Newspaper: The Times Leader
Date: October 1, 2004

Misericordia launches program to help in times of disaster

Ready Campus is designed to mobilize colleges to aid the community when needed.

DALLAS TWP. - While recent flooding chased many from their homes, it opened the eyes of officials at College Misericordia.

We've all learned a lot from floods and other natural disasters, and we recognize that they are new and real threats," said College Misericordia President Michael MacDowell.

Because of that, the college and numerous agencies initiating Ready Campus, a program endorsed by Gov. Ed Rendell that ensures colleges are prepared to pitch in during times of disaster. On Thursday the college held a workshop attended by more than 120 officials representing 25 colleges and dozens of emergency agencies throughout the state.

"It's a way to find out how universities can be useful to the public (during emergencies), and vice versa," said Barry W. Scanlon, senior vice president and partner of Washington, D.C.-based James Lee Will Associates, which helped develop Ready Campus.

The program, funded by a $500,000 federal grant, calls for colleges to offer their facilities, food services, and faculty and staff to disaster victims.

Jeffrey M. Varnes, executive director of the York chapter of the American Red Cross, said dormitories and other college facilities had been helpful in past situations. But Campus Ready will add another dimension because it will result in students and faculty being qualified to aid in disasters, he said.

Misericordia has a service-learning curriculum, and the next step it will address with students is emergency management, said Helen Speziale, professor of nursing and director of the Service Learning Center.

The service learning courses, include students venturing beyond the classroom to do research, such as compiling water samples from rivers and streams to be tested.

"They learn by doing," Speziale said.

"Ready Campus" also was developed by numerous planners, including the state Office of Homeland Security, American Red Cross and Pennsylvania Association of College and Universities.