Newspaper: The Patriot-News
Date: April 1, 2005

Colleges to study aid in emergencies

Representatives from a dozen midstate colleges are gathering in Grantville today to learn how to be better citizens in their communities during emergencies.

The program, called Ready Campus, involves a daylong training session to identify ways institutions can help. About 80 representatives are expected to attend the program at the Holiday Inn Harrisburg/Hershey.

Similar training sessions have been held in Scranton and the Pittsburgh area.

The program is funded through a $500,000 federal homeland security grant.

"We think it could pay great dividends down the road," said Jim Roberts, a spokesman for Ready Campus and College Misercordia. Mike MacDowell, president of that campus, took the lead in creating the program, which could become a model for other states.

College Misercordia, without any preparation, helped during Tropical Storm Agnes in 1972 when flooding forced a local hospital to evacuate. A dorm was transformed into a hospital, Roberts said.

Aside from buildings and cafeterias to house and feed people, program officials say colleges have vehicles that can assist in evacuations and many hands available.

But few colleges have done any planning to carve out a role they can play during a crisis. Roberts said the program is intended to encourage colleges to do that and to form partnerships with local emergency responders.

Another part of the program aims to get faculty to add disaster response to academic courses so students possess that knowledge.

"Pennsylvania has more colleges per capita than most states, and maybe this is one area where they can be of more help," Roberts said.

JAN MURPHY: 232-0668 or jmurphy@patriot-news.com