Emergencies and on call

On-Call and Crisis Response

Online Pre-Service Training: Summer 2014

We will cover…

Communities in balance Roles and responsibilities You are never alone: after-hours resources Responding in 3 steps Helpful hints!

Communities in Balance

Goals while on call:

Promote a safe residential environment

Maintain an academically supportive community

Encourage residents to take responsibility for maintaining balance in their community

Create connections and develop relationships with residents

On-Call: Roles and Responsibilities

RA / GRM Level•1-2 staff on-call in 8 areas

•Staff serve for one night at a time

•Initial response

•Lockouts

•Implementing protocols/procedures

•Managing the community

•Communication w/ other levels

•Directing resources until higher level involvement occurs

•Documentation


SOC Level•2 per night (FYE SOC, SYE/UC SOC)

•Serve for 3-4 nights in a row (M-Th, F-Su)•All SOCs live on campus, can respond in person• Res Life Coordinators, Assistant Coordinators, Assistant Manager, Greek Life Coordinators •Support RA/GRM level•Primary contact with outside resources (UCS, CWRU Police, Hospitals)•Gather information to communicate with higher levels•Handle higher level requests


SSOC Level•Serve for 1 week at a time•Residence Life Assistant Directors and Manager, Greek Life Associate Director•Support SOC level•Ensure protocols and procedures are followed•Gather information to communicate with higher levels•Issue no-contact orders when necessary•Decide if situation requires the response of Director level or above•Implement directives of Directors


Director Level•Director of Residence Life and Services, Director of Greek Life•Serve for 1 month•Develop strategies to handle emergencies•Communicate strategies and implementation plans to SSOC•Communicate with Student Affairs regarding any critical issues


Student Affairs Level

•Develop strategies to handle emergency on a campus-wide basis

•Communicate strategies and implementation plans to Directors

•Coordinate communication with internal and external entities as needed


On-Call Time FramesRA/GRM on-call (nights)

Sunday-Thursday: 10pm-8:00am

Friday: 9:00pm-11:00am

Saturday: 9:00pm-12:00 (noon)

SOC (after business hours) Monday-Thursday: 5:00pm-8:30am

Friday 5:00-Monday 8:30am

SSOC, DOC (24/7)

You Are Never Alone!

When you are on-call, you are not alone! In addition to the supervisor on-call, you have an entire team of emergency responders waiting to assist you with any situation that may arise.

This section will introduce you to the other people who may be involved in addressing late-night concerns with you.


Dispatch (368-3333)Dispatcher can send police, EMS, the fire department, or emergency maintenance

Share as much information as possible to help them decide who to send

In an emergency, if you are put on hold - hang up, call again

For most emergencies, your first phone call will be to dispatch.

CWRU PoliceIn most situations, CWRU police will provide support while Residence Life staff address policy violations.

Recognize when they may need to take over – and when they shouldn’t.

Call CWRU police for any situations that could involve drugs, weapons, or violence.


Counselor On-CallLEAVE A DETAILED VOICEMAIL; the COC will call back within 5 minutes

Contact if you receive any indication of self-harm or suicidal comments

Contact for any concerning mental health issues

COC can consult with you as well as speak directly with students

Will determine if hospitalization is necessary

Nurse On-CallLEAVE A DETAILED VOICEMAIL; the NOC will call back within 20 minutes

Not sure if EMS is needed? Contact the Nurse On-Call

Can provide guidance regarding minor injuries and illness Note: the NOC will want to speak directly to the student, but it is up to the RA to

make the initial call and set up the conversation for the NOC and student.


EMSAny time you suspect a student needs urgent medical care, contact dispatch and ask for EMSAny time a student has vomited, passed-out, or suffered a head injury, request EMSDispatch may send Case EMS or Cleveland EMS depending on the issue and the time of dayFinal decisions of whether or not to transport a student are made by the EMT.

Emergency Maintenance/BioHazardEmergency Maintenance will respond 24/7 to any urgent facility issueContact for flood, broken glass, bodily fluids, or any other mess or damage that needs immediate attentionRemember, it may take some time (at least 10-15 minutes) for emergency maintenance personnel to get to campus. You should not leave the scene while waiting for them to arrive.

Responding in 3 steps

Primary Response• Address the policy violation or immediate

concern

Secondary Response• Community support

Tertiary Response• Document the situation

Responding in 3 steps: Primary

Triage-what MUST be taken care of NOW?• Getting the community back in balance

When these things happen, you must take action:• Articulable Suspicion• Report of a problem

• From other students• From staff• From Dispatch


Articulable Suspicion NOT Articulable Suspicion Policy violation in plain sight

• Alcohol Containers

• Covered Smoke Detectors

• Common Area Furniture in Room

Evidence in public areas that implicates a particular person• Alcohol containers in a box with a student’s

name

• Alcohol containers directly in front of a student’s room

Verbal words heard that imply a policy violation• “Chug, Chug, Chug”

• “Take a shot!”

Distinct odors (alcohol, marijuana) that can be pinpointed to a particular room

Evidence in public areas that does NOT explicitly implicate a particular person

• Alcohol containers in a trash can

Loud Music (unless a noise violation)

People speaking loudly in a room (unless a noise violation)

Odors that are in a public area with no identifiable source


Identify articulable suspicion of a policy violation

Initiate contact with residents, introduce yourself, and explain why you are confronting them

Determine if suspicion was founded or unfounded


Get residents to help address the situation by assisting with the remaining steps

When responding to an incident, work directly with the resident(s) of the room whenever possible. If this is not appropriate, try to work with the person who seems to be in a leadership position in the group

When working with the resident, be specific about the things that need to happen (keeping in mind our goals)


Levels of Responsibility Resident Autonomy – a situation where staff only need to

point out what is out of balance and ask the resident to do something (i.e. – quiet down if things are too loud) and then stop back to make sure they were able to handle it.

Resident Support – the situation needs to be balanced immediately. Staff will remain present while resident works on achieving balance, with direction from the staff on what specifically needs to be done.

Resident Collaboration – resident may feel unable to handle the situation but will work with staff on getting things back in balance.

Staff Only – resident is unwilling or unable to assist, staff will directly work on restoring balance.

Responding in 3 steps: Secondary

Community SupportAfter the primary issue has been addressed, ask yourself: who else in the community needs support?

• Roommates?

• Floor mates?

• Guests?

• Other impacted parties?

Maintain confidentialityOffer assurance that the student is receiving the support they need.

Responding in 3 steps: Tertiary

Document and Communicate!Submit an incident report immediately after the incident

If multiple staff members were involved, work together to submit 1 incident report

Does the SOC need to know? (Refer to the Emergency Protocol)If anyone else needs to be informed, the SOC will offer you guidance

Helpful Hints!

Be flexible, but thorough with each step

Remain calm (take a breath, count to 5!)

Use Supervisor On-Call and peers as support

Take notes (but do not write a book)

It is always ok to call the SOC! If you don’t know what to do, call the SOC!

Education

Emergencies and on call