[Note: Program specific Evacuation and Intruder Protocol procedures are also covered in the Hillcrest Emergency Manuals.]

If, as a result of an emergency/disaster, the threat of such, or for any other reason, campus facilities cannot support adequate safety for students and staff, and/or care and treatment of students, evacuation procedures will be implemented. Evacuation procedures will only be initiated by the Executive Director, Senior Vice President, the Program Director and/or his/her designee, or by an authorized member of the agency Senior Management Team.

After being notified and confirming, and/or determining that an emergency evacuation is necessary, the Executive Director, Senior Vice President, and/or the Program Director or the administrator in charge will contact Central Administration and apprise them of the situation. The administrator in charge will make arrangements to evacuate the campus, including all students and staff, to the nearest suitable relocation site, preferably another Hillcrest site. The day program will relocate students to their residences, if that can be safely done. The Executive Director, Senior Vice President, and/or the Program Director will determine what supplies, medication and records can safely be prepared for evacuation, and when. However, the safety, well-being, and protection of the students and staff are always the first and foremost priority of all decision makers during the evacuation process.

If conditions are such that supplies, water and food, medication and records can be prepared for transport without compromising the safety of students and staff, the Executive Director, Senior Vice President, and/or the Program Director or his/her designee will notify all available department heads and supervisors of the need to evacuate the campus. He/she will provide direction to department heads as to how they and their staff will be deployed during the evacuation and relocation with regard to preparing supplies, food and water, medication and records; securing and preparing vehicles; communications; or assisting direct care staff with students.

If conditions are such that supplies, water and food, medication and records cannot safely be prepared for transport, department heads and their available staff, and supervisors will be deployed in preparing the students and staff for transport as soon as possible, initiating security procedures for the campus, and gathering telephones, cell phones and walkie talkies for emergency communication during the evacuation.

If conditions allow, the nursing staff at residential programs will prepare at least one day’s medication for all students. They will also secure for travel all lists and information related to the daily meds and medical needs of the students being evacuated.

Provided it is safe to do so, the residential supervisor on duty will bring the students’ Emergency Medical Files and, additionally, necessary supplies from the campus to the relocation site. Supplies will be selected based on current, emerging and projected conditions, and the selected relocation site. Supplies may include such things as bed linens, articles of clothing, ADL supplies.

Once the students and staff have reached the relocation site, the supervisor on duty will notify the Program Director or the manager in charge if he/she is not at the relocation site. The supervisor and/or available administrators will survey the site and make a list of supplies that are needed. Once the list of supplies has been compiled, the supervisor will call the other campuses and/or emergency management agencies to procure the needed supplies.

If there is not enough bed space at a single campus, the students will then be placed in the other campuses or relocation sites on a space available basis. The Program Director or the manager in charge will then notify the nursing department that the students are being evacuated and the nursing department shall insure that the students’ medications and medication charts, if available, are delivered to the campus(s), provided it is safe to do so. The supervisor will also bring student case records and medication files, and deliver them to the campus nurse.
If evacuated residential students cannot be housed at either a Hillcrest campus or the administrative offices, the students shall be housed at a motel or emergency shelter until suitable on campus quarters are available. If this contingency becomes necessary, the Program Director or the manager in charge and Central Administration will arrange for necessary staffing and support.

If this contingency becomes necessary, the Program Director or the manager in charge will contact motels and/or emergency shelters in the area and reserve space for the students and staff.

The Program Director or the manager in charge will keep the nursing department and Central Administration appraised of the students’ relocation sites. The nursing department will insure that the students’ medications and any necessary medical supplies, if available, are in place at the relocation site, provided it is safe to do so.

Finally, in the event that a student at any program refuses to leave a building during an actual disaster evacuation, as opposed to an evacuation drill, the student will be physically removed by staff in a manner consistent with Hillcrest’s physical intervention policy, if possible. However, since an evacuation would only be conducted if remaining inside a building or on a campus would present imminent danger of serious injury to students and staff, any student refusing to cooperate with evacuation procedures will be physically removed by staff as quickly and safely as possible.