Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Emergency Management Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Committee updates school emergency-management policy to reflect state code, expands safety-audit language
Summary
The committee reviewed a revised crisis, emergency-management and medical response plan policy to align with state code and to add public-health emergency language, bleeding-control kits and emergency cardiac response planning; staff will forward the updated policy to the full board for information.
Bedford County Public Schools staff told the IGA committee on Sept. 22 that revisions to the district’s school-crisis, emergency-management and medical-emergency response plan bring the policy into alignment with recent state-code changes and add public-health emergency components.
The staff presenter summarized the updates, saying the revision adds requirements to include public-health emergencies in school and division plans, calls for bleeding-control kits in schools and clarifies emergency cardiac response plans. The policy language also formalizes components of the school-safety audit, which the presenter said includes safety inspections every three years, quarterly safety advisory meetings and annual written needs assessments submitted by principals and compiled by the SafeSchools coordinator.
Committee members asked whether the district needed to hold safety-audit meetings on school grounds; staff said the change “just allows the sheriff” and other community partners, such as fire and rescue, to convene on a school campus for an audit if needed. The SafeSchools coordinator and others said the district already works closely with the sheriff’s office and local first responders in quarterly safety-advisory meetings and multi-year inspections.
Members also discussed specific language in the policy that referenced the Heimlich maneuver. A staff speaker noted the American Red Cross has scaled back use of the term and emphasized back blows and other first-aid options; committee members directed staff to remove the specific “Heimlich maneuver” language and to use a broader term such as “emergency first aid” or “coronary resuscitation and emergency first aid.”
After clarifying questions, the committee agreed to move the revised emergency-management policy to the full board for information.
Committee members said safety audits and the written needs assessments produced by principals are used to shape training and to prioritize site-specific improvements.
