St. Mary's University | San Antonio, Texas

President's Message

St. Mary's H1N1 (Swine) Flu Preparedness

Incident Management Planning

St. Mary's University has an Incident Management Plan (IMP) that outlines processes for responding to incidents that impact the safety and welfare of the University community and/or the continuity of operations. The plan identifies a Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT), establishes an emergency meeting location and promotes return to normal operations as soon as possible. Regardless of the incident, notification and communication are essential to ensure decisions involve the appropriate University officials. In addition to this plan, support is provided by the Office of University Communications, the Office of Mission and Identity, the Counseling Center, and other areas as needed.

Criteria for Activation
The IMP is activated when an incident of a concerning and or serious nature, often developing suddenly and unexpectedly, demands immediate action. Incidents can range from routine or minor problems to disasters causing widespread disruption and/or destruction. This plan defines four levels of incidents:

Level 1 - Routine: Any incident that is of a routine nature and/or limited in its scope of disruption and/or injuries.

Level 2 - Minor: Any incident that is minor in its scope of disruption and/or injuries.

Level 3 - Major: Any incident that is major in its scope of disruption and/or injuries, or any minor incident or situation that could potentially escalate to cause significant disruption and/or serious injury.

Level 4 - Disaster: Any incident that is extensive or disastrous in its scope of disruption and/or injuries and seriously impacts the University.

Scope	Level 1	Level 2	Level 3	Level 4
University Activities	Minimal/localized. Most activities not affected.	Minimal/localized. Some activities affected.	Significant. Activities affected.	Very significant. Activities discontinued for a period of time.
Faculty, Staff, and Students	Site-specific localized impact. Insignificant.	Site-specific localized impact. Minor.	Site-specific or general impact with possible disruptions.	General impact with probable disruption and/or injuries.
Media Coverage	None expected.	Limited or none.	Limited local and regional coverage.	Local, regional and possible national coverage.
Public & Government Concern	None expected.	Limited.	Outside agencies may provide on site and investigative support.	Outside agencies provide on site and investigative support.
CIRT Role	Limited or none.	Limited.	Actively involved.	Actively involved.

Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT)
Members of the administration authorized to activate the Critical Incident Response Team include the vice president for Administration and Finance, the vice president for Student Development or the president. The individual who activates the CIRT will assume responsibility as chair or designate another person as chair depending on the situation.

The chair will contact the CIRT members and have them report to a designated location. Core members of the CIRT include the vice president for Administration and Finance, vice president for Student Development, vice president for Academic Affairs, chief of staff to the president, chief of police, facilities administrator, dean of students, director of Residence Life, and chief technology officer. All University vice presidents are ex-officio members of CIRT, but may not be involved depending on the nature of the incident. Other personnel may be called upon as needed.

The chair will maintain contact with CIRT members and the president throughout the duration of the incident, provide updates to Executive Council, and designate a staff member to serve as the recorder to ensure a report is prepared and distributed to the appropriate personnel. The spokesperson (designated by the president) will work with the Office of University Communications to prepare and release official information according to procedures outlined in the communication plan.

Within two weeks of concluding incident management, the recorder completes a report on the incident and actions taken, and distributes the report for review to the CIRT, then to the president.

Incident Management Plan Updates
The Incident Management Plan is a working document. Procedures will be tested periodically through "tabletop" drills and other methods. Modifications will be made to procedures when found to be in the best interest of the University's primary goal of safe, effective incident management. In addition, the Plan will be reviewed and updated annually by CIRT and the University's Safety Committee and presented to the Executive Council.