We hold our collective breath, watch the weather reports and hope that the Texas Gulf Coast dodges the hurricane bullet again this year during the 2008 Hurricane Season which runs from June 1 through November.

Are You Ready?

“We all must remain aware of possible weather flare-ups and their ramifications during the entire hurricane season,” Robert “Safety Bob” Emery, Dr.P.H., assistant vice president for Safety, Health, Environment and Risk Management, says. “Given the issues with evacuation problems during the lead-up to Hurricane Rita in 2005, we should be prepared for Houston’s emergency management teams and those of the surrounding counties to possibly ‘pull the trigger’ a bit earlier.”

However, he cautions, it is important to remember that warnings and evacuation orders for one place in the greater Houston area may not be applicable to what is happening in the Texas Medical Center (TMC), Emery says.

Be Alert

“UT Health Science Center decisions will be based on conditions at the TMC and surrounding areas. Students and employees living in the most vulnerable areas — Galveston, Chambers, Brazoria and East Harris counties, for example, need to work with their supervisors in advance about any leave they may need to take due to their possible inability to get to the TMC.

In emergency situations, decisions regarding the open, restricted-access or closed status of The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are made by executive leadership based on the conditions impacting the institution at the central Texas Medical Center campus as well as other locations. In preparation, at the institutional level, a flood door closing drill was conducted May 17 and the health science center executive leadership will review the Emergency Situation Response Plan in a tabletop drill Friday, May 30.

Your Roles and Responsibilities

The following summary is designed to serve as a reminder of the roles and responsibilities of all students, fellows, residents, employees, supervisors and institutional leadership in times of emergency.

Student Responsibilities

Students are:

• Expected to attend classes and deal with their normal academic responsibilities when the UT health science center is open.
• Encouraged to:
  – Make home “all hazards” preparations for emergency situations and
  – Ensure care for family and pets in any type of emergency.
  Included in these preparations should be school contact information so that notifications can be provided if an individual is unable to
  report to class.
• Responsible for knowing how to access information about the university’s status open, restricted-access, or closed (see Emergency Information Contacts).

Students must understand that:

• If the institution is open, but they are unable to arrive to their class for whatever reason, the absence must be addressed with the course instructor, and established course and school attendance expectations will be adhered to.
• The buildings of the health science center are not a place of refuge, so in situations where the institution is in a condition of restricted access, only those individuals absolutely needing access to university buildings will be allowed inside. Examples of such essential persons would include:
  – Animal care workers and
  – Facilities support personnel.
  In situations where the institution is closed by government-mandated evacuation, no building access will be permitted.

Employee, Fellow and Resident Responsibilities

Employees are expected to fulfill their normal work responsibilities when the university is open.

• Employees, fellows and residents are encouraged to:
  – Make home “all hazards” preparations for emergency situations
  and
  – Ensure care for family and pets during any type of emergency.
  The buildings of the health science center are not a place of refuge for family and pets in emergency situations, hence the increased need for at-home preparation.
• Employees, fellows and residents should have supervisor contact information with them at all times so that notifications can be made if
  an employee is unable to report to work.
• Employees, fellows and residents who have been identified by their supervisors as critical to the continued operation of the unit are expected to have preparations in place for their families and pets so they can fulfill work obligations.
• Employees, fellows and residents are responsible for knowing how to access information about the health science center’s open, restricted-access, closed status (see Emergency Information contacts).
• Employees, fellows and residents must understand that if the institution is open, but they are unable to arrive to their workplace for whatever reason, their supervisor must be notified and the appropriate type of
  leave time must be utilized.
• When the institution is in a condition of restricted access, only those who absolutely need access to university buildings, such as animal care workers and facilities support personnel, will be allowed to enter. If the institution is closed by government-mandated evacuation, no building access will be permitted.

Supervisor Responsibilities

Supervisors are responsible for the identification of essential functions that must be maintained for their unit’s continuous operation, including employee education about these essential operations.

• Supervisors also are responsible for having back-up capabilities so that services can be continued, even if an employee or employees
  cannot report to work.
• Supervisors are responsible for maintaining means for contacting their employees after hours.
• Supervisors should be aware of the types of leave that employees may use in situations where a region is affected, but the institution remains open. Examples may include annual leave, compensatory time, or holiday worked.

Institutional Responsibilities

The university is responsible for:

• Maintaining a plan for responding to emergency situations, including means of informing executive leadership of situations, carrying out desired actions, and informing the health science center community;
• Maintaining an aggressive communication information system through Public Affairs in the Office of Institutional Advancement to inform all of the health science center community about institutional status and developments;
• Providing for systems that can maintain certain support infrastructures during an emergency, such as controlled access, security, electricity, water and temperature/humidity control;
• Ensuring that institutional decisions during emergency situations are aligned with local decisions.
  – If Harris County is under a mandatory evacuation order, then the university would have no choice but to close.
  – If Galveston or any other county in the region is under a mandatory evacuation, but Houston is not, and the health science
  center remains open, then employees and students from affected areas who cannot attend to their regular duties need to make individual arrangements for absence from school or work.

—Pamela Lewis, Institutional Advancement  

Date Posted: 05/20/2008