MDH EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS & RESPONSE NEWS
MAY 2015
From the Director
Greetings! While I have had the pleasure of working with most of you, for those that I have not met, let me say how
excited I am to have the opportunity to work with you as new director of the section of Emergency Preparedness
and Response.
This has been a very busy and memorable spring, during which time there have been many changes for our section. Along the way,
we have been discovering some fabulous opportunities for complementing our strategic work. As we move forward with implementing work around the core PHEP/HPP capabilities, we will be exploring ways in which we can refine our preparedness planning
to address gaps and to adapt to changing needs. To support these efforts, we will be posting several positions funded by PHEP and
supplemental Ebola funding in the very near future. We have a fantastic team in EPR, and I am very happy that we will be able to
welcome even more skilled and creative people to that group.
I look forward to working with all of you on the next phase of our shared preparedness journey. Happy spring!
Cheryl
Upcoming CRI Full Scale Exercise
It’s the concert event of the season in St. Paul, Minnesota. You and your college roommates have been waiting for this show for
weeks and it is just as you had hoped: loud, raucous, and incredibly fun. 12 hours later, however, all four of you wake up coughing,
with headaches and high temperatures. An RA drives you to the hospital on Monday, where an X-ray and lab results confirm the
unimaginable: gram positive bacilli. While a state epidemiologist interviews your family members, Public Health Departments
across the Metro must “stand up” their public Points of Dispensing (PODs). Medical countermeasures have never been needed so
urgently; or for so many.
This is the scenario for June’s full-scale Cities Readiness Initiative (CRI) Full-Scale Exercise: a learning opportunity for local public
health, the Minnesota Department of Health, and our partners across the CRI. Between June 23 and June 26, public health staff
will open PODs and dispense “medicine” to volunteers within 12 hours of notification. It’s a significant challenge, but one that our
partners are ready for. Wright County has been planning for over a year now and is looking forward to the opportunity to test a
new site with MDH’s recently revised anthrax protocol. “The POD site we are testing is one of the newest high schools in the county,” notes Jon Young. “It’s also a great opportunity for us to engage our MRC volunteers. We haven’t worked with some of them
since H1N1.”
St. Paul Ramsey County is also testing a new POD site. “This is the first time that we’ve tested this POD, and we’re also working
with different partners, including White Bear Fire Department medics,” says Art McIntyre. “Trained medics could provide a big
source of support during a real mass dispensing event.
Continued on page 2
Inside this Edition
From the Director, CRI Full Scale Exercise, Improving Team Performance Curriculum, Meet the Staff, Important Dates
PHONE: 651-201-5700
FAX: 651-201-5720
[email protected]
Continued from page 1
CRI Full Scale Exercise
Staff at the Public Health Alliance of Bloomington, Edina, and Richfield are looking forward to testing mission critical plans for a
closed POD site. “We’re looking forward to engaging with our law enforcement for this exercise,” notes Joel Nelson, “and this is a
great way to introduce our newly revised public health emergency response plan to other partners in the cities.”
Across the St. Croix River, our Wisconsin CRI partners are also looking forward to June. “We’ve conducted several smaller exercises in the past,” says Natasha Cardinal. “However, this is our first full-scale exercise with CRI, and managing staff for this site is a
good exercise for us.”
Improving Team Performance Curriculum
Continued from page 1
The first thing to fail in a disaster response or exercise is communication. Why? While public health staff are well trained in their
fields, are often subject matter experts, and have specific training and specialized skills for their particular position, few have training about being an effective team member. Working in work groups doesn’t equip people with the skills to function at a high level
on a disaster response team.
Communication is the lifeline of a well-functioning team. MDH adapted a curriculum from healthcare for a public health audience,
aimed at improving team communications, functionality, and effectiveness. It reminds participants about key communication tools
and techniques, high reliability teams, and components that comprise a well-functioning team.
The course is available in three formats; an online version through MN.TRAIN (www.mn.train.org) search for Course ID 1053632), a
Facilitator Guide to enhance the online version, and a face-to-face version with an instructor manual. The Facilitator Guide can be
used to lead focused discussions and deliver in-depth training on applying the concepts from the online course. For more information, contact Deb Radi ([email protected]).
Preparedness
Apps for
Mobile Devices
Responder Self Care
An aid for those deployed to emergency response events in maintaining
their own physical, emotional, and
social wellbeing.
The app provides checklists for before, during, and after deployment
that help responders pack for deployment, take care of daily needs, maintain important relationships, reflect
on experiences, and more .
Download this app today:
http://sph.umn.edu/ce/perl/mobile/
selfcare/
Meet the Staff
Jacy Walters—Medical Surge Coordinator
Jacy comes to EPR from the South Dakota Department of Health. She has a
diverse background in public health evaluation, infectious and chronic disease epidemiology, minority health, public health policy, and healthcare
administration. Jacy has a PhD and MPH in Public Health Epidemiology. Over the past
year, she has been leading various projects, including the Statewide Burn Surge Plan,
the Minnesota Collaborative for Healthcare Response to Ebola, as well as co-leading
the Crisis Standards of Care project.
Kathryn (Katie) Haugen—CDC Preparedness Field Assignee
Before beginning at MDH in July 2014, Katie worked in New Orleans with
the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals in emergency preparedness and environmental health. Katie played an integral role in responding
to Hurricane Isaac and the 2013 Super Bowl, assisting the region to be nationally accredited Public Health Ready, and ensuring the safety of food establishments. Here at
MDH, Katie is excited to contribute to exercise planning, responses, behavioral health,
incident leadership training and research, and other activities!
Important Dates
May 28, 2015 - 2015 Disaster Behavioral Health Conference -- Minneapolis -- www.metrohealthready.org/training/footprint2015/