In support of National Preparedness Month in September, the Mid-Atlantic Center for Emergency Management (MACEM) at Frederick Community College is helping local businesses better prepare for emergencies and disruption of services that can affect operations.
 
The READY program of the Federal Emergency Management Agency has designated September 2014 as National Preparedness Month with the motto “Be disaster aware. Take action to Prepare.” MACEM is supporting the effort through a number of activities including an informational breakfast, Continuing Education course to help organizations develop continuity plans, and outreach to the business community. The center launched the initiatives to help business owners plan for how they will maintain operations in the event of a crisis.
           
MACEM, which is part of FCC’s Emergency Management Program, provides public education, professional training and higher education, and professional services related to emergency management.
 
An Orientation to Business Continuity breakfast will be held Thursday, Nov. 13, 2014, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. in H202/203 of the Classroom Student Center. The cost for the breakfast is $10, and participants can register at www.frederick.edu/em. Participants will learn more about a four-session Continuing Education course in the spring designed to help them develop risk analysis and continuity plan.
 
Continuity planning involves preparing for crisis and emergency events that threaten normal business operations, not only from disaster events but also by business interruptions caused by power outages, water shortages, epidemics, local events, and environmental or technical issues.  The first step is to identify those threats or hazards, and then to evaluate the risk or potential for the event to occur.  Based on the risk analysis the business may develop plans to identify procedures and resources that will limit the potential losses, assist in maintaining normal business activities, and support the employees in handling the impact of the event.
 
Starting in October, MACEM will offer professional services to organizations to assist in the risk and business impact analysis, and continuity plan. Experienced business continuity advisers will work on-site with managers to develop custom business continuity plans based on the risk analysis.
 
MACEM has designed training and education programs for federal and state agencies along with emergency management professionals in the private sector. The center is the lead developer for the Maryland Department of Education’s Career and Technology Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program. FCC began providing college programs in emergency management in 2006. FCC offers an Associate of Applied Science in Emergency Management as well as an Emergency Management Certificate Program, and a Letter of Recognition Program in specific emergency management areas.
 
For more information about MACEM programs and initiatives, please call 301.624.2854 or visit www.frederick.edu/macem.