Emergency preparedness & incident command systems in residential life at University of California at Los Angeles

Jones, Shalaurey

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/29459 Copy

Description

Title

Emergency preparedness & incident command systems in residential life at University of California at Los Angeles

Author(s)

Jones, Shalaurey

Issue Date

2012-02-01T00:47:12Z

Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)

Alston, Reginald J.

Department of Study

Kinesiology & Community Health

Discipline

Community Health

Degree Granting Institution

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Degree Name

M.S.

Degree Level

Thesis

Keyword(s)

• Saftey and Security
• Residential Life
• Student Housing

Abstract

Currently the Office of Residential Life (ORL) at University of California at Los Angeles’ supports the safety and well being of over 10,000 students living in on-campus housing. It is vital to have efficient safety and security protocols in the event of an emergency or natural disaster. Even though there are policies, procedures and training for Professional staff within the department, the first responders are required to collaborate with several other agencies such as the University police department, community service officers, residential hall access monitors, counseling and psychological services, emergency medical services and many other external agencies to react quickly to student emergent or day to day needs. The major issue is that at this time there is not a standard incident management system that allows all organizations involved to respond or communicate in a uniform manner. Student Staff and/or Professional staffs generally are called to respond in emergency incidents, although UCLA is interested in implementing the use of Incident Command Systems (ICS) to help improve incident response, especially as it relates to natural disaster preparedness. The Resident Directors, whom lead emergency response in ORL are required to be trained on Disaster Preparedness, to improve emergency response. Table top exercises were implemented winter quarter to educate the staff on the basics of ICS followed by an evaluation of the Resident Directors knowledge of ICS, emergency response as well as readiness to take action in the event of emergency. It was found that most Resident Directors were ready to respond, but had little to no understanding of ICS. It was concluded that professional staff and student staff needed more training prior to the opening of fall 2011, so the safety and security committee implemented training sessions throughout August and September to help in the process.

Graduation Semester

2011-12

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29459

Copyright and License Information

Copyright 2011 Shalaurey Jones

Owning Collections