Mitigation Activities General –
The purpose of mitigation activities is to prevent hazards from developing into disasters, or to reduce the effects of disasters when they cannot be prevented. Mitigation can help to maximize safety for students and staff, reduce or eliminate the need for an emergency response and greatly reduce the recovery period. For emergency preparedness and management, Hillcrest focuses on both structural and non-structural mitigation activities.
Structural mitigation activities include:
• Emergency power generators that are regularly inspected and serviced.
• Monitoring long term weather forecasts during storm seasons.
• Utilization of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) weather radios at all residential and service sites.
• Utilization of computer desktop and cell phone weather and emergency applications with severe weather alert capability.
• The maintenance of essential emergency provisions and supplies, including water, food, student medications, gasoline for agency vehicles and gas powered generators, and propane for propane powered generators.
• The utilization of Hillcrest owned and operated snow removal vehicles and equipment capable of managing even blizzard conditions.
Non-Structural mitigation activities include:
• Staff training in emergency response policies and procedures, including those for evacuation to local and/or distant relocation sites.
• Regularly scheduled fire and disaster evacuation drills.
• Supervisor and Assistant Supervisor training in generator operations (for manually operated generators).
• Before the storm season begins, a thorough hazard surveillance inspection of the facility (exterior) grounds and the remediation of any potential exterior hazards (e.g., overhanging tree limbs; inadequately secured power or communications cables).
• Maintain a current on-call list of trained fill-in staff to accommodate absences.
• Maintain relationships with local and regional emergency responders, consult with and communicate periodically with them about all phases of emergency management, and utilize whatever relevant education and trainings resources they offer.
A) Loss of electric power is relatively rare (0 – 3 times/ year) and, most commonly, for very short periods of time (less than one hour) when it does occur. These losses are managed through the use of emergency power generators at each Hillcrest residential campus. The generators are positioned to insure safety, the maintenance of relative comfort for students (e.g., heating systems in designated locations), and adequacy of food storage. Hillcrest is in the process of transitioning from the use of manually operated, gasoline powered generators to automatic, propane-powered generators.
In the event of loss of power at the day education program, Housatonic Academy, students can be transported back to their residences.
B) Staff travel – Thanks to the effectiveness of the local municipalities in performing snow removal and road maintenance activities during winter months, staff travel is rarely affected. If staff travel is affected for short periods (e.g., half a day), agency staff with four wheel drive vehicles can and will assist with staff transport to/from work sites, as possible.
Hillcrest also maintains a current list of trained fill-in staff to accommodate absences.
Staff who are unable to travel home after work can be temporarily housed on campus, as necessary, separate and apart from students.
Hillcrest also has a mandating policy that requires staff who are working to continue working past the end of their shift if necessary and directed to do so due to inadequate coverage. If necessary, the agency will implement the mandating policy to insure staffing ratios necessary to keep residents and staff safe.
In the event of severely inclement weather, the day education program at Housatonic Academy would be cancelled, as it is when local public schools are cancelled due to weather.
Similarly, the outpatient program, Hillcrest Psychological Services, will cancel appointments and/or close In the event of severe inclement weather.