability, Capabilities, and Needs in a Disaster Response
   • Review the Personnel Emergency Contact & Availability template and modify it to reflect the types of information to collect from staff, including their availability, capabilities, and any possible conflicts or restrictions.
   • Complete the Personnel Emergency Contact & Availability form and Staff & Volunteer Roster template.
     • Gather information from all staff and volunteers securely. Use the Personnel Emergency Contact & Availability form, a simplified email, or individual meetings with each staff member.
       • In your message, include a brief explanation of how information will be useful in disaster planning and response, how it will be kept confidential, and who will have access to the information.
     • Use the Staff & Volunteer Roster template to enter data for each employee from individually submitted personnel forms. This document should NOT be included in the disaster plan. HR should maintain and update this document and keep a hard copy in a secure location.
3. Creating Communications Protocols
   • Completing the Emergency Contact List template
     • Use the Emergency Contact List template to compile a list of all individuals, organizations (local and VAMCs), companies (utilities, funding agencies, etc.), and emergency response (fire, police, emergency medical services, etc.) needed during or immediately after an emergency. (NOTE: VA GPD Inspection checklist #58 requires that “procedures for on-going VA law enforcement monitoring have been established.”)
       • Contact each entity on the list and discuss their availability to respond to the organization in an emergency. Revise the list based on information gathered.
       • Discuss access to the organization’s facilities in an emergency (e.g., having an access key available at a fire or police department).
       • Per VA GPD Inspection checklist #72, emergency contacts must be prominently posted.
     • Reporting critical incidents to the VAMC GPD Liaison
       • Contact the GPD Liaison and confirm the procedure for facilitating assistance in an emergency.
       • Identify the GPD Liaison’s role in providing or facilitating assistance in an emergency, then write the information on the bottom of the Emergency Contact List.
       • Add the VAMC GPD Liaison’s contact information to the Emergency Contact List.
   • Drafting an Emergency Communications Policy
     • Write rules and procedures for how internal and external communications will be coordinated, delineate authority, and describe how and what sensitive information can be shared.
   • Completing an Emergency Communication Call Tree
     • Determine who will need to be contacted. Use the Emergency Contact Lists as a reference and add to it as needed.
     • NOTE: The Emergency Communication Tree is a simple template and will most likely need to be altered to fit your organization’s size and communication needs.
     • Determine the type of call tree to implement. Common options are a progressive communication call tree (i.e., the first person contacted will contact the next person on the call tree), or a call tree wherein department leaders contact everyone on their team.
     • Only insert names into the Communication Call Tree. Contact information (Rosters) for all staff, volunteers, and Veterans should then be divided by teams within the organization and led by a manager or point person who will initiate the communication tree for their team.

Questions to Think About When Drafting the Communications Policy

• If the organization is part of a larger multi-site entity, are there communication policies/requirements that must followed?
• Who will have the authority to initiate the communication plan?
• What information can be shared with Veterans?
• If there are restrictions about who can speak with different groups (e.g., media, Veterans’ families), what are they?
  • Who will communicate with emergency response, parent/sister organizations, funders, stakeholders, union representatives, the media, etc.?
  • Who will communicate with VA GPD Liaisons, VA Police, etc.?
• When and how will sensitive medical and financial information be shared?
• How and when can staff, volunteers, and Veterans contact family members/friends after a disaster?
• How and when will family members/emergency contacts, staff, volunteers, and Veterans be notified if there is an injury or death?

Questions to Think About When Drafting the Emergency Communication Tree

• Who will communicate messaging and to whom will the message be directed?
  • How many team leaders are available?
  • How many staff members can feasibly be on each team?
  • Who will communicate with Veterans?

Questions to Think About When Drafting the Emergency Communication Plan

• What are the steps for communication before and after a disaster plan has been activated?
  • Who is responsible for completing these steps, if applicable?
• How will communication occur inside and outside of business hours?
• What tools will be used to get the message(s) out?
  • Examples: Automated emergency messaging systems, mass texts/emails, overhead paging systems
• How will communication occur if regular tools are unavailable?
  • What combination of low- and high-tech communications tools are available for obtaining and disseminating information?
• What communication needs must be included in planning (e.g., languages other than English, sign language, large-print and voice messaging for visually impaired)?
• Which essential and back-up essential personnel will need to be onsite? Who can work remotely?
• How will out of area staff or Veterans be contacted?
• What steps must be taken if someone cannot be reached?

4. Drafting an Emergency Communications Plan
   • Using the completed Section 2 Emergency Response Plans as a guide, determine what overarching communication actions need to be taken before and after a disaster plan is activated. See the Emergency Communications Plan template and sample Emergency Communications Plan for example content.
   • Decide who is responsible for these actions and when they will take place.
     • Note: Some actions can be assigned to a specific person (e.g., department leads should be responsible for communicating with leadership), but some actions will be completed by whomever is present and can fulfill that role.
     • Identify essential personnel and back-up personnel to be onsite. Identify who can work remotely.
     • During an emergency, Veterans will look to staff to lead them, so it is important that staff know their individual response roles.
     • Determine which key contacts and leaders need to be alerted and updated during an emergency.
   • Remember to have plans for communicating with staff and Veterans during work hours and outside of work hours, as well as alternative options if major communications systems are unavailable (e.g., severe weather damages cell phone towers).

4. Training and Education for Staff
   This section provides guidance and suggestions for identifying potentially relevant trainings and preparedness actions. The VA GPD does not specifically require a particular type of disaster trainings or drills for staff. However, some form of staff preparedness training should be identified and conducted regularly.
   • Review the comprehensive list of suggested trainings on the Relevant Disaster Preparedness Trainings chart below. Identify the trainings that would be useful or necessary for organization staff.

Relevant Disaster Preparedness Trainings
Suggested Trainings	Internal Reference Documents	External Resources	Staff to Be Trained
Disaster Response Plan Overview	Completed Organizational Disaster Plan	Community partners who helped develop plan https://www.ready.gov/training-0	Everyone (Staff & Veterans)
Any department or team-specific response roles within the disaster plan	Completed Organizational Disaster Plan	Community partners who helped develop plan	Staff in Specific Department
Environmental and Building Safety Assessment	Surveying & Protecting Property (Section 5)	CARF Standards Manual & resources specialist	Facilities or Assigned Staff
Workplace Violence Prevention and Response	Shelter-In-Place Plan (Special Considerations)	Local violence prevention groupsLocal police department https://www.ready.gov/active-shooter	All Staff
Violence Prevention and De-escalation		Local violence prevention groups	All Staff
Delegation of Authority	Initiation of Response Plans (Section 2)		Leadership, Managers
Staff Personal Preparedness Training	Assessing Staff Availability, Capabilities, and Needs	Local American Red Cross	All Staff
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Training	Completed Organizational Disaster Plan	Local CERT or Citizen Corps group	Self-Selected Staff
First Aid, CPR, etc.	Emergency Medical Response Plan (Section 2)	Local American Red Cross	All Staff
Disaster Wellness, Stress Management	Wellness Policy (Annex 3)	Local mental health organizations	Supervisors, Managers
Psychological First Aid	Wellness Policy (Annex 3)	https://learn.nctsn.org/course/index.php?categoryid=11	Interested or Clinical Staff
Emergency Response Drill (Various procedures, 1-2 annually)	Completed Organizational Disaster Plan	https://www.ready.gov/business/testing/exercises	Everyone (Staff & Veterans)
Evacuation Drill	Evacuation Plan (Section 2)	Community partners who helped develop plan; local fire department	Everyone (Staff & Veterans)
Fire Drill	Evacuation Plan (Section 2)	Community partners who helped develop plan; local fire department	Everyone (Staff & Veterans)
Emergency Medical Response	Emergency Medical Response Plan (Section 2)		Assigned Staff

2. Completing the Disaster Preparedness Training List template
   • From Section 2 Disaster Plans, determine disaster response roles of the following categories of staff:
     • All Staff (all actions shaded in grey are not assigned to specific staff in advance)
     • Leadership Team and Management Team
     • Specifically trained staff volunteers for the disaster response team (e.g., evacuation leads)
     • Any department with a specific role within the disaster plan (e.g., facilities, clinical team, etc.)
   • List the response roles and types of staff that should be trained on them in the Disaster Preparedness Training List template (Training and Staff Category to be Trained columns). See template for modifiable examples. The following are the most highly recommended basic trainings:
   • Identify and list who will be creating and delivering the trainings and drills in the Disaster Preparedness Training List template (the Trainer column). Determine which trainings and drills will be designed and delivered by internal staff (most likely the disaster preparedness team). Some trainings, such as first aid, urban search and rescue, or psychological first aid may be most appropriately provided by outside entities with specialized expertise. See Relevant Disaster Preparedness Training sheet for references for creating trainings and finding outside training resources.
   • Determine departments with specific response roles within the disaster plan (e.g., facilities staff secures the building and checks for gas leaks, client services informs Veterans of what to bring when evacuating).
   • Identify others in the organization (e.g., those leading group therapy) for assistance with developing and leading trainings and drills.
   • The Relevant Disaster Preparedness Training chart lists resources and entities that can deliver necessary trainings.
   • For all-staff trainings, work with HR to identify approximately how much staff time will be allocated for these meetings and when to schedule them.

General All-Staff Trainings	Overview of disaster response plans including activation and deactivation of shelter-in-place, evacuation, and relocation plans; the goal is to inform all staff of the disaster plans in Section 2 Communications plan and call down treeDrills to practice all response plans, including evacuation and fire drills, shelter-in-place and lockdown, and emergency medical response
Specific Trainings	Department-specific response team roles and responsibilities within the disaster planTraining for evacuation leads (also called “floor wardens”) on response roles
Additional Trainings	Violence prevention and de-escalationCERT (Community Emergency Response Team)

3. Completing the Calendar for Disaster Preparedness Training and Maintenance template
   • Provide this template to HR or work with HR to create a schedule for training that will: present the plan to staff, schedule trainings, perform exercises and drills, and decide how often trainings should occur.

Templates

• Personnel Emergency Contact & Availability template
• Staff & Volunteer Roster template
• Emergency Contact List template
• Emergency Communications Policy template
• Emergency Communication Call-Tree template
• Emergency Communications Plan template
• Disaster Preparedness Training List template
• Calendar for Disaster Preparedness Training & Maintenance template