Central Virginia Emergency and Disaster Management Services

05/16/2026

This week (May 11th and 12th) was the first class of the new NDLSF decontamination course. We had over 20 students attend who had varying backgrounds in decontamination experience. We had a few students who have been trained, some who had very little training, but most of the students have never received training. If you need training for you and/or your staff for hospital decontamination using the Primary Response Incident Scene Management (PRISM) guidance, contact National Disaster Life Support™ Program (NDLSF).

04/18/2026

Just a few photo drops of teaching for the National Disaster Life Support™ Program.

Beginning May 2026, we will be teaching an updated hospital decontamination course. Do you have staff that have not been trained for hospital decontamination because of turnover, or has it been a long time since your staff were trained? Whatever the reason you need hospital decontamination training, you should contact Jeb Sheidler at (706) 721-3548. You will not be disappointed in the 3 days of classroom and hands-on training.

03/03/2026

I have lots more posts on my website www.cvaedm.com
Head over there to see the latest information such as the Nursing Home Incident Command System (NHICS) course I have developed and ready to deliver.

03/03/2026

Validated for another year.

02/15/2025

12/06/2024

Well, it seems training for 2024 has come to an end. This year I had the opportunity to teach five Basic and Advanced Certified Healthcare Emergency Coordinator courses, five Basic Disaster Life Support courses, seven Advanced Disaster Life Support courses, and one Hospital Incident Command System course. I traveled to Georgia, Illinois, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Wisconsin, and throughout Virginia to teach the courses. At each of these venues, it was exciting to teach students who were either new to emergency management or those with years of experience. Not only did the students learn new ways to be better prepared, but the instructors also learned new things, which is one of the amazing things about teaching these courses. There are different ways to prepare for emergencies and disasters, and each organization needs to ensure the staff, and everyone involved are prepared as best they can be by following the rules, regulations, standards, and governance specific to their industry.

While most of my posts on LinkedIn and my website (www.cvaedm.com) this year have been about my travels and teaching the next generation of healthcare, public health, and local emergency managers I cannot overemphasize it enough that training is extremely vital to being better prepared for emergencies or disasters.

Next year is already shaping up to be another great year of training and traveling. Twenty-seven classes for 2025 have been requested thus far, and that is only through May. So, if you want to get into the rotation for a great group of instructors to teach the courses offered by the National Disaster Life Support Foundation, check out the website and contact Jeb Sheidler ([email protected]) at the National Training Center East or Monica McCullough ([email protected]) at the Southwest Virginia Healthcare Coalition Training Center.

07/27/2024

This week’s post will be different than others I have made. This one includes a preparedness video from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Although it is nine years old, the message still holds true. The video highlights people with disabilities and their need to be prepared. It may be argued that most communities do not have a large population of people with disabilities, however some communities may be taxed with only a few people with them. It could be the need for shelter, the need to relocate temporarily, or even finding someone’s family. Don’t think of disabilities as someone who may have very limited mobility or even being confined to a bed. There are many types of disabilities, even temporary/short term ones. Those who may be hearing or vision impaired, confined to a wheelchair, loss of a limb and having a prosthetic, or any other type of disability.

Have you worked in your community or organization to identify those who may need a little extra assistance with being prepared? If not, maybe it is time to identify those who need your help before a disaster occurs. As we all know, being prepared leads to a much better outcome during and after a disaster. This will hopefully quicken the road to recovery for those who have suffered from a disaster.

Click on the YouTube video beside this post to watch the two-minute video.

References

Federal Emergency Management Agency. (2015, July 22). We Prepare Everyday. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/P4JYMcN1wvU?si=Vs9WHDhAG7kzPXTU

A 2-minute video brought to you by the Ready Campaign and Ad Council showing people with disabilities taking charge to prepare themselves and their families ...

03/18/2024

In appreciation of the unwavering dedication and tireless efforts of emergency management professionals around the commonwealth, we are proud to recognize Emergency Management Professionals Week.

Emergency management professionals provide the leadership, management, and operational skills necessary to enable their communities, organizations, and agencies to develop emergency plans and procedures, ensure personnel is adequately trained and exercise plans, provide emergency warnings, notifications, and alerts, and acquire resources to protect lives and property and enhance resiliency to emergency events.