ESS Dispatches Expert to Support Mississippi First Responders in Wake of Hurricane Katrina
Senior consultant deployed to support state department of health's crisis management system
TEMPE, Ariz. - August 31, 2005 - ESS announced today that the company has deployed a senior staff member to help the Mississippi Department of Health (MDH) with information technology support of the agency's Essential Incident Master™ crisis management software system, following the agency's call for emergency response assistance in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
At the agency's request, ESS senior consultant John Ketcham was dispatched to Jackson, Miss., to coordinate maintenance and execution of Incident Master, developed by ESS. Ketcham's presence will allow command center personnel to remain focused on response and recovery efforts resulting from Monday's hurricane, which had top speeds of 175 miles an hour before making landfall at 140 mph.
Since Saturday, MDH has deployed more than 30 emergency medical staff, more than 30 nurse practitioners and 52 public health nurses across the state. Another 130 public health environmentalists and nearly 400 public health professionals are on alert.
"The Mississippi Department of Health has an emergency preparedness and response plan in place and trained personnel ready to execute it. This is a team effort that requires the experience, skills and dedication of staff from many Mississippi agencies," said State Health Officer Dr. Brian Amy.
The leading provider of crisis management software and services, ESS has provided tactical and technological support in response to many storms and hurricanes including Gilbert, Hugo and Andrew.
"Our long-standing history of crisis management support and response is well respected by local, state, federal and international agencies around the world," said John Gargett, senior product manager for crisis management at ESS. "We are honored to have the opportunity to use our expertise to help save and restore the wellbeing and property of the people who have been devastated by this hurricane."
Essential Incident Master is the first software designed to meet all requirements of the National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) and Incident Command System (ICS), while continuing to address daily and emergency response operations. It is part of the Essential Suite portfolio of fully integrated, browser-based applications.
ESS is the leading provider of Operational Risk Management software and services for Environmental, Health and Safety (EH&S) and Crisis Management. The company has provided more than 35,000 Compliance Suite™ and Essential Suite™ software licenses to businesses, government agencies and other organizations worldwide.
