Cooperative efforts from the Medical, Educational and Public Health Community Dale Peters, Assistant City Manager Colleen Schian, Risk Manager

Population: 65,000 Medical and Retail Hub--Northwest Wisconsin UWEC, CVTC-- Population 15,000 Health Department--City/County

Swine Flu outbreak across the nation Outbreak represented a legitimate threat to Public Health in Eau Claire County Only a matter of time before Eau Claire had a confirmed case

Spring 2009 Threatened shut down  Schools  Government  Gatherings No immunity or vaccine Virus targeting healthy adults Heightened Media

Pandemics generate public fear and expectations that Government will provide a response that is appropriate Critical to this mission is coordination and management of information

4/25/09- Notification of a new flu virus in Mexico and US Rahl.doc Confirmed cases increased Heightened need to define triggers for public and private site closures School Closures  Public/Private  University and technical schools  Suspected case  Confirmed case

Joint City /County Health Department  Leadership role with biohazards following 9/11 Public Health Emergency Preparedness Committee  Luther Hospital, Midelfort Clinic, Sacred Heart Hospital, Marshfield Clinic, OakLeaf Clinic, Eau Claire Family Medicine, UWEC Health Services, UWEC Risk Management, Chippewa Valley Technical College, Community Health Partnerships, Eau Claire School District, Eau Claire Fire Department, Eau Claire Police Department, City Risk Management, County Emergency Management

1. City/County Coordination 2. Responsibilities 3. Activation 4. Emergency Operation Center 5. Joint Information Center 6. Information Dissemination 7. Special Needs Populations 8. Contact Information 9. Organization Charts 10. Diagrams

PIO ORGANIZATIONAL CHART

COMMON ROLES AND FUNCTIONS OF JIC STAFF MONITOR AND DEVELOPMENT

MORE COMMON ROLES AND FUNCTIONS: INFORMATION DISSEMINATION

LIAISON

OPERATIONS SUPPORT

1. Manage media and public inquiries 2. Maintain good relationship with Partners 3. Keep updated contact information 4. Know local media 5. Communicate with IC

1. Underutilize the planning function 2. Fail to think several planning periods ahead 3. Fail to ask for help early 4. Underestimate the need for public information 5. Fail to properly direct information to the responders and response partners

Director of Health Department--April 2009  Incident Commander  Activated Emergency Operations Plan  Recognized Public Information – Critical function in Managing Community Response  Early in potential disaster- Lead PIO designated

Infectious Long response period Inconsistent standards Impacts entire community No help coming Competing agencies/companies many different messages

Key Community Leaders in the same room? Limit face to face contact? Where do you meet?

Provide one consistent, accurate stream of information  Helps the public stay informed and understand the situation so they know what to do  Reduces misinformation and rumors  Frees up Health Department, emergency personnel and operations from media demands  This was especially necessary when responding to an unseen and potentially deadly threat like an infectious disease

The Joint Information Center:  Speak with one voice  Coordinate critical information  Message timely and accurate  Factual source of information  Avoid Rumors  Incident Communications

Response Partners  Two Hospitals  Several Medical Clinics- Including Mayo Health and Marshfield Clinic  Private K-12 schools  Public Schools  University of WI- Eau Claire  Chippewa Valley Technical College  Globe University  City & County Governments

Agreement-- Define responsibilities Refer all media questions to City Risk Management Interviews coordinated, using One consistent factual source of information Message back to Partners

 Response Partners are competitors  Set aside market oriented messages  Work together for the benefit of the community  Response partners able to get coordinated, consistent, timely and accurate message out

Informed of plan early Provided web links Contact numbers 24-hour access to lead PIO Feedback from the local media was positive as they appreciated the ability to go to one source for information background and access to interviews.

Globe U May5 RELEASE.doc Globe University Reopens News Release pdf

Daily conference calls Current status in our area Develop Community-wide response standards Share PIO related information Information on website

Secure website--Access to:  Statistics  Standards projections  ICS assignments  Operational objectives  Meeting schedules  Contact information  Updated status reports from each response partner  Consolidated press release Web-based conferencing service Real-time consensus for final press release No face to face meeting required

Reps with JIC were also key leaders in each organization Medical/health community struggles with reporting standards Educational organizations struggling with closure standards JIC had closer ties than Operations

JIC became opportunity for Community Leaders to set uniform standards

You will forget to include someone Sharing drafts – key to IC and other PIOs Use of ICS forms  PIO needs to complete them also Establish operational periods ICS can work for health incidents  Takes leadership from health community Think “Partnerships” Don’t forget the internal communication  IC reports And PIO reports

Establish and maintain working relationships with:  PIO partners from other organizations  Local media Plans in place Practice and review

Ego must go aside!! Involve Key Community Members Plan before the Incident Training Exercise Develop Trust with each other

Obtain briefing from Incident commander Participate in Incident Briefings Consider special needs groups Coordinate any protective action statements Prepare Initial information summary or statement Arrange work area or JIC--away from command post Establish contact with local media as appropriate Establish schedule for news briefings Coordinate logistics, planning and operations Obtain approval for information release from Incident Commander Release news to media, post information on web and other appropriate locations

Laptop computer Printer Calendar Flow chart Camera/batteries Paper Letterhead Pens Markers Notebooks Tape Post-it Notes Paper clips Flashdrive with templates Maps BIOs

Had not published Facebook page Not secure

Do you have different experiences you want to share?

What are the lessons learned from the virtual JIC that could be used operate an EOC?

Make a list of the partners you would include? What are your next steps to develop a virtual JIC in your jurisdiction?