1. 2010 National Immunization Conference
Thinking Outside the Org Chart: Working Across Program Lines to Improve H1N1 Communications
2010 National Immunization Conference
April 22, 2010
Jacqueline Valenzuela, MPH CHES Kim Harrison Eowan, MPH CHES Julia Heinzerling, MPH

2. Learning Objectives
By the end of this presentation, participants should be able to:
Describe the organizational context of ICS and COMM Branch activation during Los Angeles County’s H1N1 response
Discuss the skills, programmatic capacities, and collaborative efforts that enabled COMM Branch staff to meet goals
List two (2) lessons learned from COMM Branch deployment

3. Organizational Context

4. Organizational Context

5. H1N1 Response: April–June 2009
H1N1 is identified as a threat to public health
LAC declares state of emergency
DPH moves into ICS
ICS created & staffed
3 phases of federal funding released
WHO declares H1N1 to be a pandemic

6. Incident Command Structure (ICS)
Incident Commander
Planning
Operations
Logistics
Finance
Public Information Officer
Board Liaison
Safety Officer

7. DPH Vaccine Planning Groups
Push
Pull
Communications
Schools
Physicians
Workforce
Finance

8. H1N1 Response: Oct - Dec 2009 Department Operations Centers activated
DPH Continuity of Operations Plans activated
Points of Dispensing & other activities conducted
H1N1 vaccine available to priority groups only
DPH praised and reprimanded

9. Incident Command Structure (ICS)
Incident Commander
Planning
Operations
Logistics
Finance
Public Information Officer
Board Liaison
Safety Officer

10. ICS Operations Section
Surveillance
Intervention
Vaccine
Communications
Schools

11. ICS Communications Branch
Responsibilities
Health Education Materials
Inquiry Management
Clinical Messaging

12. ICS Communications Branch
28 Staff Available to COMM from throughout DPH
Acute Communicable Disease Control
Community Health Services
Emergency Preparedness and Response
External Relations and Communications
Health Education Administration
Immunization Program
Information Technology Program
Maternal, Child, and Adolescent Health
Office of the Medical Director
Tuberculosis Control Program

13. ICS Communications Branch
Communications Branch Director
Health Education Materials
Development & Approval
Production
Dissemination & Storage
Inquiry Management
2-1-1
Speakers’ Bureau
Clinical Messaging
Guidance & Advisories
CA Health Alert Network
Liaison with Professional Organizations

14. Skills, Capacities, Collaborations
Subject matter expertise
Existing resources and networks
Ability to apply health education principles
Health behavior theory
Cultural & linguistic competency
Plain language
Risk communication

15. Skills, Capacities, Collaborations
New Infrastructure
Improved capacity to efficiently…
Communicate amongst staff housed at different locations
Develop and approve branded print materials
Fulfill speaking requests
Disseminate information to key partners
Developed mechanisms for…
Translation and translation review
Training of internal & external staff to discuss H1N1

16. Ongoing Efforts
Continuing guidance to 2-1-1

17. Ongoing Efforts
Tailored campaign targeting African Americans

18. Challenges Silos, silos, silos! Unfamiliar job duties and skill sets
Lack of fluency in certain administrative processes
Lack of redundancy
Burnout

19. Triumphs
Over 40 print materials, web content, PSAs, and training materials in 12 threshold languages were created
New internal collaborations were forged
Existing relationships with community partners were strengthened
DPH staff were challenged to learn new skills

20. The Bottom Line[s]
Health education principles must stay at the forefront of message development despite tight timelines and diverse stakeholder interests
New infrastructure can be created in large bureaucratic systems by mobilizing in nontraditional ways

21. Acknowledgements Fred Dominguez, MD MPH Sylvia Estafan, MPH
Milan Hill, MPH
Susan Lesser, MPH
Susan Srabian, MPH
Erika Siever, MPH CHES

22. Questions?

23. Thank You! For More Information: Jacqueline Valenzuela, MPH CHES
Director, Health Education Administration
County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health
600 S. Commonwealth Ave., Ste 700 Los Angeles, CA 90005