Several years ago, Arizona State University (ASU) hosted a statewide exercise whereby they “collapsed” part of their stadium while occupied. The focus was responding to a catastrophic event but one of the major issues that arose from the exercise was reunification. ASU found that there was very little existing information to guide them on reunification. With the help of key partners, ASU developed several comprehensive plans to address critical points of the reunification process including a reunification site, call center, and hospital reception site. The model that was designed is easily transferrable and can be plugged into any incident command structure as a branch. In this webinar, Allen Clark, executive director of preparedness and security initiatives at ASU, addresses how ASU developed this model, assumptions that were made, trigger points, and the “three-prong approach” to activation. Participants are provided with access to several work books designed to help their institutions of higher education or organizations work through this process.

1. Campus Public Safety Online

2. Reunification Planning:
The Next Step
• Assumptions
• Activation
• Three prong approach
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3. Disclaimer/ Credit
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4. My Home
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5. Assumptions
• Families will show up!
• Information gathering may collapse our infrastructure;
• Anticipate minimum of 8-10 per patient (hospital);
• They will be stressed, perhaps aggressive;
• Families will have high expectations;
• Your process may not be able to meet all of their needs;
• Ethnic & cultural traditions will be important in processing
information and grieving.
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6. Assumptions Continued
• Victim identification may take days, weeks or months;
• Unsolicited volunteers show up during disasters;
• Pedophiles position themselves to have easy access to
vulnerable children;
• Responding to mass casualty or mass fatality
incidents can be overwhelming and traumatic
for staff;
• Rest, Nutrition, and support will be necessary;
• Staff Support falls under the Logistics sector (medical unit).
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7. Activation, Purpose
• Accurate and timely information sharing with loved ones;
• A way to identify loved ones;
• Provide emotional support for families
and victims;
• Protect families from media and curiosity seekers;
• Provide a child care safe zone for unaccompanied minors;
• Provide opportunity for post-mortem investigation/ services.
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8. Activation, Purpose continued
• Directs families to other hospitals when
appropriate, or once established,
to a family reunification centers.
• Addresses psycho/ social, spiritual, medical
and logistical needs to the best of the
hospitals ability.
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9. Activation Trigger
• Will be different:
– Overwhelmed services;
– Political considerations.
• Other requirements:
– Declarations;
– Others…
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10. Three Prong Approach
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11. Branch Organization
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Local Incident
Command
Operations Section
Chief
Reunification Branch
Director
Family Reunification Center
(FRC) Division Supervisor
Hospital Reception Site
(HRS) Division Supervisor
Emergency Call Center
(ECC) Division Supervisor
Family Contact
Unit
Data Research
Unit
Credentialing
Unit
Hospital Liaison
Unit
Family
Reunification
Leads (e.g. HRS
Unit Leader)
Social Services
Unit leader
Child Care
Unit
Reception/
Badging Unit
Victim
Coordination and
Notification Unit
Call Taker
Unit
Finance/Administration,
Logistics, and the PIO for
the FRC may remain within
the Incident Command or
assigned a Liaison under the
FRC.
This chart is designed to
“plug and play” in existing
ESF/other municipal
emergency response
structures and is not
intended as a replacement
recommendation.
Public Information
Liaison
Safety
Logistics Section
Chief
Planning Section
Chief
Admin/Finance
Section Chief
Branch
(i.e. Fire or Medical)
Branch
(i.e. Law Enforcement)
Hospital Incident Command System (HICs)
Operations Section Chief
Division Supervisor
Security
Unit
Credentialing
Unit
Reception/Check-in
Unit
Whole Community
Unit
Victim Coordination
Unit
Medical
Unit
Spritual Health
Unit
Behavioral Health
Unit
Unaccompanied
Minor Unit
Child Care
Unit
Volunteers
Unit
Investigative
Unit
Medical Examiner
Unit
Security
Unit
County Public
Health Unit
NGO
Unit

12. Guide Resource
• https://coyotecampaign.org/
– Reunification Guide
– Call Center Guide
– Hospital Reception
Guide
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14. Questions
Allen Clark
Executive Director, ASU Preparedness and Security Initiatives
aclark@asu.edu
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15. www.bja.gov www.margolishealy.com
www.nccpsafety.org
info@nccpsafety.org
1.866.817.5817