Houston Healthcare – Warner Robins Receives StormReady Recognition

Warner Robins, GA -- The National Weather Service (NWS), a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has approved Houston Healthcare – Warner Robins as a StormReady location, becoming the fifth commercial site in the state of Georgia to receive this distinguished honor.

According to the NWS, ninety percent of all Presidentially declared disasters are weather-related and lead to around 500 deaths and over $23 billion in damage every year. Through the StormReady Program, NOAA’s National Weather Service gives communities the skills and education needed to survive severe weather - before and during the event. StormReady helps community leaders and emergency managers strengthen their local hazardous weather operations.

David Borghelli, Director of Emergency Medical Services and Disaster Preparedness for Houston Healthcare, describes the organization’s desire to become a StormReady location. “We have safety protocols and disaster preparedness plans in place for each of our facilities to ensure our staff, patients and guests are safe during a severe weather event; however, we felt that obtaining additional knowledge of severe weather, enhanced warning systems, 24-hour communication, and leadership training, would allow us to be more prepared should these events arise.” Through a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis, all possible natural and man-made emergencies that would most likely affect Houston Healthcare – Warner Robins were evaluated, such as tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, heat events, and winter weather.

The StormReady program is intended to:

• Reduce fatalities, injuries and minimize property damage through timely distribution, receipt, and effective communication of hazardous weather and flood warnings between the NWS, emergency managers, and the public
• Provide detailed and clear recommendations emergency managers may use to establish or improve hazardous weather and flood planning, operations, and public response
• Empower people to make better decisions before and during significant weather and flood hazards through community preparedness.

“StormReady encourages communities to take a proactive approach to improve local hazardous weather operations and public awareness in partnership with their local National Weather Service office,” says David Nadler, Warning Coordination Meteorologist with the National Weather Service (Atlanta). “We are pleased to partner with Houston Healthcare and look forward to building on this partnership to enhance safety education and awareness for the patients and residents of Houston County.”

“As part of our application process, our emergency team visited the NWS Peachtree City weather office to learn about the various products our local office provides to help us better mitigate, prepare, respond, and recover from a Severe Weather Event,” shares Borghelli. “This included customized forecasting tools, real-time situational awareness, and most importantly, developing a close relationship with the local NWS office to use as a resource when in need.”