January 2012

CEMA Chosen for Region 7 Exercise Program

The Region 7 Medical Disaster Preparedness Network has contracted with CEMA to coordinate the development, conduct, and evaluation of its major exercise program for 2012. As an off-shoot from last fall's tabletop exercises, this year's program also will focus on an MCI scenario, this time focusing on the ability of receiving hospitals and the Regional Medical Coordination Center to work together in real time to contend with the medical surge consequence of an MCI. This will be a functional exercise. Prior to the exercise, CEMA also will facilitate a seminar designed to orient participants to the HSEEP program and the specific duties of Exercise Controllers, Evaluators, and Simulators. The seminar will prepare voluntary exercise staff for the upcoming functional exercise as well as build skills that can be used for any future exercise activities in the Region. The seminar and functional exercise are planned for late Spring of 2012.

January 2012

Incident Management for the VA Hospital System

In January, CEMA provided a high-level training on the Incident Command System at the VA Ann Arbor Healthcare System. CEMA instructors provided the full-day Incident Management Team Leadership program (HIMP 201) for over 20 VA staff members. This course addresses duties that are common to all ICS positions, and provides an in-depth discussion of the responsibilities that are specific to each of the eight Command and General Staff leadership positions. The program concluded with a condensed tabletop exercise. Post-course test scores demonstrated an impressive rise in understanding of ICS essentials, validating that this popular CEMA course can help organizations learn to manage an incident more effectively under the NIMS and ICS ideologies.

November 2011

CEMA Completes Mass Casualty Exercise Series

In November, CEMA's Tres Brooke facilitated a series of three tabletop exercises, all centered on the scenario of a mass casualty incident resulting from a severe weather-induced transportation accident. The tabletops were sponsored by the Region 7 Medical Disaster Preparedness Network, and included representation from fire and EMS, law enforcement, 911 dispatch, emergency management, hospitals, and the Region 7 Medical Coordination Center. The outcomes of this tabletop, as documented in an AAR/IP, will assist the Region in its goal of developing a comprehensive Casualty Transport System that reflects the critical resource capabilities and capacities of pre-hospital EMS services region-wide.

October 2011

A Change of Setting for CEMA.

October 2011 brought a change in setting for Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates. After three enjoyable years in the East Lansing Technology Innovation Center CEMA moved exactly one block east to 435 East Grand River Avenue, East Lansing. Along with the new offices, the space feature beautiful conference facilities, a view of the Michigan State University campus and robust infrastructure services to support future growth.

October 2011

CEMA Featured on WKAR Radio

CEMA partner Joe DeFors was interviewed for a new radio series titled reWorking Michigan, by host Kevin Lavery of the MSU-based public radio station WKAR. The series, subtitled Economic Evolution in the Great Lake State, examines our evolving economy as citizens of the Great Lake State. The episode aired on October 10th and explored CEMA's experience as a business in the East Lansing entrepreneurial community.
www.publicbroadcasting.net/wkar/news.newsmain?action=article&ARTICLE_ID=1861599

October 2011

CEMA Presents at Healthcare Conference

W.W. Grainger, a major supplier of safety services and equipment to the healthcare industry hosted a fall conference at the Detroit Medical Center. Joe DeFors, CEMA Principal, was invited to offer the keynote presentation on Lessons Learned from experiences at both real-world and simulated hospital evacuation events around the world. In addition, the conference featured other healthcare safety experts and a variety of safety and evacuation supplies and equipment displays.

September 2011

Mass Casualty and Triage Trainings for Region 2 Instructors

In a program organized by the Macomb County Medical Control Authority and funded by Region 2 North, CEMA presented its Effective Management of Mass Casualties Incident program and a few weeks later, its Essentials of Modern Triage program. The Triage program was delivered in a train-the-trainer format for instructors representing some two dozen first-response organizations.

July 2011

CEMA Completes Airport Disaster Exercise

June 9th was a very big day in every way for the Capitol Region International Airport (CRIA). CRIA had a simulated bomb go off in an aircraft on the tarmac, they responded to a mass casualty incident created by the explosion, they found a simulated IED near the terminal and they fulfilled an Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirement for full-scale exercising. Over two-dozen first response and related organizations took part in the HSEEP compliant exercise. Prior meetings and tabletop exercises had preceded and prepared participants for the final climatic event. Dan Sibo, CEMA associate managed the project and led the design team.

CEMA was also retained to provide injury simulation (moulage) services for the event. CEMA designed the victim data set according to national predictive modeling and airport needs. CEMA moulage artists provided over 60 simulated victims to test critical decision making and triage skills of responders. Sparrow Hospital, a level 1 trauma center, utilized airport facilities to evaluate their mass casualty treatment protocols and training as well.

July 2011

CEMA Completes Regional Communications Exercise

Titled COMEX 11, this HSEEP compliant series of escalating exercise events focused on communications plans and capabilities for nine counties in the Region-1 homeland security area. The final full-scale event supported two National Priorities: Expand Regional Collaboration and Strengthen CBRNE Detection, Response and Decontamination Capabilities.

CEMA, with co-founder Tom Shaver acting as Project Manager, had primary responsibility for the design, planning and conduct of all the tabletop, functional and full-scale exercises including Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, as well as Delta Township, the Capital Regional International Airport, and the City of Lansing.

July 2011

CEMA Completes Mass Media Planning Project

CEMA associate Penny Rodriguez was tasked with facilitating a work group consisting of nine Mid-Michigan county health departments and local media partners to assist them in creating a regional mass media communication plan. To be utilized in a public health emergency, the group worked to build a coordinated plan that found new efficiencies and better informed the public when necessary. The resulting plan works toward coordinated crisis messaging, coordination for the purchase of media and utilization of common communication technologies.

Summer 2011

CEMA Completes Triage and Mass Casualty Trainings

CEMA mass casualty training programs continue to have a loyal following with first responders. Over the spring and summer CEMA provided START/JumpSTART Triage trainings as well as our vaunted Effective Management of Mass Casualty Incidents programs at a variety of locations around the state.

Summer 2011

CEMA Provides Decon Training to Hospitals

Instructional teams for the CEMA hazardous materials decontamination program have been busy providing courses for a variety of hospitals around Michigan. Institutions have requested the full gamut of CEMA decon offerings including Basic Decon Operations, Decon Refresher, Decon Supervisor and Safety Officer as well as Mass Decon Setup. CEMA hazmat and decon programs are targeted at the unique needs of the private and public bodies including the healthcare sector to assist those institutions in meeting Joint Commission standards.

June 2011

CEMA Continues D1RE Play 4 Full Scale Exercises

Continuing this valuable program for its fourth consecutive year. This season utilized an "Active Shooter" scenario to assist three District 1 hospitals with evaluating their evacuation and shelter-in-place policies and procedures. As in past years, all exercises were planned and conducted by CEMA Master Exercise Practitioners utilizing federal guidelines from the Homeland Security and Exercise and Evaluation System (HSEEP). An After Action Report (AAR) with an improvement plan was shared with all participating agencies and partners.

June 2011

CEMA Completes Acute Care Center Exercise

This year's D1RE Play 3 ACC exercise took place in Lansing at Harry Hill Vocational Center with eight different organizations participating. An Acute Care Center (ACC) is a rapidly assembled medical facility that provides basic medical treatment when the normal healthcare system is overwhelmed. The ACC is one part of the state's Modular Emergency Medical System (MEMS), a system intended to cover a community's medical needs in the event of a disaster so that hospital emergency departments can focus on the most critically ill or injured. Ingham Regional Medical Center and Sparrow Hospital partnered in this exercise that utilized a variety of other regional resources as well. CEMA was tasked to plan, design and conduct this exercise by the District 1 Regional Medical Response Coalition.

June 2011

CEMA Completes Tabletop for Long Term Care Industry

Utilizing funding provided by the Region 3 Healthcare Preparedness Network, CEMA was retained to plan, design and facilitate a tabletop exercise for six long term care agencies. The scenario was based on an MOU among the six for sharing resources in the event of an evacuation of a facility. Discussion and the resulting AAR focused on the practical issues of such an evacuation. CEMA associate Bill Wardwell planned and facilitated the event hosted at Hoyt Nursing and Rehab Centre in Saginaw, Michigan.

June 2011

CEMA Updates Emergency Plan for Hoyt Nursing and Rehab

CEMA was contacted by the Hoyt Nursing and Rehab Centre asking for assistance with updating critical areas of their emergency plan document. Ultimately the project was defined as an emergency plan review with report and recommendations. CEMA associate Bill Wardwell was tasked with the project and worked closely with Hoyt officials to meet their needs.

May 2011

CEMA Assists with New Security Product

Aegis Bleu, a CEMA Premier Partner and Michigan based provider of groundbreaking security assessment tools wished to add a new module to their flagship Vulnerability Assessment Security Survey Tool (VASST). CEMA associate and healthcare safety/security expert Penny Rodriguez was the primary subject matter expert for Aegis Bleu staff in the design of the new module. The resulting Healthcare Assessment Safety Survey Tool is a patent pending mobile PC-based assessment software that instantly records safety deficiencies on a tablet PC. More about Aegis Bleu and its security assessment products may be found at: www.AegisBleu.com

May 2011

CEMA Completes Multiple Projects in Region 7

Working with both the Region 7 Homeland Security Planning Board and Region 7 Medical Disaster Preparedness Network, CEMA recently finished work on several important training and exercise projects. The first of these was a region-wide Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exercise that involved an estimated 600+ persons in over two dozen locations this past May. This major exercise was co-funded by the two regional boards, with CEMA retained to provide all necessary design, development, conduct, and evaluation over an aggressive four-month timeline. Outcomes from this endeavor will assist planners with future preparedness efforts for years to come. As a separate but related project, CEMA also planned and facilitated a tabletop exercise for the Region 7 Medical Disaster Preparedness Network on the IED theme only weeks prior to the described region-wide exercise. This event allowed healthcare and partnering entities to think critically and talk through important decisions in response to the IED scenario.

Finally, the Region also retained CEMA to provide three sessions of its Essentials of Modern Triage course in June. Conducted in the eastern, central, and western areas of the region, this training boosted the abilities of pre-hospital responders to manage the process of grouping disaster victims by medical priority, a vital response function that better utilizes scarce resources and ultimately saves lives.

February 2011

Henry Ford Hospital brings CEMA back for 2nd Active Shooter Event

Last June, the Joint Commission issued a Sentinel Event Alert, urging hospitals to pay greater attention to violence issues and to control access to facilities. In recent months, hospitals throughout the nation have experienced active shooter and hostage incidents. As a continuation of their efforts to improve their preparedness for violence, Henry Ford Health System has again contracted with CEMA to plan, design and conduct a full scale exercise based on an active shooter scenario. Scheduled to occur later in the spring, details are not yet available, but the exercise will build upon lessons learned from a January tabletop exercise facilitated by CEMA.

February 2011

CEMA Logo Recognized

The CEMA logo was recently published by LogoLounge, in their sixth annual compendium of the year’s best logo designs.

LogoLounge is one of the most respected resources in the creative industry and routinely features the world’s best logo designs. The logos are judged by industry professionals and span a variety of categories. To view the LogoLounge website visit: http://logolounge.com

The CEMA logo was designed by Traction, a Lansing, MI creative agency. Traction specializes in brand development, identity design, interactive, and advertising solutions. To learn more about Traction, visit: http://projecttraction.com

February 2011

CEMA Awarded Region 7 IED Exercise

In a partnered effort between the Region 7 Homeland Security Planning Board and the Region 7 Medical Disaster Preparedness Network, design and conduct of a region-wide exercise program has been awarded to CEMA. All exercises under this project will be based on an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) scenario, testing related response capabilities across the region. Planning and execution under this program will adhere to the standards and best practices of the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP).

Exercise participants will include a combination of the region’s 17 County EOCs, three Tribal EOCs, and 12 hospitals. At the core, the program will consist of a primary, hospital-based functional exercise, with EOCs and additional hospitals throughout the region each playing at the drill, functional, or full-scale levels. Prior to this, some communities may also opt to participate in smaller, discussion-based training and exercise events in preparation for the major regional event.

CEMA Northern Branch Director, Tres Brooke will serve as the Exercise Planning Team Leader and Planning Chief. Scott Hasse and Byron Callies will take on the role of Technical Specialist, given their respective subject-matter expertise in explosive devices and exercise development. Rounding out CEMA’s team, Tom Shaver will serve as Operations Chief and George Nicula as Logistics Chief.

January 2011

Ingham County Health Department Awards CEMA Mass Media
Planning Project

CEMA is extremely pleased to announce we have been awarded a contract for creating a mass media plan for the Ingham County Health Department. The core goal of the project is to help nine Mid-Michigan counties and local media partners create a single, regional mass media communication plan for communications during a public health emergency. The project will include several components: a plan for coordinated crisis messaging from the nine partners; a plan for coordinated purchasing of media to gain the greatest impact from available funds; a plan that will identify and leverage a variety of communication technologies to more effectively reach staff and constituents. CEMA Principal Tom Shaver will manage the project and will be assisted by CEMA associate Rob Dale who has over a decade of experience in broadcasting and Penny Rodriguez a Professional Emergency Manager.

January 2011

CEMA Awarded Regional Communications Exercise

The Region 1 Homeland Security Board announced the award of a contract to CEMA for its 2011 regional communications exercise. Titled COMEX 11, the exercise will piggy-back on the scenario and events of a planned June 2011 exercise for the Capitol Region International Airport (CRAA) titled AIREX 11 (another CEMA project, see below).

COMEX 11 will focus on the need to exercise communications plans and capabilities for the nine counties in the homeland security region. The event will support two National Priorities:

• Expand Regional Collaboration
• Strengthen CBRNE Detection, Response and Decontamination Capabilities

CEMA will have primary responsibility for the design, planning and conduct of all the tabletop, functional and full-scale exercises including Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) related requirements in Clinton, Eaton and Ingham counties, as well as Delta Township, the Capital Regional International Airport, and the City of Lansing.

January 2011

Henry Ford Hospital Retains CEMA for Active Shooter Tabletop

As a continuation to their efforts to better prepare for violence in their hospital emergency department, Henry Ford Hospital has partnered with CEMA to facilitate an active shooter tabletop exercise for ED and hospital command staff. The January 24th exercise has four primary objectives:

1. Test the hospital response policy to an active shooter.
2. Test command and communications linkages.
3. Test trauma surge plan and assess feasibility.
4. Assess hospital resources available for incident recovery.

Exercise design was by emergency services staff from Henry Ford Health system, but they wisely elected to bring in outside facilitation so that all key hospital staff could "play" and learn from the day's activities.

December 2010

D1RMRC Announces Fourth Year of D1RE Play 4 Hospital Exercises

For the fourth consecutive year, District 1 Regional Medical Response Coalition (D1RMRC) has announced its intention to partner with CEMA for a continuation of their OASPR funded, shelter-in-place and evacuation exercises for hospitals. D1RMRC, based in East Lansing, is a nine county region serving thirteen acute care hospitals and seven public health departments.

As in past years, all exercises will be planned and conducted by CEMA Master Exercise Practitioners utilizing federal guidelines from the Homeland Security and Exercise and Evaluation System (HSEEP). The resulting lessons learned and best practices will be shared with all regional partners for their collective benefit.

October 2010

Capitol Region International Airport (CRAA) has announced the selection of CEMA for their 2011 full scale disaster exercise.

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations mandate airports conduct at least one live drill every three years to test emergency response procedures for incident command, communication, fire and police coordination, emergency medical, and mutual aid relationships. The 2011 exercise will be funded in part by Region 1 Homeland Security funding and will be based on a realistic scenario that will invoke the desired response activities. CRAA will utilize several areas of CEMA services including exercise design, exercise conduct, and moulage (victim simulation) for the event. Tom Shaver, CEMA principal and Master Exercise Practitioner (MEP) will manage the project and lead the design team.

September 2010

CEMA a Featured Speaker at Risk Management Conference

The Michigan Municipal Risk Management Authority, (MMRMA) a major insurer of Michigan municipalities, has invited CEMA to provide a featured speaker for its October conference in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan. Dan Welihan, a CEMA associate will be the featured speaker for the conference with a kick-off presentation titled "Creating an Effective Workplace Culture and the Leadership to Pull It Off." Before ending a 28-year career, Dan had been the Manager of the office of Environmental Affairs for the Michigan Department of Corrections. He now consults in several areas for CEMA but specializes in the area of Food System Safety and Defense.

June 2010

Michigan Primary Care Association selects CEMA for Planning Assistance

CEMA was awarded a contract by the Michigan Primary Care Association (MPCA) to assist in building organizational resiliency for its health care centers around the state. The MPCA administers programs and services to promote, support and develop comprehensive primary and preventive health care services through its eighty-plus Community Health Centers distributed throughout the state of Michigan. MPCA selected CEMA in order to leverage the depth of CEMA associates in the dual worlds of emergency planning and healthcare.

The project will be divided into two major phases. Phase-1 goals include:

• Assist health centers in completing the Migrant/Community Health Center Emergency Preparedness Survey.
• Work to identify and analyze emergency planning gaps on an agency, regional and statewide basis.
• Review health center pandemic influenza plans to identify areas for improvement.
• Identify strategies to mitigate emergency management gaps.
• Plan training and educational opportunities to build capacity to effectively respond to an influenza outbreak.

Phase-2 goals will build upon Phase-1 work accomplished:

• Training to build capacity for health centers to effectively respond to an influenza outbreak.
• Lead organizations in exercise planning and coordination, focusing on pandemic influenza scenarios.
• Develop and compile emergency planning resources.
• Encourage and support health center partnerships with Regional Medical Bio-Defense Network Coordinators and local health department Emergency Preparedness Coordinators.
• Encourage health center partners to develop continuity of operations and response plans that will address family preparedness, maintenance of critical functions and clinic surge capacity issues.

June 2010

CEMA Hosts International Guests

For a week in June, CEMA hosted Mr. Yutaka Motoya of ScienceCraft, a Japanese emergency planning firm, and Dr. Munenari Inoguchi of Nigata University - Research Center for Natural Hazards & Disaster Recovery. CEMA was contacted by representatives of ScienceCraft and asked to host a visit with the goal of providing an overview of emergency planning, training and exercise standards and practices in the United States and to explore possibilities for further collaboration between the organizations. Activities included direct consultation and a variety of site visits including the East Lansing Technology Innovation Center, Ingham Regional Medical Center, Michigan State Emergency Operations Center, Michigan State University Department of Public Safety, City of Lansing Emergency Operations Center and the Indiana State Emergency Operations Center. Additionally, to establish a foundation for further relationships between ScienceCraft and Michigan companies, CEMA highlighted some its Michigan-based Premier Partners.

May 2010

D1RMRC Contract Awarded

The D1RMRC has awarded a contract to CEMA to design, develop, conduct and evaluate full-scale exercises for District 1 hospitals. As a hospital decon program training provider for numerous District 1 hospitals, CEMA is intimately familiar with hospital decon process capabilities and limitations. This experience, coupled with our exercise design and development expertise, provides CEMA the foundation for creating an exercise program that will effectively assess participating hospitals’ capabilities while identifying areas for improvement.

CEMA’s exercise design and development team includes Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program (HSEEP) trainers and Master Exercise Practitioners. We have the experience to assist you with any of your exercise needs. See our Services Page for details about our exercise or training services.

April 2010

D1RMRC Funding Approved

The D1RMRC has approved funding to continue its third year of District 1 Play 4 (D1RE Play 4), which is an exercise program that focuses on hospital shelter-in-place and evacuation. With participation from Hayes Green Hospital, Ingham Regional Orthopedic Hospital, and Lenawee Health Alliance (Bixby Medical Center and Herrick Community Hospital), all hospitals within District 1 will have completed the CEMA-designed exercise program. This pre-designed exercise program, which involves a tabletop exercise component and a full-scale component, may be replicated at any hospital at a lower cost than designing a customized exercise.

CEMA’s exercise design and development team includes Homeland Security Exercise & Evaluation Program (HSEEP) trainers and Master Exercise Practitioners. We have the experience to assist you with any of your exercise needs. Contact CEMA@cema.biz for details.

January 2010

CEMA Awarded Ferris State University Contract

Ferris State University has awarded a contract to Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates, Inc. (CEMA) to complete a review and gap analysis of the current FSU Emergency Response Plan. CEMA won the contract through a competitive process in response to a 2009 Request for Proposal. The gap analysis will compare current policy and response plans against local, regional and state emergency plans, as well as national standards including the National Response Framework, the National Response Guidelines and the National Incident Management System. The review and gap analysis will result in a report with recommendations to update, enhance and expand FSU’s current Emergency Response Plan to become the new All Hazards Plan for the University. For more information about CEMA exercise programs, go to http://www.cema.biz/services/programs.

January 2010

CEMA Supports ICHD Flu Vaccination Efforts

Following on assistance provided during their fall H1N1 flu vaccination program, Ingham County Health Department has again engaged CEMA. CEMA associate Penny Rodriguez will be working on contract for ICHD Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Susan McIntosh to provide administrative support in the position of H1N1 Coordinator. CEMA’s ability to provide skilled and timely support in the form of contract services is enjoying increasing interest from community agencies and organizations.

January 2010

CEMA Brings "Essentials of Modern Triage" to Ingham County

The Ingham County Local Emergency Planning Team has awarded a contract to CEMA to provide their Essentials of Modern Triage Course to Ingham county agencies. The programs will be hosted at area hospitals but will be available to other agency personnel as well. The popular program has been delivered in recent years around the State to a variety of first responder and first receiver groups including EMS, fire service, law enforcement, hospitals, 911 communications and others. For more information about CEMA Emergency Planning services, go to http://www.cema.biz/services/planning.

December 2009 / January 2010

NMRH Undergoes CEMA's Severe Weather Training

Tres Brooke, Northern Branch Director for CEMA, recently executed two programs for Northern Michigan Regional Hospital, centering on an ice storm/severe weather scenario.  In October, NMRH personnel attended a half-day tabletop exercise based on this scenario, which among other findings has resulted in the hospital’s making improvements to its process for early activation of its incident management team.  This was followed by a January workshop, CEMA’s new Hospital Incident Management Team Program 202 course, entitled “Action Planning Essentials.” This workshop, which included a practical simulation component using the ice storm scenario, has helped NMRH’s incident management team develop operational skills in the critical functions of initial incident actions and incident action planning.

December 2009

CEMA Assists Ingham Regional Medical Center with H1N1 Preparedness

In the Spring of 2009, the H1N1 flu hit Michigan.   Through an ongoing contract with Ingham Regional Medical Center, CEMA associates, led by Byron Callies, became involved with real-world response activities to assist the hospital with responding to the H1N1 incident. As a result of incident-specific planning throughout the summer and fall, CEMA associates helped the hospital establish response plans to mitigate incident impact while maximizing patient care capabilities.

CEMA associates, led by Penny Rodriguez, actively supported public health response operations. Through a contract with Ingham County Health Department, CEMA helped coordinate the department’s influenza vaccination program, primarily by coordinating the vaccine clinic staffing.  As a demonstration of our community values, various CEMA associates also volunteered to staff the vaccine clinics.

Recently, CEMA has helped hospitals across Michigan improve their H1N1 preparedness and response capabilities through tabletop exercises.  The H1N1 tabletop exercise programs helped hospitals create awareness about response plans while identifying strengths and areas for improvement.  Many hospitals have been able to address gaps prior to severe incident impact.  Hospitals that took advantage of the H1N1 tabletop exercise program included:

• Battle Creek Health System
• Detroit Medical Center
• Henry Ford Hospital
• Ingham Regional Medical Center
• Oakland Regional Hospital
• William Beaumont Hospital - Royal Oak

Contact us at CEMA@cema.biz to find out about CEMA pandemic planning, training, and exercise services.

August 2009

CEMA Pens Agreement

In a move designed to further distinguish its award-winning services, Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) has entered into a strategic alliance with Personal Recovery Concepts, LLC, www.personalrecoveryconcepts.com, a California-based company that specializes in people continuity. CEMA chose Personal Recovery Concepts LLC as a Premier Partner for their innovative, affordable and high-quality personal preparedness software. Personal Recovery Concepts, LLC is a leader in the emerging sector of people-continuity services for government, business and consumers with offices in Huntington Beach, CA and Harrison Township, Michigan.

August 2009

CEMA Completes Two-Year Training Project with Region 3

In August of 2009, CEMA completed a two-year joint project with the Region 3 Healthcare Preparedness Network (R3HPN). Region 3 HPN, a fourteen county bioterrorism planning region in southeast Michigan had awarded CEMA a Training Services Provider contract in 2008. At the end of the original project period, Region 3 asked CEMA to extend the contract to work on 2009 training initiatives as well. Working in cooperation with a variety of the Regional Workgroups, CEMA assisted in the design and conduct of four conferences, the design and implementation of five online training programs, and conducted live Essentials of Modern Triage training program at a variety of locations around the region.

July 2009

CEMA Receives Partners in Progress Award

CEMA is proud to announce that we have received the Partners in Progress Award from the Community Builders Program. Initiated by Leap, Inc. and the Prima Civitas Foundation, the MSU Community Builders program recognizes businesses and organizations that are working with Michigan State University to advance economic development and quality of life in the Mid-Michigan region.

June 2009

CEMA Completes Region 2 North Hospital Exercise Program

CEMA is pleased to announce the completion of an ambitious project with the Region 2 North Bio-Defense Network.  A dedicated group of individuals from Region 2 North, a three-county area in eastern Michigan, and CEMA began planning for this progressive exercise project in January 2009.  On March 31st, over 100 participants from Region 2 North organizations participated in a Tabletop Exercise; the exercise involved a long-term power outage scenario.  Discussion focused on hospital shelter-in-place and evacuation activities.   Using the Tabletop Exercise scenario as a starting point, the culmination of the project was a Full-Scale Exercise on May 19th that involved eight evacuating hospitals, numerous receiving hospitals throughout Michigan, county Emergency Operations Center, the Region 2 North Medical Coordination Center, the State Emergency Operations Center and a multitude of volunteer role-players.   The exercise program was successful in identifying strengths, areas for improvement, and future planning, training, exercise, and equipment needs.

June 2009

CEMA Becomes S-Corporation

Effective July 1, 2009, CEMA became an S-Corporation. Our new official name will become Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates, Inc.

June 2009

CEMA Completes Work for Lapeer Regional Hospital

CEMA has completed a life-safety code consultation for Lapeer Regional Medical Center.

May 2009

CEMA Awarded Schools Project

Clinton County Regional Education Service Agency (CCRESA) has announced the selection of CEMA to perform vulnerability assessments at 18 area schools. The assessments will occur both at the District level and the building level. The project will leverage the use of an online survey tool for the initial collection of information, then will transition into live site visits prior to the final data analysis and report.

May 2009

CEMA Adds new Employee

CEMA is pleased to announce the addition of Daniel Garcia to our full time staff. Daniel is a 2009 graduate of Michigan State University, School of Criminal Justice. Daniel will be assisting in all areas of CEMA operations and working from the East Lansing, Technology Innovation Center offices.

October 2008

CEMA Moves to New Location

Effective October first, CEMA corporate headquarters will move to the new East Lansing, Technology Innovation Center. The TIC will provide CEMA with a state-of-the-art office environment and powerful links to the Michigan technology community.  "With this move, we are able to offer greater convenience and improved services for our customers, while CEMA will enjoy improved collaboration with other innovative public and private partners" said Tom Shaver, CEMA Principal.

September 2008

CEMA Welcomes Tres Brooke and Opens Traverse Office

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) an East Lansing based emergency planning provider of consulting, training and exercise services is pleased to announce the opening of a Traverse City office, with Tres Brooke joining the firm as the Northern Branch Director.  The Traverse office will provide a full range of emergency planning services to the northern Lower Peninsula and UP clients.  "Tres Brooke, formerly the Region 7 Bioterrorism coordinator, brings a wealth of experience and a knowledge of regional needs and issues to the CEMA team" said Tom Shaver, CEMA Principal and spokesman.

September 2008

CEMA Teams with Ingham Regional Medical Center

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) an East Lansing based emergency planning provider offering consulting, training and exercise services is pleased to announce a contract with Ingham Regional Medical Center, of Lansing Michigan, to provide Environment of Care and Safety Services to the institution.

August 2008

CEMA Welcomes Byron Callies as New Partner

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) an East Lansing based emergency planning provider offering consulting, training and exercise services is pleased to announce that Byron Callies has joined the CEMA team as a full partner.  Callies, a Certified Emergency Planner and Master Exercise Practitioner will focus on the healthcare industry, and on enhancing CEMA's menu of exercise services for the public and private sectors. Prior to joining CEMA, Callies had been the Environment of Care Manager for a large mid-Michigan hospital, and earlier, the Bioterrorism Coordinator for one of the eight Michigan Bioterrorism Planning Regions.

January 2008

CEMA Wins Training Services Contract

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates, LLC (CEMA) won a competitive bidding process and was awarded a training services contract by the Region 3 Bioterrorism Defense Network.  The contract calls for CEMA to design, develop and deliver a variety of training programs for hospital, public health and first-responder personnel throughout the 14 county region in eastern lower Michigan.  For ease of scheduling and access, CEMA will be working closely with its partner, MSU-Global to deliver selected program content via a web-based online learning system.

November 2007

CEMA and HSS pen Agreement

CEMA and Hospital Shared Services, Inc. (HSS) proudly announce a partnering agreement.  HSS, a Denver, Colorado based provider of security and aggression management training services to the healthcare industry will be melding together their product lines and offering them to their combined clients.  "We see this as an example of synergy in its truest form" said Tom Shaver, CEMA Principal.

October 2007

CEMA and Michigan State University pen Agreement

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) a Lansing based full service emergency planning and consulting firm, and MSU-Global, a division of Michigan State University, have announced a partnership agreement.  MSU-Global, develops and implements online institutes, programs and services including a business and life-skills program.  Under the agreement, communications skills and conflict management course content from MSU-Global will be added to existing emergency preparedness training programs now offered by CEMA.  The resulting Conflict Management Continuum Program “will provide a broad range of communications and conflict management learning options to meet the needs of our clients“ said Byron Callies, CEMA Program Manager.   CEMA, a mid-Michigan based consulting firm, specializes in emergency planning, training and exercising for public, private and not-for-profit clients.

May 2007

CEMA Receives Mass Casualty Training Grant

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) was awarded a training grant by the District 1 Regional Medical Response Coalition. The training program will be for emergency medical, fire, law enforcement, hospital and 9-1-1 communications personnel in the nine District 1 Counties.  The grant will provide first responders with information and skills to better manage and care for the victims of mass casualty incidents (MCI's).  The program is gaining recognition for its unique content of best practices and lessons learned gleaned from the study of responses to large incidents around the world.  "MCI's are arguably the most complex and challenging events a first-responder will ever be faced with.  If we fail to learn from the successes and mistakes of others, we loose a huge body of useful information,” said Joe DeFors, CEMA co-founder and program manager.

April 2007

CEMA Awarded Regional Pandemic Influenza Exercise

Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates, LLC (CEMA) was awarded a contract to plan and conduct a Pandemic Influenza Exercise by the District 1 Regional Medical Response Coalition. “This exercise is about community preparedness, and our hospitals response to an infectious disease,” said Joe DeFors, a principal of CEMA.   Titled District 1Regional Playbook 3 (D1RE PLAY-3), the contract calls for a series of multiple exercises beginning in June and concluding in late August of this year.

“D1RE Play-3 will challenge and evaluate our ability to coordinate systems that support the care of a large numbers of victims,” said Tom Shaver of CEMA, the Lead Planner for the exercise.  “We will test our Modular Emergency Medical System” (MEMS). The MEMS addresses the gap in resources that will exist if a large number of victims were to seek treatment from area hospitals. The MEMS is based on the rapid organization of two types of expandable patient care modules, the Neighborhood Emergency Help Center (NEHC) and the Acute Care Center (ACC).  The exercise will be designed to involve a number of other regional resources as well. With this project, CEMA will bring one of the first Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) compliant exercises to the mid-Michigan area.

January 2007

CEMA Concludes Schools Emergency Training Program

In a project funded by 2006 homeland security dollars, Comprehensive Emergency Management Associates (CEMA) has been training school’s administrators, principals, security and other staff in a variety of emergency planning topics. The project, a partnership between CEMA and the Ingham Intermediate School District (IISD) offered four different emergency planning modules to schools staff.  Topics included crisis teams, emergency communications, sheltering and evacuation, and building protection and utility controls.  Content for the program came from weaknesses and deficiencies identified in earlier emergency planning work CEMA had conducted in Michigan schools.