Thirteen Programs Awarded Emergency Management Accreditation

Oct. 26, 2015 - PRLog -- Seattle, Wash. – Congratulations to the following Programs that have earned accreditation by the Emergency Management Accreditation Program (EMAP): USACE St. Louis District, the City of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; the counties of Cuyahoga County, Ohio; Washoe County, Nevada; Williamson County, Tennessee; Santa Rosa County, Florida; and The University of Alabama. In addition, Providence, Rhode Island and the States of Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Vermont, and the Commonwealth of Virginia have achieved reaccreditation.

“In professionalizing emergency management, the EMAP standards are apart of the conversation time and time again,” Barb Graff, Director of Seattle Office of Emergency Management and Chair of the EMAP Commission, “These programs demonstrate, through accreditation and reaccreditation, a commitment and desire to prove to their communities their safety is the priority. In continuing the validation of emergency management programs we see more Programs achieve accreditation, maintain accreditation, and utilize it as an evaluating tool in testing emergency management programs to the Emergency Management Standard; thus further strengthening our Nation’s preparedness.”

The EMAP is the only accreditation process that provides emergency management programs the opportunity to be evaluated and recognized for compliance with industry standards, to demonstrate accountability, and to focus attention on areas and issues where resources are needed.

To achieve accreditation, applicants must demonstrate through self-assessment, documentation and peer assessment validation that its program meets industry recognized standards, Emergency Management Standard. The emergency management program uses the accreditation to prove the capabilities of their disaster preparedness and response systems. Accreditation is valid for five years and the program must maintain compliance with EMAP standards and is reassessed to maintain accredited status.

For the City of Providence, Rhode Island, the States of Illinois, Michigan, New Mexico, Vermont, and the Commonwealth of Virginia, reaccreditation proves just as significant. By maintaining their accredited status throughout the years, these Programs prove that they adhere to the Emergency Management Standard, and successfully maintain accreditation status to achieve reaccreditation this year.

EMAP revolutionizes emergency management programs that coordinate preparedness and response activities for disasters based on industry standards. EMAP recognizes the ability of emergency management programs to bring together personnel, resources and communications from a variety of agencies and organizations in preparation for and in response to an emergency, in addition to obtaining the ability to measure those capabilities. The Emergency Management Standard is flexible in design so that programs of differing sizes, populations, risks and resources can use it as a blueprint for improvement and can attain compliance with the standard. The EMAP process evaluates emergency management programs on compliance with requirements in sixteen areas, including: planning; resource management; training; exercises, evaluations, and corrective actions; and communications and warning. This forms the foundation of the nation’s emergency preparedness system. EMAP is the only accreditation process for emergency management programs.