emergency action plans

Inclement Weather

Inclement Weather:

Rain:  It is fine to participate in ropes course activities in light rain as long as there is no lighting involved, however you should not use any elements requiring participants to walk on a cable because they get slippery and dangerous in wet conditions.  We trust the discretion of facilitators to determine if a particular activity may be endangering participants or becoming overly uncomfortable.  The pavilion is often a viable option as well.

Thunder / Lightning: At the first sign of thunder or lighting, the woods should be evacuated immediately.  If any participants or facilitators are up on an element, they should be brought down safely, and in the fastest way possible, including using a rescue bag if necessary. - Remain out of woods for 30 MINUTES from the last Thunder/Lightning.

Tornado:  If at all possible you should get into the church and proceed to the basement; this is the safest place on the property.  If time does not permit, move into the pool house basement and line up along the back wall of the Sojourn Lounge, Nurses Station, and Equipment storage room.

Note:  The Atlanta Athletic Club across the street has a siren that will sound if there is a storm approaching.  This siren is NOT specifically a tornado siren, but simply intended to alert golfers that they should begin moving to the clubhouse.  This siren is a good guide for us to be aware of, but wait for instruction from the Manager on Duty before trusting the siren alone.

Active Shooter / Lockdown

Lockdown:

If someone notifies you that we are in “LOCKDOWN,” immediately move indoors and find a room with a lockable door. Lock and barricade the door and get out of line of sight.

Note: An example of a lockdown situation would be a robbery nearby or an escaped convict in the area. This type of situation occurs when there is a need for people to specifically get indoors to avoid potential danger. It is distinctly different from an Active Shooter situation where the goal is to get away from a specific threat.

Active Shooter:

  • AVOID: Evacuate the area using the nearest escape path away from the area if at all possible. Move as far away from danger as possible. Warn others along the way.

  • DENY: If evacuation is not possible, go into lockdown mode and find the closest room with a lockable door. Lock and barricade the door and get out of line of sight of the hallway.

  • DEFEND: As an absolute last resort when your life and the lives of others are in imminent danger, attempt to disrupt or incapacitate the active shooter/intruder. If this becomes necessary, be prepared to Yell, improvise weapons, and commit to your actions by acting as aggressively as possible.

Minor Injury

Band Aids/Boo-Boos:

Facilitators are encouraged to treat small cuts and scrapes with the provided first aid kit in lounge or Site Director backpack.

To treat a minor cut/scrape follow these steps:

  1. Wash your hands thoroughly.

  2. Clean the wound with soap and water.

  3. Place bandage over the cut.

When possible, it’s best to let the participant treat themselves (i.e. hand them a band aid and give them verbal instruction, rather than applying the bandage yourself).

If the First Aid kit is used, fill out an incident report.

If at any point you are in doubt whether to take someone to the most medically trained or not, err on the side of caution and let the most medically trained diagnose the issue.

Minor Injury:

If a participant falls and needs more than a band aid, feels nauseous/overheated or any other medical situation which facilitator does not feel equipped to handle:

  1. Take participant to the nurses station/Sojourn Lounge with the most medically trained staff member for the day. Give brief description of the incident to most medically trained staff.

  2. Inform the Site Director (if not already involved).

  3. After participant has been checked-in with the most medically trained, return full attention to your group and wait for participant to be treated or return to regular schedule until the injured/sick participant returns to the group at a later time.

  4. If dealing with youth, ensure that necessary information is given to the group leader so they can inform parent/guardians.

Medication:

Sojourn staff should never give out medication to guests.

  • If a child complains of a headache or asks for medication, inform the group leader of the situation so they can care for the child appropriately according to their protocol.

  • If an adult complains of a headache or asks for medication, be polite and inform them that “Sojourn is not permitted to distribute medication.” You can encourage them to ask other adults in the group for assistance or point them to Target/Publix, etc… if necessary.

Major Injury

CALMLY CALL THEN CARE!

Call 911

  • Our policy is “safety first”. If you are not sure whether or not to call 911, then call. We would rather deal with the consequences of being too cautious than too lenient.

  • Be prepared to share basic details + the church address (see below).

Call for assistance from other staff

  • Get the Site Director on the scene in the most efficient way possible (Call to them verbally, send a group member, or use cell phone)

  • Begin appropriate care for victim.

  • CPR trained personnel should stay with victim. (All SD’s are CPR trained).

  • Never move a victim if there is reasonable suspicion of a neck or back injury.

Site Director should Contact Perimeter Security at: 678-405-2208

  • Security will remove barricades in parking lot if needed.

Send several people to parking lot to direct the ambulance

Move group away from victim and ensure each individual group is supervised

  • Once Site Director is present, each facilitator should return focus to their individual small groups.

AFTER victim is appropriately cared for, gather necessary information

  • Take photos of the scene.

  • Get names and pertinent information from witnesses.

  • Ensure that the Manager on Call is informed.

Debrief the situation

  • Debrief situation with the rest of the group.

  • Debrief situation with all staff.

Write up an Incident Report with the Site Director

Church Address:

Perimeter Church
9500 Medlock Bridge Road
John’s Creek, GA 30097

Incident Reports

An incident is defined as: “Any unplanned for, unintended, dangerous, or potentially dangerous occurrence or condition that results in injury, illness, property damage, loss, or a near miss. “

In the case of any incident we require that an Incident Report be filled out. Each Site Director has access to this form. It should be completed on the same day that the incident occurs.