Emergency and Disaster Management

Why Study Emergency and Disaster Management at Northwest

Our emergency and disaster management (EDM) program offers experiences that very few colleges offer. For starters, EDM students participate in Missouri Hope, a three-day multidisciplinary mass casualty simulation. The event includes a rotation of distinct training exercises for students as well as emergency personnel in medical, police, fire and armed forces. Scenarios include search-and-rescue, assessment of traumatic injuries and evacuation from difficult terrains, such as cliffs and rivers. The Medical Reserve Corps of Greater Kansas City also has joined the exercise to lead a nighttime search and rescue simulation with dogs! 

Other Hope exercises include New York Hope at the New York State Preparedness Training Center and Atlantic Hope, which simulates a humanitarian deployment to the fictional country of Atlantica.

Students may also participate in the Campus Community Emergency Response Team (C-CERT) training and become certified responders. The training includes disaster planning and preparation, small fire suppression, disaster medical operation and first aid, light search and rescue disaster psychology and CERT organization utilizing the Incident Command System.

The EDM major is designed to teach students about leadership, followership and working under pressure while developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Faculty are experts in this field and strive to help students in any way possible!

Did you know? Minor programs related to emergency and disaster management are available.

• Emergency disaster management focuses on the fundamentals of disaster psychology, crisis communication, disaster response and recovery, principles of humanitarian relief and homeland security and defense. To check out the required courses, visit the academic catalog. 
• Emergency services is perfect for students who want to explore a wide range of disaster management. Students explore a variety of topics like emergency medical response and dispatching, emergency medical equipment, wilderness preparedness, firefighting and more.  To view the required courses, visit the academic catalog. 

Transfer students, we've got you. If you're completing a vocational or technical Associate of Applied Science or Associate of Science degree from a regionally accredited community college, a Bachelor of Applied Science degree with an emphasis in emergency and disaster management is available.