The recent shooting at the theatre in Colorado once again brought the topic of crisis response to the forefront. The officers at the scene were faced with an unimaginable situation and yet they remained calm and positioned themselves according to their training. While the officers most likely received the training from in-house sources, those sources likely went to outside venues. Officers are not alone in needing training in this area, and fortunately a private person is able to attend a crisis management school that can provide all levels of crisis response training.
There are often questions regarding the difference between incident management and crisis management. Although semantics may be to blame, one way to view the difference is in the length of the situation or the gravity of the situation. In many ways, the Colorado shooting can be viewed in two ways, the actual shooting, and then the aftermath. The actual shooting, from the first shot to Holmes's arrest lasted less than an hour while the emergency treatment of the victims lasted many hours and required four hospitals. The shooting could be labeled a major incident, while the emergency care more a crisis as there were more patients than personnel to treat them and the situation continued to elevate past the initial emergency response. The preparation of all involved prevented the aftermath from becoming a disaster leading to further loss of life.
What prevented the situation from moving from a crisis to a disaster was the crisis response training the staff at the emergency room of the University of Colorado received and put into action the night of July 20, 2012. In those precious moments, calm heads prevailed and emergency services were tested with great success as 58 people came through the doors and survived.
Hopefully, no one will have to see another day such as July 20, 2012. Reality and history often provide a grim picture where such crisis training will be needed and tested once again. This training does not fall on emergency personnel alone. Corporations and small businesses alike can be hit with crisis that could lead to disaster. Finding a crisis management school and learning the principles of crisis management are likely to offer significant attraction to a potential or current employer. Such training can be highly valued and greater responsibilities may be asked of those with the proper training.
Crisis management is not just reducing the amount of damage after an incident occurs. Much of the training involves the pre-planning of events in order to find weak areas and bolster them or find alternatives. For a business this may be finding another location to operate out of should a hurricane bear down on a primary headquarters. Understanding essential operations and knowing how to maintain them is of primary concern in crisis response training. In the case of Colorado, moving victims to various hospitals, bringing in extra ambulances, and calling on all available medical staff on such short notice is a perfect example of implementation of an emergency plan.
We live in the unfortunate time of needing crisis response training. While others can turn off the TV or look away, those who cannot must look the crisis in the face and walk directly into it. At those times, the education and training from a quality crisis management school can be the difference between success and failure. Whether assigned to an emergency services or a crisis response team, crisis response training is a must.
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Dan Sommer works for Henley-Putnam University, a leading educational institution in the field of Strategic Security. For more info on crisis response training, crisis management school, or Henley-Putnam University, call 888-852-8746 or visit us online at http://www.Henley-Putnam.edu
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