Emergency Notification and Evacuation Policy
Emergency Notification Policy. The College will, without delay, and taking into account the safety of the community, determine the content of the notification and initiate the notification system, unless issuing a notification will, in the professional judgment of responsible authorities, compromise efforts to assist the victim or to contain, respond to or otherwise mitigate the emergency.
Confirmation. Determination of an emergency or dangerous situation will be made by any or all of the following:
- Mercy Health police/security
- National Incident Management System (NIMS) campus incident management team (Mercy Healthcare Campus, Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center, or St. Elizabeth Health Center).
- President or his/her designees
Notification. The President, his/her designee and any advisory staff will determine if the situation affects the entire campus or a segment of campus, and whether the entire campus or only a segment should be notified. This will be based on geography, impact on operations, and safety. The situation will be assessed continually.
Content/initiation of notification. The content of the notification will be developed with input from campus security/police/NIMS team, the President (or designee), as well as any advisory staff. Notification will be made through applicable and multiple means, if necessary, including email, text message, TV/radio message, phone message, alarms, PA announcements, and signage.
Persons responsible for carrying out the actions described above include:
Campus police/security/NIMS team President or designee, and Vice-Presidents Director of Communication
Emergency Drills, Testing, and Evacuation Procedures.
Annual testing. On an annual basis, the institution will test its emergency response and evacuation procedures. Each test will be documented with a description of the exercise, the date, start/end time, and whether the test was announced or unannounced.
Annual notification. Emergency response and evacuation procedures will be publicized in conjunction with at least one test per calendar year.
Timely Warnings
In the event of crimes, either on or off-campus, that in the judgment of the head of security (Mercy Protective Services, Director of Emergency Management-Toledo Campus or Mercy Health Youngstown-Chief of Police), or his/her designee constitute an ongoing or continuing threat, a campus wide “timely warning” will be issued. In the event a warning is needed, the Director or Chief, or his/her designee, shall provide the Vice- President of Student Affairs or his/her designee with the specifics of the case for the purposes of drafting the timely warning notice. The warning will be issued through the RAVE Emergency Alert system to students, faculty, and staff. Depending on the particular circumstances of the crime, especially in situations that could pose an immediate threat to the community and individuals, notices may be posted around campus, as well.