Division of Administration and Finance
Department of Public Safety
Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Name: Ginger Walker
Title: Executive Administrative Assistant
Phone: 832-842-0583
Email: gkwalker@uh.edu
UH CERTIFIES ANOTHER CAMPUS EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM (CERT)
Members of the campus community have completed another Campus Emergency Response
Team (CERT) course on the University of Houston campus on Wednesday, April 25th. The
University of Houston is the third university in Texas to gain certification.
Individuals representing the campus community met for 8 weeks seeking certification as CERT
members. UH had 25 members forming the campus community response team, and they are
now ready to support the university. The training gave citizens the opportunity to obtain skills to
assist with emergency situations either on or off campus. Below is a brief overview of the training
fundamentals that prepare the CERT members for supporting the campus.
The Fundamentals of Emergency Management Training Curriculum include:
Disasters
This unit addresses a variety of disaster situations that might threaten our community. In addition,
each participant learns what they can do to mitigate the effects of disasters and learn more about
personal safety and secondary hazards which present themselves when emergencies or
disasters occur.
Basic Fire Suppression
This unit addresses the basic use of fire extinguishers, personal safety, fire prevention for the
home and workplace and an overview of the Fire Department and its resources.
In addition, this unit provides an orientation to hazardous materials. This basic knowledge
enables the CERT team members to recognize and identify a hazardous material threat and how
to properly notify authorities.
Disaster Medical
Part I of Disaster Medical Operations includes an introduction to disaster medical situations. It
includes recognizing and treating life-threatening conditions, triage, and practical applications for
disaster.
Part II of Disaster Medical Operations concentrates on the organization of disaster medical
operations. Participants learn how to conduct head-to-toe patient assessments and also establish
treatment areas. CERT members also learn public health considerations and apply their newly
learned disaster medical knowledge and skills in a practical scenario.
Light Search and Rescue
This unit includes aspects of search and rescue planning, size-up, and operations.
Team Organization and Psychology
The CERT program includes the spontaneous organization of CERT and disaster decisionmaking. Members learn about disaster psychology and how these traumatic events can affect
victims and rescuers including CERT members. In conclusion, this unit addresses CERT and its
relationship to the incident management system.
Terrorism
This unit is a basic overview on terrorism.
Graduation and Exercise
The hands-on "disaster" exercise puts newly learned CERT skills to the test. Certification from the
Harris County Office of Emergency Management and the National CERT Program are earned by
the UH members.
For more information on the Campus Emergency Response Team please visit us at
www.uh.edu/emergency or contact Kelly Boysen, Emergency Management Specialist, at
krboysen@central.uh.edu.
About the University of Houston
The University of Houston is a comprehensive national research institution serving the globally
competitive Houston and Gulf Coast Region by providing world-class faculty, experiential learning
and strategic industry partnerships. UH serves more than 38,500 students in the nation’s fourthlargest city, located in the most ethnically and culturally diverse region of the country.