St. Charles Parish’s emergency and disaster preparedness capabilities ranked it among 13 programs accredited nationally.
“It ensures we are taking a holistic approach to things, and we have the capability and resources to implement all aspects of emergency management,” said Ron Perry, director of the parish’s Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. “This achievement recognizes the efforts of parish government and its strategic partners, including the St. Charles Sheriff’s Office, St. Charles Parish School System, St. Charles Parish Hospital and emergency medical services, as well as the efforts of emergency operations officers and staff.”
Perry said the hospital caring for patients, the Sheriff’s Office aiding evacuations, the School District caring for students or providing shelters in a disaster and fire departments assisting with fires or hazardous materials are all examples of the necessity of coordinated emergency response.
The Lexington, Ky.-based Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP) named the parish among the newly accredited programs nationally. Statewide, the parish is among one of two parishes to receive this accreditation.
EMAP is as an independent nonprofit organization promoting excellence and accountability in emergency management and homeland security programs, by establishing credible standards applied in a peer review accreditation process.For accreditation, programs must document compliance with industry standards and undergo a peer-review assessment by EMAP-trained assessors.
The parish will be reassessed every five years.
According to Blake Boudreaux, safety officer and emergency preparedness coordinator at St. Charles Parish Hospital, “This is another great example of how well the different agencies work together. St. Charles Parish EOC has built a strong infrastructure through careful planning, community partnerships, and programs that enables all of us to respond to a wide range of emergencies when they arise.”
EMAP evaluates program compliance in areas like planning, resource management, training, exercises, evaluations and corrective actions, and communications and warning. It also recognizes a program’s ability to utilize personnel, resources and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations in preparation for and in response to an emergency.
Perry said preparedness is critical with more than 20 industrial facilities posing an array of natural and man-made risks, as well as hurricanes and flooding.
“We have taken a very deep look at the threats and hazards that have threatened the parish,” he said. “EMAP makes sure that plans, procedures, training, drills and exercises are taking place on a regular basis to confirm our capabilities, as well as that the threats and hazards are comprehensively analyzed and have a response capability in place to address each of them.”
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