REMEMBER: For all Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine employees, announcements made through the Medical Rumor Control Hotline, 305-243-6079, will take precedence over other UM information broadcast by public media.
During a hurricane watch, time and safety are top priorities. In your office, there are many tasks to complete to prepare for a potential emergency. A comprehensive office plan is key to efficiency, organization, and most of all, employee safety. Now is the time to prepare for potential storms.
All employees should make sure their contact and emergency information is correct by updating their profile at myUM. Simply visit www.miami.edu/myUM and, on the right, under the “Personal & Biographical Info” section, click “Personal, Address and Emergency/Evacuation Information.” When a situation warrants, mass emails containing emergency information will be sent. (ENN)
Supervisors and unit emergency planners should confirm through the UReady system that their unit’s continuity plan is up-to-date and that all relevant emergency plans and policies are readily accessible. If your office does not have a continuity plan, it’s time to create one. Contact the Medical Campus Emergency Manager for help through the UReady website.
Each unit’s human resources representative should download contact and emergency information from the Prepare Data Warehouse, and keep printed copies in multiple locations.
Be sure to outline evacuation guidelines and list emergency responsibilities assigned to each employee. For insurance purposes, all capital equipment should be photographed, documented, and regularly updated on a comprehensive list. Ensure all employees have the Miller School Rumor Control /Hurricane Hotline number (305-243-6079), and hold a mandatory staff meeting to distribute and discuss the preparedness and continuity plan.
If essential employees have not been identified, select them at this meeting and communicate their role clearly to them and the entire staff to avoid confusion about who will remain or return as a storm approaches. Use the meeting to address special circumstances of employees, such as family matters or transportation issues. Also, appoint an alternate to the supervisor in case of absence. If a hurricane or tropical storm warning is issued, hold an additional staff meeting to review these guidelines.
All essential employees who will need to remain on campus during a storm are required to receive special approval in advance through security. Contact Security Emergency Management at 305-243-9466 for the request form.
Back up all computer files and gather all necessary emergency supplies, including plastic tarp and tape for covering office equipment, flashlights and batteries, first-aid materials, and anything else needed for post-disaster cleanup; most preparedness materials can be purchased from Physical Plant by calling 305-243-6019. Workers at construction sites should make sure all equipment and materials are properly secured. Immediately following the storm, all employees should call a designated contact person or supervisor to verify safety and begin recovery efforts. All students, faculty, or staff who evacuate to another area should notify the University of their relocation and new contact information by going to recover.miami.edu. This post-hurricane online “check-in” site will help us determine who is safe and where they are residing.
Remember that a hurricane is just one potential disaster for which we should all be prepared. With a comprehensive plan in place, your office will be ready to handle any emergency.
The Office of Emergency Management and the Miller School Security Department have full-time emergency managers to assist units with emergency and continuity planning, training, and specialized communications. For more information, call the Medical Campus Emergency Manager at 305-243-9466.
The Miller School of Medicine has a Campus Disaster Response and Recovery Plan that provides broad information on the campus response.
Commitment to Patient Care The University of Miami Health System (UHealth) mission of providing quality patient care makes the institution unique among the University’s programs and calls for special concerns in the event of an approaching hurricane. Emergency announcements issued from the Miller School and its hospitals and clinics may differ from statements released by the Coral Gables and Rosenstiel campuses.
For Miller School faculty and staff, announcements from Miller School leadership and updates from the Miller School’s Hurricane Hotline (305-243-6079) are the most reliable sources for information on developments on the medical campus during an emergency.
Emergency office plans for clinical departments at the Miller School should include a list of essential employees who will remain on site to address patient needs as a hurricane approaches. If Miller School leaders announce that clinics will be closed due to conditions that make it unsafe to travel or dangerous for essential employees to remain on campus, every effort must be made to contact patients and reschedule appointments.
“A commitment to our patients is one of the top priorities at the medical school,” says Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D., senior vice president for medical affairs and dean, and CEO of UHealth. “Not only are we responsible for their health and safety in our clinics every day, our mission dictates that we do all we can to keep our community from harm in all situations, especially during an emergency.”
University of Miami Hospital will continue to operate under its established Hurricane Preparedness Plan. Department directors will brief hospital employees on their department’s proper procedures in the event of a hurricane.
Announcements and information on the University of Miami Hospital Employee Hotline (305-325-5900) are the best source of information for hospital employees. Information will also be available online at the University of Miami Hospital’s Web page, www.umiamihospital.com.
