Emergency crisis handbook

As event leader it was extremely helpful. The clear directions helped guide a calm, unified, team response. I knew that no evidence-based part of the treatment algorithm would be missed, giving our patient the best chance for full recovery. I noted climbing EtCO2, despite increased minute ventilation. It helped our team to manage this unexpected event efficiently and accurately. Having the emergency manual as a staple resource in the OR and at home is extremely helpful… I look to the manual to guide me, either during an event or after one to make sure that I have covered everything.

Tunnel vision is a real issue under stress when caring for unstable patients or in code situations and emergency manuals can help. Big thumbs up mate!! Thanks Brian for your kind words! Lovely to hear nice feedback. Made my day as I happily ish sit in the library studying for part 2. Just added minor update to crisis manual file.

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Excellent handbook. In fact, you may well be delegated responsibility for managing the missions' response to certain types of crises. Things to keep in mind include:. Make sure the consular portion of the EAP is current, and that it makes sense to you. Determine what aspects of the EAP can be maintained in an unclassified environment and provided to LE staff employees. Take an active role in keeping the American Liaison Network current and test it regularly. Consider communicating with the U.

Encourage regular, formal meetings of the full team, even when there is no immediate crisis on the horizon. Ensure that meetings, recommendations and actions are reported by cable that includes a CASC tag. Have your senior managers occasionally either accompany or substitute for you at EAC meetings. NOTE: If you are the sole consular officer at post, ensure that your consular back-up is familiar with the disaster plan and ready to represent consular interests at EAC meetings.

Store at your residence the information and equipment necessary for you to function from there in the event the consular section is unreachable or unusable. Establish an e-mail mailing list, with both official and private e-mail addresses. Identify who in the consular section will be considered essential staff in the event of authorized or ordered departure, drawdown, etc. Keep in mind that American family members and consular and associates would most likely depart post in a voluntary or ordered departure.

A crisis management exercise at your post is an excellent way to test planning and identify problems to address before a crisis hits. Host Country Crisis Management Training Opportunities: If your host country is engaged in crisis management exercises, it may be possible for you to observe or participate in relevant portions.

It may be possible for you to participate in similar training with U. Use country team and EAC meetings to ensure that key embassy officers from other sections are well versed in the consular role in a crisis.

See 7 FAM Your responsibilities by and large mirror those of the section chief. In addition, you might want to pay close attention to the following:. The work you do during a crisis may make it impossible for you to continue to do the work you normally do. Have a reliable picture of the Section's management resources.

If the section chief is managing the task force during the day, you should be managing it in the evenings, or vice versa.

You and the section chief should agree in advance that certain basic functions and responsibilities are yours, for example, compiling and managing the task force shift rosters, overseeing appropriate use of the automated systems, etc. ACS day-to-day operations and routine contacts will often form the core of the mission's planning and reaction to a crisis.

Some measures to consider:. In a crisis, U. Remember, consular associates are often in the first group to leave post. Work with other section managers to train back-ups from other parts of the section in ACS functions.

If needed use the EAC to discuss the training of LE staff employees from other Embassy sections to back up consular staff in a crisis. Ensure that all consular officers in the section know how to issue a passport, report of death, etc. Make certain your off-site equipment hand seals, laptop software, printers, etc.

Data on where and how many U. Identify what activities the ACS Unit can defer, and in what order, if there is a crisis. You need to think about both sides of the coin--how to provide emergency services to meet the crisis, and at the same time how to reduce or shut down routine visa services in an organized fashion. Unless they have already been closed for security reasons, Non Immigrant Visa NIV Operations should be the first to close when you need to provide extra staff for the crisis.

While the host government and even other embassy officers may pressure you to keep visa services open, the protection and welfare of U. Have they been cross-trained in ACS functions, for example?

Immigrant visa IV processing, given its complex nature, scheduling issues, importance to petitioners and beneficiaries, and the mechanics of the preference system, is significantly more difficult to shut down than NIV processing. Normally, you would consider this only after it is apparent that closing down NIV operations alone is insufficient for the crisis at hand. If faced with the need to temporarily halt or reduce IV issuance, either because of need or security considerations, consider the following:.

Prioritize work accordingly;. As an entry level officer or consular associate newly arrived at post, there are steps you can and should take to make yourself a more valued member of the team in the event of a disaster or crisis:. When you move from temporary quarters to a new apartment, or finally get your phone installed, or get a cellular phone, let your Unit and Section chiefs know.

Don't count on the usual Management Section locator updates; and. If you speak a third language, you have had professional grief counseling training, you are have information systems expertise, you were a nurse or a fireman in a past career, etc.

As an LE staff employee, your knowledge of the local situation language, geography, culture, contacts will prove invaluable in any crisis. You can best serve your section in an emergency by focusing on the following:. Use your range of contacts within the host government and the community at large to full advantage:. With your colleagues, discuss and identify successes or failures with earlier disasters or exercises, and bring them to the attention of the section chief. Brainstorm possible crises- as a local resident, YOU may have the best handle on the most likely scenarios.

If you have special skills, abilities, languages, and experience, make them known to consular management. Skills could include:. The following topics and recommendations may not all apply to your post. Since the host government has primary responsibility for responding to an emergency, your requirements for action may be inversely proportional to the capabilities of the host government to act. In any event, review the following guidelines and recommendations, adopting and adapting those that best fit your particular situation.

The consular section will have a significant amount of useful material as a result of its normal activities. This information should be collected and appropriately formatted for use in a crisis. Some examples include:. Outside of the consular section, there are several mission elements that are ready sources of useable information and contacts. You will need assistance and support from the Management section more than from anywhere else in the mission.

Keep them updated on your planning and potential needs by discussing things such as:. The main contact at post for the country's national and local police forces. Can arrange for physical security as needed for consular officers proceeding to scene of the crisis. Good source of information on how the public is responding to the crisis;.