Bay Area IRG for a MAC Attack KAREN RELUCIO, ABAHO PHP CO-CHAIR CHRISTINE LOVE, ABAHO PHP CO-CHAIR KIM COX, ABAHO PHP MEMBER

Bay Area IRG for a MAC Attack KAREN RELUCIO, ABAHO PHP CO-CHAIR CHRISTINE LOVE, ABAHO PHP CO-CHAIR KIM COX, ABAHO PHP MEMBER

History of the Association of Bay Area Health Officials (ABAHO) ABAHO formed in 1985 by Bay Area health officers in response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Current Geographic Area: Includes 13 local health jurisdictions (LHJs) representing 7 million residents. Current Scope: focuses on multiple public health issues including emergency preparedness and response.

History of ABAHO (PHP) Formed in 2005 by ABAHO to coordinate pandemic influenza planning across region Comprised of health officers, deputy health officers, and public health emergency planners Informed crucial decisions during 2009-2010 H1N1 Influenza Pandemic (school dismissal policies, public messaging) Expanded scope after 2009 to include all public health preparedness activities Group meets monthly and co-chaired by two committee members serving two year terms and supported by a coordinator Co-chair reports progress and vets policy decisions to ABAHO Committee

ABAHO-PHP Challenges Following H1N1 Response Broad scope, unclear mission / direction Unclear leadership responsibilities Solutions Proposed Undergo strategic planning process Hire dedicated project coordinator

Strategic Planning Process Initial strategic planning process began in 2010 to help define the new scope of work Strategic planning focused on measureable accomplishments for the next 12-18 months, with a longer term vision for the group

Mission The optimizes ABAHO s public health preparedness and response capacity through regional priority setting, policy development, and resource coordination.

Vision To be a sustained and recognized regional group focused on identifying and addressing gaps in regional public health preparedness and response for the Bay Area ABAHO member LHJs.

Values Collaboration Respect Innovation Equity Efficiency Access Evidence-based work

Strategic Direction Build a sustainable and effective ABAHO PHP sub-committee. Strengthen and link public health emergency preparedness and response resources and capacities across the region. Coordinate medical emergency preparedness and response with the MHOAC program.

ABAHO PHP Activities 2015 Completed update to Strategic Plan for 2015-2016 Received $300k UASI Funding for three major projects Multi-Agency Coordination Group Handbook Phase II Regional Incident Response Guide Development Information Sharing Portal Development Coordinating Medical Needs Shelter planning in Bay Aea Increasing collaboration with other regional partners Medical Health Operational Area Coordinators (MHOACs) Public Information Officers (PIOs) Bay Area Mass Prophylaxis Working Group (BAMPWG) BioWatch Fusion Center

Multi-Agency Coordination Group (MACG) Phase II Finalizing first draft of MACG Handbook and developing Medical and Health specific tools Outreach to all stakeholders in Medical Mutual Aid Region 2 Identification and training of MAC Coordinators Identification and training of AREPS (as appropriate)

Incident Response Guide (IRG) Project Plan was to develop 2 complete IRGs (earthquake & infectious diseases) and 2 drafts (foodborne illness & drinking water incidents) to operationalize tasks to be done by local MHOAC program staff. Model was HICS IRGs MHOAC Table of EQ tasks under 17 MHOAC functions drafted as a method for staying focused and thinking comprehensively about response tasks. Draft Earthquake IRG developed and table-topped.

Incident Response Guide (IRG) Project (continued ) Lessons to date: Although we started out with a shared idea of the final IRG product, the deepdive of writing, reviewing, tabletop testing, and deconflicting comments received has taken us to widely differing opinions on what is needed. Difficult to create a tool that adds value to rapid response for experienced MHOAC program staff. Local OA variations on MHOAC programs made it difficult to find enough common ground to help everyone. We re still working on this stay tuned.

Tools that can be shared ABAHO has created documents that may be resources to others, e.g.,: MD Consultation guide for Anthrax Medications Health Personnel Request Form for mutual aid requests Various orders and guidances for pandemic influenza These will be posted in the Box information sharing portal

Information Sharing Project (Box.com) Serves as a regional sharing portal (for files previously saved on CAHAN) Development of folder structure, permissions, and user policy Every member county has at least one license and ability to access as external collaborators Box.com is now being used to share documents for: Collaboration on documents (meeting agendas, workgroup products, etc) Sharing specific documents with external collaborators (contractors, MHOACs, PIOs, etc) Available for disease/response specific sharing in an emergency or outbreak

Information Sharing Project (Box.com) Reasons for selecting this vendor: Ease of use Edit tracking and version control Ability for external partner collaboration Mobile accessibility Limitations: Some difficulties with access behind government firewalls Overall Feedback has been very positive from ABAHO-PHP users

Lessons Learned Develop a structure, governance, and strategic direction for your group that is adopted by consensus and full membership participation Hire/assign a coordinator to support specific initiatives and to help keep group focused and on-task Establish linkages with other preparedness groups (PIOs, MHOACs, etc.) invite them to your meetings and send representatives to theirs

Contact Information Karen Relucio, MD Assistant Health Officer County Health System krelucio@smcgov.org Christine Love Program Planning and Evaluation Analyst County of Dept of Health Services christine.love@sonoma-county.org Kim Cox Emergency Services Manager Health Services kcox@hsd.cccounty.us