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CHCC holds advanced emergency preparedness training
CHCC staff and community partners attend ICS 300-400 training at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan. (Contributed Photo)
The Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Public Health and Hospital Emergency Preparedness Program held an emergency preparedness training for CHCC staff from June 18 to 21 at the Pacific Islands Club Saipan.
Staff from the Division of Community and Cultural Affairs and the Commonwealth Ports Authority also joined the training.
The training covered Federal Emergency Management Agency Incident Command System courses 300 and 400, which are designed to enhance responders, including the private sector and non-governmental organizations, ability to work together effectively during an emergency.
Use of the ICS is needed when an incident requires response activities from multiple local emergency management and response agencies. Effective cross-jurisdictional coordination using common processes and systems is critical to a successful emergency response, and this system provides a flexible, yet standardized core mechanism for coordinated and collaborative incident management.
All CHCC staff are required to be certified in basic ICS courses for disaster preparedness, which can be taken online at https://training.fema.gov/nims/. Advanced courses, such as 300 and 400, must be taken in a classroom setting. The instructors for this training were Bryan Vidrene and Chris Curatilo of Tempest Planning LLC, which “specializes in assisting public health and medical preparedness programs with the design and execution of emergency preparedness plans, trainings, and exercises.” (http://www.tempestplanning.com/)
Emergency preparedness training and exercises such as this are crucial to addressing gaps in the CHCC’s current disaster preparedness procedures and in strengthening the CNMI’s overall ability to carry out efficient and successful response and recovery operations during an emergency. The CHCC hopes to continue to build capacity in emergency response amongst staff and community partners and stakeholders in preparation for future incidents.
For more information about CHCC programs, follow us on Facebook and Twitter at @cnmichcc, check out our website at www.chcc.gov.mp or call us at (670) 234-8950. (PR)
