Emergency Preparedness Plan

FAIN: PG-50058-07

Chester County Historical Society (West Chester, PA 19380-2658)
Ellen Endslow (Project Director: May 2006 to September 2007)

Hiring a consultant to assist in developing and implementing an emergency preparedness plan. The consultant will meet with staff, volunteers, and board members of the society and will be available via telephone for continued consultation as the emergency preparedness plan is written and implemented. Among the society's 80,000 objects are furniture built in the 1730s, agricultural tools and equipment, 19th-century needlework samplers, scientific equipment, Revolutionary and Civil War surgeon kits, paintings by Benjamin West, Bass Otis, and Andrew Wyeth, photographs, and library resources.

The purpose of this project is to produce a formal emergency preparedness plan, the first of its kind for the Chester County Historical Society. An Emergency Preparedness Committee (EPC) will be established in advance of the grant notification. Members will include staff, volunteers, board members, and a student intern from the University of Delaware. They will assess existing procedures that are applicable to an emergency plan prior to the consultant's on-site visit. The consultant will meet with the committee and facilitate further discussion about institutional needs. She will also conduct a two-day on-site visit for the purpose of assessing emergency needs and educating staff, volunteers, and board members. The EPC will continue to work with the consultant via phone and e-mail to complete a checklist of emergency responses and a more in-depth report. The final documents will be updated on an annual basis.