Pandemic & emergency preparedness

PANDEMIC & EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS FOR FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES

Chris Hylton, CG Hylton & Associates Inc.Chris@hylton.ca Toll Free Tel. 800 449-5866 or Tel 403 264-5288

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INFONEX: 11:30-12:30 Weds Feb 9 2011 Ottawa

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• People assume that in any disaster, government agencies will step in to save them: Hurricane

Katrina Report

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If you fail to plan…….

If you fail to plan…….

You have planned to fail!

You have planned to fail!

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“The only possible benefit of NOT planning is that disasters will come as a

complete surprise and will, therefore, not be preceded by long periods of paranoia

and depression!”

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Global Trends in Major Disasters

Source: Environment Canada

Source: 2009 SUMA CONVENTION

Why Prepare?6

Tornadoes Severe Snow

Storms Blackouts Floods Chemical

Spills Fire Explosion Water outage

Power outageComputer system failureFlood: External and internalFuel LeakBomb incidentCivil disorderWorkplace Violence IncidentBarricade / hostage incident

Duty to Act - Planning7

Governments & Corporations in Canada have “Due Diligence” obligations to plan for the protection/support of their populations, clients, and personnel: Moral Ethical Financial Legislated

Disaster Planning8

What is it? Why do it? What is the end product?

Your employees:9

1. How many employees will show up? Remember they have their own families to take care of and their own issues

2. Where do they live?3. Are they affected directly by the event?4. Do you have a plan to evacuate

responding employees should the situation worsen?

5. Do you have a plan to compensate those who do respond?

Essential Services10

Can you maintain them and how? Gas Electricity Water Communications

(Remember you are dependant upon others to provide certain services)

Expect:11

Emergency Services will be busy and/or possibly overwhelmed, and you may not see them for some time

More then one Emergency Situation may be present

Panic and chaos Criminals attempting to take advantage

of the situation

Where to Start?12

Form a committee Find previous plans, if available Know legal and other requirements Perform risk assessment Collect information Develop procedures Write the plan Distribute plan Train staff Continue to modify plan

Form a Committee13

Establish authority Leadership buy-in Make the committee membership

representative of the entire organization

Appoint one person to head the committee

Give each committee member specific assignments

Ensure all committee members understand their purpose and responsibilities

Find Previous Plans, if any

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Save time by starting with previous plans

Review previous plans for accuracy Use plans to determine what needs

work Keep plans (especially electronic

versions) for use when writing the updated plan

If there is no previous plan, look at a plan from another agency or institution

Collect Information15

Important phone numbers Emergency (fire, police, etc.) Staff (work, home, cell)

Internal resources (building information, supplies)

External resources (insurance, recovery services)

Information systems Analysis from risk assessment Salvage priorities (vital records list) Past disaster plans or examples of

disaster plans

Develop Procedures16

Evacuation procedures (with maps) Emergency procedures Disaster procedures Recovery procedures Other incident procedures Shut down procedures / security check

lists Who will talk to media, families,

children

Write the Plan17

A disaster plan is actually a set of plans List of key personnel (with contact

information) Building information (emergency systems,

etc.) Emergency services (with contact

information) Salvage priorities (vital records) Procedures (evacuation, emergency,

disaster, recovery, other incidents, shut down/security check)

Information systems (with backup information)

List of supplies

Use centralized control by one person for the plan

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Role of Manager Planners Coordinators Know who to call Training

Train Staff19

A disaster plan will not function without a trained staff to follow the plan

Training could include: Reading the plan Lecture / Discussion Demonstration / Simulation

Training could cover: Use of fire extinguishers Evacuation routes Other specific procedures

Telephone fan out20

One calls five Each of five calls five Message gets out immediately What system do you have in place?

Have emergency maps handy

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At home at work Details of escape route Practise escape Have alternative escape route Practise alternative Have resource materials on hand for others, books on deathfor kids

Who will talk to media22

Lockdown24

Dangerous person in your midst Practise lockdown in the facility Locking doors Secure area Safety of children, clients

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Used with permission of Bob Thaves

H1N1, Bird Flu, SARS

Pandemic Emergencies

PANDEMIC PREPAREDNESS AND

RESPONSE27

First, to minimize serious illness and overall deaths and second, to minimize societal disruption among Canadians as a result of an influenza pandemic.

Potential Source of Pandemic Influenza Virus

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Non-human

Virus

DIRECT

Human

Virus

Viruses are PROLIFIC and very PROMISCUOUS little

beggars!

Reassorted

virusType “A” may undergo major changes in “H” and/or “N” from genetic re-assortment which has

potential for pandemic influenza.

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Timeline of Emergence of Influenza A Viruses in Humans

1918 1957 1968 1977 19971998/9

2003

H1

H3H2

H7H5H5

H9

AvianInfluenza

H1

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Pandemics occur 3-4 times each century!

Unpredictable!

A constantly mutating virus!

If the H1N1 virus doesn’t cause a pandemic, another one will!

History31

10 Pandemics in Last 300 years1918-1919: Spanish Flu (H1N1)

Attack Rate 25% (High mortality in the young) 40 million deaths in less than 1 year

1957-1958: Asian Flu (H2N2) Attack Rate 25% - 30% 1 million deaths (High elder mortality)

1968-1969: Hong Kong Flu (H3N2) Attack Rate 20% - 25% (High elder and higher

adult mortality) 1 million deaths

Swine Flu deaths - 26 per 100,000

10 Pandemics in Last 300 years1918-1919: Spanish Flu (H1N1)

Attack Rate 25% (High mortality in the young) 40 million deaths in less than 1 year

1957-1958: Asian Flu (H2N2) Attack Rate 25% - 30% 1 million deaths (High elder mortality)

1968-1969: Hong Kong Flu (H3N2) Attack Rate 20% - 25% (High elder and higher

adult mortality) 1 million deaths

Swine Flu deaths - 26 per 100,000

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It won’t hurt a bit

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Diverse location of Aboriginal Communities

Federal MOH needs jurisdiction and legal powers to access information in order to conduct efficient surveillance (vigilance) and

To implement efficient control measures (intervention)

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Bands : 615 Registered Indians: 763,555 On-reserve : 404,117

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Possibility of « designated authority » from provincial Public Health Acts to federal Regional Medical Officers (RMOs) in the Provinces

Source : Jean-François Savard, Office of Community Medicine, 2007

Basic Hygiene37

Hand washing Sneezing Sanitizer Hand shaking School open School closed

“EVEN HEROES NEED TO TALK.”

One of the marketing slogans for Project Liberty, New York’s post-9/11 Crisis Counseling Program

Mental Health

Role of Employee Assistance Plan (EAP)

Physical Reactions39

Fatigue, exhaustion Gastrointestinal distress Appetite change Tightening in throat, chest, or stomach Worsening of existing medical

conditions Somatic complaints

Emotional Reactions40

Depression, sadness Irritability, anger, resentment Anxiety, fear Despair, hopelessness Guilt, self-doubt Unpredictable mood swings Feeling overwhelmed Apathy

Cognitive Reactions41

Confusion, disorientation Recurring dreams or nightmares Preoccupation with disaster Trouble concentrating or remembering

things Difficulty making decisions Questioning spiritual beliefs

Behavioral Reactions42

Sleep problems Crying easily Avoiding reminders Excessive activity level Increased conflicts with family Hyper-vigilance, startle reactions Isolation or social withdrawal Changes in appetite

Chronic Stressors43

Family disruption Work overload Gender differences Bureaucratic hassles Financial constraints

Encourage Responders to:

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Drink plenty of water and eat healthy snacks Take frequent, brief breaks from the scene as

practicable especially if they are coming home to work in a first responder capacity

Talk about their emotions to process what they have seen and done

Stay in touch with family and friends Participate in memorials, rituals, and use of

symbols as a way to express feelings Pair up with another responder to monitor one

another’s stress

Strategies in Response45

Self-care Peer Support Humor Decide to talk Seek help from credible and trusted

sources Get extra rest Use constructive coping strategies

Strategies in Recovery46

Long term assessment for risk JournalingPractice “relapse prevention”Lifestyle and health promotionRole models/partnering/mentoring

Our offer to you47

Please call if you have any HR, or workplace issue that you are overwhelmed with

We can help you

We also are pleased to do Free Workshops for your organization (some limits apply) Let us know what your needs are and we will make it happen!

CG Hylton - Services

HR Consulting Job Descriptions Salary Grids Wellness at Work Staff Morale Training and

Workshops

Benefits, Pensions,

EAP Strategic

Planning Drug and

Alcohol programs

Dept re-orgs Leadership

compensation48

Tel 403 264 5288chris@hylton.ca

Do you have any:

Comments?

Questions?

Feedback?

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Chris Hylton

800 449 5866

chris@hylton.ca