Date:
4/3/2008
Contact: Wendel Sloan at 575.562.2253
PORTALES—Eastern New Mexico University is taking steps toward advanced emergency preparedness on its campuses. Seventy-eight administrators and staff members from all three campuses in Portales, Roswell, and Ruidoso recently received notification from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)/Emergency Management Institute of the successful completion of two introductory courses: National Incident Management System (NIMS) 100 and Incident Command System (ICS) 700. Completion of these courses demonstrates ENMU’s commitment to more effectively respond to natural disasters, human-made disasters, public health emergencies, and other internal campus emergencies and events.
NIMS is a comprehensive, national approach to incident management that is applicable to all jurisdictional levels and across functional disciplines. NIMS is designed to apply to a full spectrum of potential incidents and hazard scenarios, regardless of size or complexity. NIMS is also intended to improve coordination and cooperation between public and private entities in a variety of domestic incident management activities.
ICS is a standardized, on-scene, all-hazard incident management concept. ICS allows its users to adopt an integrated organizational structure to match the complexities and demands of single or multiple incidents without being hindered by jurisdictional boundaries.
According to Attila Hertelendy, ENMU assistant professor of Health Care Management and director of the EMS Management Program, staff training will be provided on a continuing basis in order to build on these introductory courses.
“Eastern is a leading institution in this endeavor,” said Hertelendy. “At a recent Emergency Preparedness Summit for Campus Executives that I attended at New Mexico Tech in Socorro, officials from the Department of Homeland Security commended us on our having so many trained in NIMS.”