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July 14, 2021

How Alabama Schools Can Prepare for their EOP Monitoring

Alabama Schools Must Have Updated Emergency Operations Plans

Emergency planning is essential to the safety of students and staff in Alabama schools. Each year, starting July 1st, Alabama schools are required to re-enter their emergency operations plans into the nSide platform. School districts in Alabama are required to make sure their Emergency Operations Plan is updated and fully compliant with the state mandate.

New Emergency Operations Plans are Required July 1st

On July 1st each year, the existing EOPs for the previous school year become void and need to be re-entered into the nSide platform. This means that each school will be responsible for making sure the information in the EOP is up to date and everyone in the school community knows exactly how to execute these plans in the event of an emergency. Taking the time to make sure your EOPs are ready to go can save valuable moments that can very literally mean the difference between life and death when the unthinkable happens.

What should all Alabama School Emergency Operations Plans Contain?

Each Alabama Emergency Operations Plan contains a myriad of directives that need to be completed to not only satisfy a government requirement, but also make your school safer. As per Alabama rules, each EOP needs to contain the following items:

  • Introduction & Statement of Commitment
    • Statement of Commitment
  • EOP Core Planning Team   
    • School EOP Core Planning Team
    • School Comprehensive Emergency Telephone Listing
  • NIMS & ICS  
    • Staff Skills Survey & Inventory
    • Incident Command System Roles
  • List of Materials 
    • List of Materials and Equipment
    • Basic Resources Needed
  • Hazard-Specific Annexes 
    • Identification of Hazards (School Grounds)
    • Identification of Hazards (Classroom)
    • Identification of Hazards (Along Evacuation Routes)
    • Identification of Hazards (Neighborhood and Communities)
    • Analysis of Identified Hazards
  • Functional Annexes   
    • General Emergency Procedures
  • Drill & Training Reports

nSide Makes Alabama EOPs Easy

All public schools in Alabama are registered nSide users. If you are an nSide user,  you can easily check to see if your school’s EOP is compliant or not, or check in with our live chat and our team can run a report that analyzes your EOP in comparison with Alabama requirements. Our platform is set up to check your compliance automatically and let you know areas that need improvement. We can also help you digitally collect all information from everyone involved in the safety process, making the process of updating your EOPs quick and easy. If you’re unsure of how to better format your EOPs, or if you’re one of the schools that is due for compliance monitoring in the 2021-2022 school year, we can help you get everything prepared.

Watch this video to see how to properly update your Alabama School EOP

We can help make your school’s EOP easier and more effective! Call us today to find out how!

1.800.604.1822

July 14, 2021
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February 25, 2021

Preparedness is Key in Emergency Situations

Preparedness is Key in Emergency Situations

When it comes to an emergency situation, it’s often said that “preparedness is key”. When the emergency is a school shooting or a shooter on a campus, being prepared can be the difference between life and death for students, teachers, and staff members. The unthinkable nightmare of a gunman on campus is something no child or educator should have to consider, but that’s exactly what unfolded on November 14th, 2019 in Santa Clarita, California. A student at Saugus High School opened fire on his classmates, killing two, and then turning the gun on himself. Gracie Anne Muehlberger, age 15, and Dominic Blackwell, age 14, both lost their lives in this tragic event. 

On the day of the shooting, most teachers and students began their day just like any other, getting classrooms set up and arranged, and getting lessons underway. In an interview with CNN, teacher Kaitlin Holt explains how she was playing back a recent choir performance for her students so that they could analyze it. They had no idea that their day was about to be turned upside-down, as news of a shooter began to trickle into their classroom. Because they had not heard the gunshots ring out in their particular part of the building, they were unaware of the situation as it was happening. A young lady who had been shot came into the classroom, in shock, and not realizing she had two gunshot wounds. Kaitlin risked her own life to exit the classroom and find the supplies in a gunshot wound kit that would help her treat the wound. Her quick thinking about where the kit was located, and how to stop a bleed was incredibly important. “We had watched a tutorial on how to use that in one of our staff meetings and I did that the best I could,” she told CNN. 

Her students cooperated beautifully during such a stressful time, and Holt further explained that they had been through lockdown training at the school, to prepare for what they hoped to never experience. This training proved invaluable as the students knew to lock the doors, help create barricades, and to stay quiet and hidden. Holt ushered them into her office, which had locking doors, and worked to create an atmosphere of calm and confidence. Additionally, she shared with the news station that she felt the immense gravity of the situation, and didn’t feel that being a paramedic should be part of a teacher’s job, since there are such life and death consequences, adding, “That should not be part of the teacher’s job”.

How does nSide help?

Kaitlin Holt, the choir-teacher-turned-paramedic, repeatedly emphasized that she barely had time to think through her options in a situation that she had never anticipated before, but it draws attention to her excellent training. She knew what to do, where to go, and how to best assist her students, even without all of the information or the location of the shooter. She knew where medical supplies were located and how to use it, and where the safest location was. She also knew how to close off exits in the room, and where each one was. Training like this is crucial when it comes to protecting students, and it’s one of the reasons that nSide exists. Although our hope is that no teacher or staff member would ever have to use their emergency training, we desire to equip faculty members with confidence and training that will kick in, no matter the adrenaline, shock, or unknowns that are occurring around them. It’s easy to think through these things before they happen, but when they ARE happening, have you practiced enough for it to be second nature? Have you put enough precautions in place before the emergency? We want every student, teacher, or staff member to be able to answer this with a resounding YES. 

Since 2015, we have been thinking through what it means to truly feel secure in the walls of a school. Unfortunately, there are many things in our modern times that pose threats to staff and students in the academic setting. History has shown that emergencies can happen at any time, in many forms. Although this is sobering, there are things that can be done before the emergency that will set educators up for success, instead of chaos. Here at nSide, we are broaching the topic of school safety head-on. After all, when it comes to our children, straightforward answers and education are powerful tools, and school safety should never be passive.

Preparation can save lives

In the instance of this brave, amazing teacher, we saw how her preparedness and training worked together to allow her to make split-second decisions in a horrible situation. The things that were done ahead of time truly mattered. Saugus had practiced lockdowns with their students, so the students knew that panic and noise would increase their level of danger, and they cooperated to assist their teacher. Their bravery was based out of one of our key concepts: training works. Here are some of the ways that nSide can give schools peace of mind by equipping them with the training they need and want: 

  • Emergency Operation Plans: These plans are built on a cloud system, and allow accessibility school-wide, in the event of an emergency. Rather than being caught off-guard, teachers like Kaitlin Holt would know immediately if there was a threat to their classroom, and would have time to assess the situation. While Miss Holt had access to some of these types of features, such as location of exits, and locations of medical items, having an earlier notification would have given her additional breadth. Our systems use a combination of surveillance, communication, and controlled access so that those who need to know, do. No parent loves the idea of strangers having access to viewing the school, so the access is private and controlled, enabling parents, staff, and educators to be in rapid communication with each other when necessary. 
  • Training Sessions: Our training modules are research based and include subjects such as “Active Shooter Training”. We work with other organizations and partners to provide the most up-to-date and current training. We also work off the WICC Model of training, which stands for “Warn, Information, Choices, Communication”. It focuses on how to warn the school of an incident or impending situation, notifying and providing crucial information to those who need to know (public, media, parents, staff), equipping everyone to make appropriate choices, and communicating effectively. In her CNN interview, that brave choir teacher noted that her students had done lockdown drills before, and that’s why they knew precisely how to behave. These drills, when done appropriately, can decrease chaos and fear in the moment. 
  •  Mapping and Location: One of the biggest and most crucial moments in the Saugus High School shooting was when Miss Holt made the decision to secure her students and exit the classroom to find the gunshot wound kit for her student. She knew very quickly where it was, and how to find it. This was lifesaving for the student who had two gunshot wounds, and saved valuable time while things were still very unknown. Our mapping and location plans give staff the ability to troubleshoot on the fly by knowing where exits are, where the access points are, where medical items (such as AED machines or gunshot wound kits) are located. This step can give back the gift of time to those who are protecting children on campus. That time can mean the difference between life and death for people with deadly wounds, so why not buy back every precious moment by fully mapping your locations?

Why this matters

Although we have talked about preparing our educators and students, we sincerely believe that just as a choir teacher shouldn’t be asked to be a first responder, a school shouldn’t have to do these safety measures alone. With the rise of mental health crisis’ and school emergencies, teachers and staff have many critical items already on their very-full plates. So, that preparation should be taken care of, long before the school day begins. That’s why nSide can do the planning and preparing for you, with our comprehensive safety plans and evaluations. Our experienced and trained team can discuss the best routes of action for your facility, based on the size of the school, the ages of the students, and the location. We can give your teachers back their peace of mind by making their response second-nature, and removing doubts from their actions. Not only will our secure, inclusive plans set your school apart when it comes to safety, it will also speak volumes to concerned parents, who entrust their children to your school each and every day. Teachers are not first responders. It’s not in the job description. Let your teachers be teachers, and let us tackle the issue of school emergencies. 

If you’re interested in learning more about our series of products and services, please reach out to us at help@nside.io. We would love to share more about how we can help shape a culture of safety at your organization.

Written by Grace Aspinwall | Silverbeet Creative Co.

February 25, 2021
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October 15, 2019

Cybersecurity Month: School Approach

Cybersecurity Month: School Approach

In light of October as National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NACM), we feel that acknowledging the risks of educational data storing is of imminent concern. In every school district and local institution, there is a dependency on systems to protect the privacy of students and staff. Disregarding potential threat and proper response, is likely to leave your institution vulnerable to cybersecurity breaches or attacks. We understand the reliance and necessity of these data systems for daily school functions, and we desire to help our community better plan for the protection of their educational content. We hope to share a few helpful insights as to what cybersecurity means for your schools, how to craft preventive habits, and why the merge of this practice into your Emergency Operation Plans is crucial. 

Threat Awareness

When approaching cybersecurity, it’s important to note that these threats are occurring more frequently between K-12 schools. This is, in part, is due to growth in digitalization of school administrative tasks and coursework. However, many schools fall victim to cybersecurity without initial realization. Taking time to consider the very real possibility of an attack, and what it means to your school specifically, will help in the discipline of maintaining well-monitored schools. So, what do these threats look like? They manifest in a multitude of ways, but listed below are some of the most often seen cases.

Data breaching – In this instance, sensitive or confidential data is hacked and at risk of being shared. For schools, this threat poses a serious hazard to exposure of student information or institutional banking accounts. Which, in turn, is capable of leading to crime such as identity theft and extortion of money from institutions.

Internal threats – These internal attacks take place more often than we suspect, and it is easy to fall susceptible to them. Two types of internal threats exist and must be acknowledged. The first, is that of employees corrupting permissions access and sharing unauthorized information (sometimes seeking to steal resources.) The second, and more common case, occurs when team members are not well versed in handling physical devices or sensitive systems. For example, faculty that is negligent or uninformed of privacy control has the potential to fall victim to scam targeting or misplacement of important documents.

Physical security – It is possible for cybersecurity to become a means of physical security, when cyber threats are targeted towards specific people or groups. This overlap is not to be taken lightly, when considering the health and well-being of others at risk. If a cyber criminal has internally or externally received personal information of health records, email addresses, or physical addresses, cybersecurity progresses to physical security. For instance, with this access criminals have the potential to pose threats of cyberbullying or physical violence.

Proactive Steps

Due to the nature of these risks, we find it necessary to consider best practices and resources available to you. Our team at nSide desires for your organization to be prepared in every situation, so we have identified a few practical ways that you might be able to prevent, properly respond, and promptly recover from these attacks.

  1. Cultivate a culture of risk assessment. Train employees to recognize threats and follow in appropriate next steps.
  2. Keep track of employees that have access control and withdraw permissions to any faculty member that transfers or withdraws from the system entirely.
  3. Change passwords to data regularly and limit any recurring words or phrases.
  4. Familiarize your team with patterns that exhibit cybercrime scams and behaviors.
  5. Stay acclimated to the monitoring of data, by regularly practicing and evolving plans. 

EOP Integration Steps

Emergency Operation Planning is just one tool of many that nSide has accessible to organizations. Within the context of cybersecurity, EOP integration is of significant use. Because of this, it is important to understand the ways in which your cybersecurity is integrated into a plan. In short, this model provides a process for deliberate protection and readiness against all threats. This is a foundational resource for your school’s security to build upon. You might ask yourself, is my EOP updated and inclusive of cybersecurity plans?

The following steps are sourced from a “A Companion to the School Guide,” by the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (5).

Our Support

As districts and schools spread awareness of cybersecurity month and the urgency of this message, our team will be here with additional resources to assist you along the way. We believe that understanding threats, and our role in best practices for them, is critical to the execution of these situations. Additionally, we know that the community at large has a responsibility in training, monitoring systems, and responding to risk. Navigating these threats might seem like a daunting task, but we are here to help! As the month of October progresses, we will continue to share valuable tips to consider in your security steps and daily functions.

If you are curious about EOP features within nSide, or need help merging cybersecurity practices, we would love to discuss what tools are available for the benefit of your school safety. You can always reach us via live chat or by email at help@nside.io.

October 15, 2019
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June 30, 2019

The Essence of nSide: Summer Conferences in Review

The Essence of nSide: Summer Conferences in Review

Our team has been on the move from one conference to another across Alabama, seeking to gather and provide information as to how we can better foster your school’s safety. nSide team members attended a multitude of events, all of which further the same common goal to promote safe and secure environments through efficient preparations. To share with you our experiences, we asked a series of questions among attendees from the nSide team. In recording their accounts, we hope you will gain insight to the essence of nSide and our genuine desire to fulfill your needs.

Interview Questions:

What were some general highlights of the conference and information you shared?

Were you surprised by any discussion, or able to better learn from your interaction within the event?

What did you find most rewarding about representing nSide at the conference?

TAASRO

The Alabama Association of School Resource Officers placed their 20th Annual “Safe Schools” training conference June 3–7, in Orange Beach, Alabama. The theme for the weekend was “Proactive ways to avert School Violence,” which covered a variety of topics, such as faculty awareness and precautionary methods to secure school safety. nSide School Safety Specialist, Proncey Robertson, volunteered a short summation.

  • “We had administrators, nurses, law enforcement, mental health workers, and social workers, all present with the interest of protecting our schools and learning more about how to work together as a collaborative team. In that course, our job is just to make sure they’re familiar with our platform and see if there’s any way we can better serve their communities and schools.”
  • “Probably one of the biggest challenges is that there’s so many people getting involved in school safety that still don’t know a lot about the tools that are available to them within the nSide School Safety Platform. A lot of our time was spent making sure they know where to find information within their Emergency Operations Plans. The more they’re involved in that the better, and we have to make sure they know how to gain access to those procedures.”
  • “Again, it’s an opportunity to interact with those folks who actually have to do the job on the ground. To learn what they are facing, what their challenges and concerns are, so that we can better react to their needs. I guess the biggest benefit of being at the conference is to learn, because we really do want to be a help. This is not just about selling them a product. It’s about giving them tools that they can actually use in a practical sense. So to do that, we have to talk to them one-on-one and learn about their needs.”

ASTA

The Alabama School Transportation Association’s 77th Annual Conference took place June 3–7, in Mobile, Alabama. The conference provided training for personnel involved in local transportation programs, as well as discussion over hands-on topics. nSide Account Manager, Alan Bentley, shared with us his takeaways from the event.

  • “The conference provides its members an opportunity to attend educational, as well as hands-on, sessions dealing with current school bus transportation topics. I had a booth at the conference representing nSide|Fleet™, our tracking and routing hardware/software for school buses. So, some of the general topics I covered were live bus tracking, route history, bus routing software, how trackers work, and our all-in-one cost.”
  • “I was surprised to receive a question about possible access to bus cameras live, while the bus is on route. Some districts have been interested in this, in case of an emergency, but it’s one of those things that could cost an arm and a leg to accomplish. Since the question has been asked, we’ve taken measures to research with one of our partners and pair together with another company. We’ve been striving to help provide solutions for this feature within nSide|Fleet™. So, now, there’s two options that will allow users access to camera feeds on buses en route.”
  • “What I enjoy is the relationship building aspect. I think it is important to have a strong, trusting relationship. When you reach that point, people feel comfortable enough to call on you.”

ALET

Alabama Leaders in Educational Technology held their summer conference on June 4th, in Hoover Alabama. nSide CTO , John Sercel visited the event and spoke well of their objective for “Alabama EdTech leaders to discuss system-level challenges and solutions.”

  • “What we’ve been talking about is the new Technical Point of Contact program to get technology leaders at different school districts access to nSide organization administration. So, they’ll be able to manage their own users and districts in the nSide School Safety Platform. We had pamphlets there, as well, to generate interest in Verkada cameras and ask them about what their current camera systems are.”
  • “It was interesting to learn what they knew about their camera systems. Schools will have a wide variety of cameras from all different manufacturers, some of them are going to be older, some of them have limited connectivity to local DVR systems, some may be newer and have web views. But the Verkada are much more secure, use newer technologies, and connect automatically to the web. They even connect to where they don’t have to have any other technical infrastructure on-site. So, they can plug these cameras in and access them through the website, and it’s a newer generation of camera technology with a lot less direct technical work.”
  • “Any time we get out in the field, with a different group of people connected to the nSide platform, it fills in a little more of what we, here in the office, don’t know. We interact with individual users and, a lot of times, we don’t get to see the big picture. It’s very helpful for us to get out and just hear from a completely different group of potential users. We get the opportunity to understand what their problems are, what they deal with in managing their own systems, and how we could address some of their needs.”

SSA

School Superintendents of Alabama hosted a summer conference for Meaningful Collaboration and Networking June 16–19 in Point Clear, AL. They are a professional association, geared towards school system executives and their leadership teams. nSide Founder and CEO, Steve McKinney, sat down with us to offer his perspective.

  • “More than anything, I wanted time spent in person and the opportunity to cultivate relationships and hear a lot of their problems. We did talk a lot about security in the form of physical measures, like cameras and access control, because that’s on a lot of people’s minds. But we also talked about things like school buses and the issues that they face with logistics and transportation, which was a bit of a departure from traditional school safety conversations. So, it traversed across a wide array of topics. But that’s what I hoped it would do, because every district is different. Every relationship is different. And when you reach the point, with a superintendent or any client, when they’re able to view you as a confidant and a partner, then you’ve achieved something.”
  • “So, this is the first time that a superintendent (and several of them did it) brought their architects over to meet with us. And that was different. Some of what I learned in that engagement is that a lot of the new schools are moving towards a different type of power system. They’ve recognized that this Digital Age is rapidly moving, which means they’re in need of not only normal power structure in buildings but also low voltage power structures. All of that leads to having additional sensors, effectively put inside the operations of these facilities as they become more and more ubiquitous in the new power message.”
  • “For the most part, these are tried and true friends or people that I’ve worked with for years. So, it’s a very cordial kind of environment, even though it’s formal. When it’s that way, it’s less about your introductory message, and it’s more about their day to day problems. Anytime you’re building a relationship, it is about being a person that they can confide in, in such a way that no one is. To the extent where if you don’t have a solution then it’s between you and them, but if you know of any possible solution, you offer it, regardless of whether it’s beneficial to you or not. And that’s what we try to cultivate. It’s good to have a common mission with people that you genuinely do care about.”

We are always grateful for the opportunity to exchange ideas, and we strive to do so among others that share our affinity for refining school safety. nSide firmly believes that growth is spurred on through active participation of community members and school administrators and staff alike. So, we encourage you to look into any of the above organizations for future events, or join our community page for further discussion!

As is discernible throughout this collection, we feel that conferences are best met with problem-solution mentalities and client-first care. If you happen to see us at an upcoming event, we encourage you to continue getting to know us and the greater depths of our mission. We hope this post is valuable to your understanding of our team at nSide, and we look forward to the new school year ahead!

June 30, 2019
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June 10, 2019

Is Narcan Administration Part of Your Emergency Operation Plan?

Is Narcan Administration Part of Your Emergency Operation Plan?

CBS News released a story discussing the newest precautionary methods to prevent opioid overdose among schools in Alabama. In 2015, more than 400 overdose deaths were linked to opioid usage in state. Faculty in schools have taken initiative to instill widespread training and preparation of Narcan (naloxone), a medication designed to reverse opioid overdose, in order to ready themselves in the event of a medical emergency.

How Narcan (naloxone) is Issued

Narcan administered in school systems requires simple instructions, provided verbally by the device to the user. Although there are multiple methods, EVZIO is the chosen auto-injection device that faculty and emergency personnel are being trained to use. Once injected into the outer thigh, the device automates a countdown to secure the time necessary for disbursement.

How can you better familiarize yourself with the signs and symptoms of opioid overdose? How does naloxone inverse these effects? The National Institute of Drug Overdose produced the video below to provide guidance on these topics.

nSide in Action

nSide — The School Safety Platform is a crucial organizational element and aid to enhance school safety. With our virtual mapping process, your facility receives immediate access to location of medical kits, emergency exits, campus layout, and more. With digitization of these features and documentation of safety exercises in the EOP section, adjustments to preparation are easily manageable.

When developing a new procedure, it can often be difficult to establish a pragmatic method with adequate support. However, the nSide team is here to help. We encourage you to plan, prepare, and practice guided approaches that ensure safety for your organization and community. These three steps are recycled endlessly, to secure the emergency operation plan and strengthen the alertness and response of your team.

  • Plan your emergency procedure, to establish a firm foundation and smooth implementation of policy.
  • Prepare, by assessing any resources necessary to fulfill your plan.
  • Practice the plan you have constructed and fine-tune any miscued steps.

Is Narcan administration part of your school’s EOP?

The Emergency Operation Plan portion of nSide is where the school safety and emergency planning team document safety plans related to various crises and events that could potentially happen. Has an opioid overdose been considered as a part of your team’s emergency planning? Who would be in charge of the different elements of response in the case of such an event? Who is trained to administer Narcan to a person who has overdosed? Would you and your team know where to find a kit in the building if it was needed?

Introducing new mapping icon

With so much attention being brought to the opioid crisis nationwide, and proactive training by some schools in Alabama, the nSide team has created a new mapping icon for Narcan. This icon can be used to quickly designate the location of devices and kits on the map of your facility. Simply contact our support team on our live chat to get this added to the Emergency Equipment layer on your map.

June 10, 2019
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August 27, 2018

Announcing the December 2018 School Safety Summit for Alabama

Announcing the December 2018 School Safety Summit for Alabama

The School Safety Summit will be held at the Orange Beach Event Center at the Wharf and will have a diverse group of presenters on the safety topics most important to today’s K-12, college, and university administrators.

Click Here to Register!

The Summit begins on December 3, 2018, at 8:00 am in the main hall and will have presenters, speakers, and interactive workshops for all individuals. The Summit concludes on December 4, 2018, at 5:00 pm with a question and answer period as well as individual training sessions for those who request assistance.

We have negotiated great room rates with multiple hotels for the period December 2–5, 2018 in the Gulf Shores and Orange Beach area. This information can be found on the registration website.

Topics to be presented and discussed by subject matter experts:

  • Active Shooter Scenarios and Training — best practices and lessons learned from across the Nation (from Sandy Hook to Parkland)
  • Transportation Safety — Bus Tracking, Communication and Reunification in times of crisis
  • Alerts and Notifications — from alerts to faculty, staff, students, parents and first responders
  • Cyber Bullying — what can you do to prevent it and what to look for with the newest technology
  • Internet Dangers to Students — how to recognize these threats and how to report them
  • Human Trafficking — how to recognize the signs and what to do when concerned

There will be in-depth training and workshops on:

  • Campus Mapping
  • Online Emergency Operations Plans
  • Transportation Safety and Bus Tracking with Bus Routes in a virtual map
  • Scenarios for lockdowns, secure the perimeter, evacuation, and shelter in place for your school

Also, demonstrations by vendors of the latest technology for:

  • Video Surveillance cameras and equipment
  • Panic Buttons/Systems
  • Electronic locking doors to harden school perimeters
  • Notification and alert systems for faculty, staff, students, and parents

And much more to come…

Hope to see everyone there! Stay tuned for updates!

August 27, 2018
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Upcoming Webinar: EOP Functional Annexes Migration

Upcoming Webinar: EOP Functional Annexes Migration

The functional annex has been streamlined to address the following areas: Communication, Evacuation, Secure Perimeter, Lockdown, Reunification, Recovery, and Crisis Management.

Both the updated and older versions of the functional annexes are available to you in nSide until June 30, 2017. On July 1, 2017, only the updated version will be available.

Due to these upcoming changes, we have received many questions about the Functional Annexes, General Emergency Procedures section of the EOP in nSide. With the deadline date approaching, we will be hosting free webinars on July 23rd, July 26th, July 28th, and July 30th at 12pm CST each day, in order to help those that might have questions or concerns regarding the change.

These webinars will contain information about the changes, how it affects you, transferring your information, best practices for filling out EOPs, and other important topics.

If you or any of your team would like to participate, register here!

June 21, 2017
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April 20, 2017

Would you know where the closest AED is located in the case of an emergency?

Would you know where the closest AED is located in the case of an emergency?

The Today Show on NBC recently produced a story about Bob Harper from “The Biggest Loser” and a heart attack he experienced while training in his gym. He survived, primarily because an automated external defibrillator (AED) was located in the gym. These are devices that help save lives in this type of event by delivering “a dose of electric current to the heart.”

However, if you needed to locate one in your school, church, or facility, would you know where to look? With less than 3 percent of Americans trained in CPR, the survival rate of a heart attack drops to 6 percent if no one assists the victim. Simply knowing where an AED is located can dramatically help those rates. The video below is an example that puts people to the test in a gym setting:

An AED saved Bob Harper, but could you find one in an emergency? Celebrity fitness trainer Bob Harper says an AED – an automatic external defibrillator – helped save his life when he…w

How nSide Helps

When nSide is used to map a facility, lifesaving safety equipment like AEDs become instantly visible, highlighted, and searchable in accessible digital floor plans used for planning, safety drills, review, and emergency access. When the Data team visits your site, they will visually inspect every aspect of the building and make sure all AEDs are located and represented on the map.

Planning, Preparing, and Practicing

nSide firmly believes that planning, preparing, and practicing concepts are key to thriving in a safe and productive environment. By planning, all relevant stakeholders can team together to assess their current resources and put together an executable plan for dealing with an emergency. By preparing, planners can make sure they have all of the tools they need to execute the plan. Lastly, by practicing, the organization can execute the plan they have put together, noting inefficiencies along the way and adjusting accordingly. These three concepts are a never-ending circle, and should be put to use frequently in order to make sure the emergency operation plan can be as effective as possible.

Use Case for AEDs

In the case of AEDs, seconds are precious. We can assume in a real-life emergency, staff and responders will not have time to pull up the nSide map to find the closest AED. This is why we believe the planning, preparing, and practicing concepts and repetition are essential in a small-scale, single individual type of event.

nSide is a tool to help organizations and their staff better understand place and their surroundings. Each organization should use their Emergency Operation Plans in order to understand their buildings/campuses (i.e. “Where do I need to go to assist the person in need?”), the resources needed for this type of response (i.e. “I need to use an AED for the victim, and where are they located throughout the building?”), and who is best qualified to respond to the situation (i.e. “What skills do staff members possess?”).

To be better prepared, we recommend regularly reviewing the Emergency Operation Plans with your team, having the nSide map continuously updated, and staff skills surveys and user profiles being completed for all staff members.

How Have You Prepared for This Type of Situation?

We would like to understand more how the use of an AED in an event has been used with nSiders. Has your organization experienced a similar situation? How did you respond? What do you do to train or prepare for this situation? In the discussion topic on the nSide Community, let us know how you would respond in the case of an AED needing to be used.

April 20, 2017
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table-top-melanie-blog
October 15, 2016

nSide Supports FEMA Sponsored Virtual Table-Top Active Shooter Drill

nSide Supports FEMA Sponsored Virtual Table-Top Active Shooter Drill

nSide was invited by Franklin, Southhampton, Isle of Wight, VA Local Emergency Planning Committee and Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin, VA to participate and support a FEMA sponsored Table-Top Active Shooter Drill at Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin, VA campus on 01/12/16.The exercise, facilitated by Western Tidewater Medical Reserve Corps, was a virtual table-top, re-enactment held simultaneously with other organizations across the country. The scenario was an Active Shooter simulation occurring on campus during a busy school day. Over 80 drill attendees participated which included 5 community college departments, WTHD and PDCCC executive leadership, Emergency Management experts, Franklin VA Police, Franklin VA Fire, local Chapter of the American Red Cross, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, FBImany local k-12 school officials, and others.

The scope of the exercise was to focus on the role of each organization in response to potential consequences of an active shooter scenario, as well as the interdisciplinary and interagency coordination both at the local, regional, state, and Federal level. The drill stepped through a series of discussion based modules with learning, collaboration and discussion questions and goals so all attendees could better understand each group’s role, become better prepared and visualize the response and recovery processes. During the drill exercise, the facilitators engaged all participants about how best to respond to and disseminate new information constantly coming in via phone calls, texts and tweets from students, faculty and first responders on site.

The team stressed the following primary goals throughout the exercise:

– Activating emergency plans and procedures

– Appropriately interfacing with the command structure

– Developing public information and media plans to handle concerns

– Determining resource needs of the community and potential sources of support and requesting resources, as appropriate

– Identifying coordination and policy issues regarding multi-agency coordination systems.

All attendees were focused on preparing for an active shooter incident and defining and honing the 5 mission critical core capabilities:

– Prevention

– Protection

– Mitigation

– Response

– Recovery

nSide provided a campus and building visualization application that added clarity to the locations of entries and exits, location of the shooter and how best to respond. nSide web and mobile versions of the software were projected on a large display screen, depicting full campus views and then zooming to the area of the building at the center of the incident. The campus and building visualization application showed entrances into the building with 360 pictures of each room, walk throughs of the building, critical fire and medical assets, identification of other potential dangers including hazardous materials, gases and contaminants. Additionally, nSide’s campus visualization mobile app showed rooms as they were cleared with casualty and fatality icons to mark where recovery teams needed to respond. Attendees were very impressed by visualizations provided by nSide. Several attendees stated the maps provided excellent information throughout the event to best understand the location and what was happening as the response was underway and how recovery would be rolled out. nSide provided an excellent resource to help with decision making and planning.

We applaud these efforts to create a realistic event for learning and using innovative new technologies like nSide to be better prepared to respond more effectively and efficiently. These types of training exercises make a dramatic impact on saving lives, minimizing the impact of an incident and protecting property in case of an emergency..

We thank Paul D. Camp Community College, Franklin, Southampton, Isle of Wight, VA Local Emergency Planning Committee and Western Tidewater Medical Reserve Corps for allowing nSide to support this exercise.

October 15, 2016
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monitor-social-media-jacob-blog
October 15, 2016

Proactively Monitoring Social Media

Proactively Monitoring Social Media

Baldwin County Schools, AL is responding to threats of school violence posted via social media this week. While local authorities believe there is no credibility to the threat, school administrators and first responders are taking the necessary steps to ensure security on campus:http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2016/01/shootout_threat_at_robertsdale.html#incart_river_home

In the age of the online social community, many students’ first stop for voicing adolescent frustrations is the World Wide Web. There, followers hundreds of miles away from “reality” can provide a sense of confirmation, validity and connection. Additional attractions, like the perception of anonymity and a lack of consequences for conduct online, serve as justifications for their behavior. (1)

Over the recent years the US has witnessed a surge in the number of precautionary campus lockdowns and school closings. Overwhelmingly, these actions are taken by central office administration because of threats posted on social media.

Key Points for K-12 Campus Social Media:

  • Virtual Vigilance — In many cases a simple search engine ping will generate results for posts related to a certain topic or location. Designate a staff member to comb through online posts and social media as part of their daily roles and responsibilities.
  • Law Enforcement Liaison — While many K-12 districts have the benefit of on campus School Resource Officers, or School Police Officers, many do not. Regardless, each campus should have a point of contact that communicates with law enforcement and other first responders in the community on a regular basis, especially when it pertains to student behavior on social media.
  • Parent Communication — Parents are arguably your most demanding stakeholders and your most valuable resources at the K-12 level. Keep them in the loop on behavioral changes or peer issues and they should return the favor. You might also be able to enlist assistance from them with monitoring social media outlets.

Remember, the intent of terroristic threats is to create fear and instability in the status quo. As long as we remain vigilant, communicate with our first responders and strive to positively impact the root of the problem for the kids that need our help, we can continue to ensure a safe learning environment for all.

(1) Julie Zhuo, “Where Anonymity Breeds Contempt,” The New York Times, November 29, 2010,http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/opinion/30zhuo.html (accessed January 25, 2016).

October 15, 2016
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