Webcast Outline: March 13, 2008

The following is an outline of the visual presentation made during the March 13 live webcast of discussions to help state planners in the next round of pandemic influenza planning.

Development of Guidance

     Product of...

• 11 Cabinet Departments
• 2 White House Offices

     Informed by Results of...

• First-round Assessments
• Five Regional Workshops
• Regional Exercises Led by the National Governors Association

Organization of Guidance

• Strategic goals
• Operating objectives
• Supporting activities

Three Strategic Goals

• Continuity of Operations of State Agencies
• Protecting Citizens
• Continuity of Critical Infrastructure and Key Resources

Special Features

• Front matter and appendices contain substantial information and references to facilitate planning
• Appendices organized to conform with FEMA phases for All-Hazards planning
• Prepare
• Respond
• Recover

APPENDIX A

Ensure the Continuity of Operations of State Agencies and the Continuity of State Government

Operating Objectives

            6 Operating Objectives

1. Sustain Operations of State Agencies & Support and Protect Government Workers 
   - Underlies and supports all other state pandemic preparedness
2. Ensure Public Health COOP During Each Phase of a Pandemic 
3. Ensure Continuity of Food Supply System   
4. Ensure Integration of Uniform Military Services Needs and Assets
5. Ensure Ability to Respond to Agricultural Emergencies and Maintain Food Safety Net Programs
6. Sustain Transportation Systems

APPENDIX B

Protect Citizens     

13 Operating Objectives

1. Ensure Surveillance and Laboratory Capability During Each Phase of a Pandemic
2. Assist with Controls at Ports of Entry to US
   - Primary Focus upon States with a CDC Quarantine Station
   - Ensure Agency Roles and Responsibilities for a Quarantine Facility Response
3. Implement Community Mitigation Interventions
   - Voluntary Quarantine of Household Contacts
   - Isolation and Treatment of Ill individuals
   - Social Distancing Practices
4. Enhance State Plans to Enable Community Mitigation through Student Dismissal and School Closure
   - Policy and Processes for Cessation and Reopening of Classes
   - Legal Authorities and Delegations of Authority
   - Continuity of Education
5. Acquire & Distribute Medical Countermeasures
   - Receipt and Storage Procedures
   - Distribution to Treatment Centers
6. Ensure Mass Vaccination Capability During Each Phase of a Pandemic
   - Vaccine Allocation Processes
   - Vaccine Monitoring
7. Provide Healthcare
   - Alternate Care Facilities
   - Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources 
8. Manage Mass Casualties
   - Delineation of Roles and Responsibilities of All Agencies Involved in Mass Fatality Management
   - Regional Home Death Management Processes
9. Ensure Communication Capability During Each Phase of a Pandemic
   - Equipment networks (equipment/hardware) between Command and Control locations and support agencies
   - Culturally-Appropriate and Language Specific Information
10. Mitigating the Impact of an Influenza Pandemic on Workers in the State
    - Implementation of special programs/ triggers/statutes for assisting workers during and after a pandemic
11. Understand Official Communication Mechanisms For Foreign Missions, International Organizations, and their Members in the United States
    - Inclusion of foreign missions in the distribution lists of public messages
12. Integrate EMS and 9-1-1 into Pandemic Preparedness
    - EMS as a component of influenza surveillance & mitigation
    - Maintaining continuity of EMS operations
    - Legal authority for EMS operations during pandemic influenza
    - Clinical standards and treatment protocols
    - EMS workforce protection
13. Integrate Public Safety Answering Points into Pandemic Preparedness
    - Provision of information to the public
    - Facilitation of call screening
    - Assistance with priority dispatch of limited EMS resources

APPENDIX C

Sustaining the 17 Critical Infrastructure and Key Resource (CIKR) Sectors

Operating Objectives

            7 Operating Objectives

1. Define CIKR Protection, Planning, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Roles and Responsibilities
   - 8 Supporting Activities
2. Build Public-Private Partnerships and Support Networks
   - 4 Supporting Activities
3. Implement National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) Risk Management Framework for a Pandemic
   - 8 Supporting Activities
4. Bolster CIKR Information Sharing and Protection Initiatives
   - 5 Supporting Activities
5. Leverage Emergency Preparedness Activities for CIKR Protection, Planning, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery
   - 2 Supporting Activities
6. Integrate Federal, State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Government with Public- and Private-Sector CIKR Protection, Planning, Preparedness, Response, and Recovery Activities
   - 3 Supporting Activities
7. Prioritize and Allocate Scarce Resources
   - 10 Supporting Activities

Outline for Submission

• Cover Page     
• Table of Contents
• Contributing Agencies
• Generic Planning Principles and Assumptions
• Information Specific to the Supporting Activities for Each Operating Objective 

Options for Submission

            Option 1: Create Integrated Document

• Provide all requested information in one WORD document
• Provide Excel spreadsheet citing pages corresponding to each Activity

            Option 2: Rely on Existing Plans

• For example, All-Hazards Plan or Continuity of Operations Plan
• Include PDF versions of all pertinent plans
• Provide other information, if necessary, in single WORD document
• Provide Excel spreadsheet citing document and pages corresponding to each Activity

Review Process

• Departments’ subject matter experts will review submissions pertinent to their respective mission areas
• Each Activity will be rated on 0-3 scale, with 3 being the highest
• Ratings for Activities will be added to score each Operating Objective:
  - ≥ 85% = No Major Gaps
  - 69-84% = A Few Major Gaps
  - 50-68% = Many Major Gaps
  - 50% = No or Inadequate Submission
• Separate overall rating for evidence of operational readiness

Overview of Regional Workshops

Structure and schedule

• Nine regional workshops
• Aligned with HHS/FEMA planning regions
• State teams designated by governors
• Teams ranged from three to 20 individuals from a variety of disciplines/backgrounds
• Workshops began April 2007, ended January 2008

Focus and Content

• Workshops focused on state-federal, state-state, and state-local interaction.
• Three workshop components:

        - Facilitated discussion of governance issues

        - “SWOT” analysis of key economic sectors

        - Tabletop exercise designed to examine state/federal/local planning and interaction

Workshop Observations and Conclusions

States have made notable advances in pandemic preparedness, particularly in public communication and education, medical stockpiling, and sharing information, but gaps do remain.

• Lack of coordination on school closure/reopening policy across state lines;
• Lack of understanding of the federal capabilities and assets that will be available at the state/local level and how federal agencies will engage with states during a pandemic;
• Antiviral prioritization remains a significant challenge at the state level;
• Informal contacts/relationships are effective, but must be formalized;
• Roles and responsibilities of private entities are not well understood;
• Awareness of potential shortages in goods and services is not accompanied by solid plans for addressing those shortages;
• Lack of pandemic-specific economic analysis leaves states uncertain, and unprepared to manage, the full breadth of impacts from a pandemic

The pandemic influenza planning webinars are brought to you by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.