11
June
2015
|
11:20 AM
America/Chicago

UHD Partners with Local Agencies to Prepare for Potential Emergencies

Each year, the Texas Division of Emergency Management (TDEM) hosts a conference which brings together thousands of public and private partners in emergency management from across the state. This year's conference was held in San Antonio from May 12 through May 15 and boasted a total of 164 workshops offering opportunities to share best practices. In a partnership between UHD and Sam Houston State University, UHD Director of Emergency Management, Carol Manousos, co-presented "Linking Boots and Books: Partnering Higher Education in Emergency Management." The workshop explored the higher education community as a force multiplier to emergency management practitioners, focusing on best practices of coordination and collaboration.

Manousos is also practicing coordination and collaboration with local emergency response partners. Manousos has partnered with the Houston Fire Department, METRO, Houston Police Department, Harris County Sheriff's Office and Transportation Security Administration to enhance UHD's capabilities for an effective response. The University will host a discussion-based exercise with these partners in July, followed by a Full Scale Hostile Intruder Exercise in August.

"It's important that we be prepared for anything," Manousos said. "Common tactics, communication capabilities, protocols and procedures need to be well practiced, exercised and known by response personnel before an event occurs."

For more information about emergency preparedness at UHD, contact Carol Manousos.