GRITS – Katrina Project
Thomas M. Moss
GRITS Manager
NIC 2006
Project Vision
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Background
Goals
Actions Taken
Success Stories
Lessons Learned
Project Background
• Hurricane Katrina makes land August
29, 2005
• Main States Affected
– Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama
• Millions without immunization records
• Thousands being evacuated to
Georgia
– Estimated over 10,000 school age
children and families
Project Goals
• Provide timely service and information
to those with a need to know at the
location where services were being
given
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Super Centers
Evacuation Facilities
Hospitals
Public Health Clinics
Private Physicians Clinics
Public and Private Schools
Day Care Centers
• Have Evacuee’s immunization
information available in GRITS within
24 hours from the time that the GRITS
Help Desk received a request
Project Goals
• Ensure that information is managed in
a secure fashion
• Ensure that information could be
electronically provided to the
Immunization Registries that were
affected by Katrina if requested.
• Provide timely status reports to the
Emergency Command Center
Project Actions
• Activate Emergency Response Plan
• Identify best method to handle
increase in calls for support and
information
– GRITS has 1 Toll Free Help Desk
Number
– Added 2 additional numbers
• 1 Toll Free
• 1 Local to Metro Atlanta
– GRITS has 1 Help Desk E-Mail Address
– Added 1 additional E-Mail Address
Project Actions
• Contact and sign agreement for
access to immunization registries in
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama
– LINKS – Access granted September 2
– MIR – Access granted September 2
– AIR – Access granted September 12
• Create a unique Organization within
GRITS for each of the affected states
allowing for later extraction of
evacuee immunization information by
ho
Project Actions
The GRITS Process …
• Request portals managed by all
members of the GRITS Team
• Information submitted by requestor
– On Evacuee
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Full Name
Mothers Maiden Name (if available)
Date of Birth
County/Parish relocated from (if available)
SSN or Registry ID (if available)
Project Actions
The GRITS Process …
• Information submitted by requestor
– On Requestor
• Full Name
• GRITS Organization Code or Name of
Organization if not a GRITS Partner
• Follow-up Phone Number
• Follow-up FAX Number
• Follow-up E-Mail Address
• Preferred method of follow-up contact
Project Actions
The GRITS Process …
• Request received by other than GRITS
Program Associates recorded the
information and forwarded the information
to the GRITS Program Associates
• GRITS Program Associates
– Research immunization information in LINKS,
MIR, AIR through secured access
– Log into GRITS using Unique Organization
created for home state of the evacuee
– If information is located then immunization
history is entered into GRITS
Project Actions
The GRITS Process …
• GRITS Program Associates
– If Requesting Organization is a GRITS Partner,
then program associate contacts the GRITS
partner via the method selected by the partner
to inform them that the individual’s
immunization information is in GRITS for them
to access
– If Requesting Organization is NOT a GRITS
Partner, then Program Associate contacts the
Organization via the method selected by the
organization to inform them that the information
is available and will be FAXed to them within
the next 10 minutes (Once faxed the
documents are shredded.)
Project Actions
Getting the word out …
• Posted Announcement on GRITS
Home Page to Partners on process to
request and receive immunization
information on Katrina evacuees
• Notified Georgia Immunization
Program Consultants and Public
Health District Immunization
Coordinators of the process
Project Actions
Getting the word out …
• Used partnership with Georgia Chapter of
American Academy of Pediatrics to blast
fast all of their members informing them of
the process to request and receive
immunization information on Katrina
evacuees
• Used partnerships with Children’s Hospital
of Atlanta and Georgia Hospital Association
to notify their partners of the process
Project Actions
On the Front Line …
• 3 Metro Atlanta Super Centers
– Immunization Program Consultants set
up Immunization Station with Direct
Internet connectivity to GRITS
Project Success Stories
On the Front Line …
• 3 Metro Atlanta Super
Centers
– Immunization Station capability
• Researching in LINKS, MIR, AIR
• Entering into GRITS
• Printing new Immunization
Record
• Printing new Georgia Form 3231
School Certificate
– Average Processing Time of 21
minutes
Project Success Stories
On the Front Line …
• Request through Help Desk
– September 2 – September 27
• Louisiana - LINKS
– 9,846 Immunization Transactions
– 1,115 Evacuees
• Mississippi – MIR
– 2,038 Immunization Transactions
– 189 Evacuees
• Alabama – AIR
– 50 Immunization Transactions
– 8 Evacuees
– All Requests processed within 24 hours
Project Success Stories
On the Front Line …
• Request through Help Desk
– September 2 – February 28
• Louisiana - LINKS
– 23,868 Immunization Transactions
– 2,450 Evacuees
• Mississippi – MIR
– 5,195 Immunization Transactions
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385 Evacuees
• Alabama – AIR
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160 Immunization Transactions
11 Evacuees
– All Requests processed within 1 business day
Project Lessons Learned
• Communications is KEY
• Flexibility and Mobility lends acceptability
• Providers now understand the need to support a
statewide Immunization Information System
• Faith based organizations need to be part of the
registry partnership in times of emergency
• Every IIS needs to have a solid Disaster Recovery
Plan
• Even in emergency situations, the Department of
Education enforces FERPA regulations concerning
the sharing of student information with the
Department of Public Health
• Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia’s
Immunization Information System proved their
worth in response to Katrina
Quotes from the Front Line
“The registry made
the process of
enrolling my
children in school
and day care
easy”
“I wish my child’s
information was in
our state’s
registry”
THE GRITS TEAM
MADE A DIFFERENCE
IN THE LIVES OF
OTHERS