H1N1 Workforce Reduction Forum

H1N1 Workforce Reduction Forum

Theresa A. Masse, State Chief Information Security Officer

Department of Administrative ServicesEnterprise Security Office

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AgendaAgenda Opening RemarksOpening Remarks

Public HealthPublic Health

Q&AQ&A

DAS Enterprise Security Office DAS Enterprise Security Office

Agency PanelAgency Panel

DAS Human DAS Human Resources Service Division

DAS Risk ManagementDAS Risk Management

Q&A Q&A

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Opening Remarks

Scott Harra, Director

Department of Administrative Services

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Opening Remarks

Official state guidance:

Public Healthwww.flu.oregon.gov

HR Issues

www.oregon.gov/DAS/HR/flu.shtml

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Michael Heumann, MPH, MAEmergency Preparedness CoordinatorOregon Public Health Division

Public Health

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• What is flu?• Typical impact of influenza• What is a flu pandemic?• What now: addressing the current pandemic

Public Health

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What is the flu? -- Seasonal respiratory illness

caused by influenza virus

Influenza symptoms - Respiratory illness;- Fever, headache;- Cough, sore throat; - Muscle aches; and- Diarrhea, nausea & vomiting- Cough and fatigue can last for more than a month

Most people will recover within a week to 10 days

Electron Micrograph of Pandemic H1N1 Flu Virus

Public Health

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Transmission • DROPLET spread most important.

• Cough or sneeze• 3-5 feet

• Incubation period One to three days.- Can be contagious

before symptoms develop.

Public Health

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Flu virus changes in a minor way each year • “Antigenic drift”.• New strains appear each year to which most people are susceptible.• Need new vaccine each year to match circulating strains.

Public Health

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Periodically virus has major changes • “Antigenic shift”.• Nobody has immunity.• Causes a widespread epidemic, or pandemic.• Severity of the new virus strain a major concern.

Public Health

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Impact of Influenza in a typical year • 10-20 percent of population gets influenza each year.• 225,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths from influenza in U.S. in an average year.

- 2,750 hospitalizations and 450 deaths in Oregon.• Most deaths from secondary pneumonia.

- i.e., bacterial infection of lungs after infection with influenza virus.

Public Health

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Pandemics: 1918 Spanish flu • Catastrophe against which all modern

pandemics measured.

• 20-40 percent of world’s population ill.• 20 million deaths in world, 500,000 in U.S.

- Killed more Americans than all wars in 20th century.- Quick: felt well in morning, dead by nightfall.- Others died from complications.- Attack rate and mortality highest among

20-50 year olds.

Public Health

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Other flu pandemics and Pandemic Threats • 1957: Asian flu: 70,000 U.S. deaths.• 1968: Hong Kong flu: 34,000 U.S. deaths.• 1976: Swine flu threat.• 1977: Russian flu threat.• 1997-9: Avian flu: limited spread.

Public Health

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What now? Why worry about pandemic H1N1?

Public Health

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Pandemic H1N1 • New strain appeared spring 2009 and rapidly spread

throughout globe.- Younger people especially affected.

• World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a pandemic.• Everyone is susceptible, so potential for widespread

illness this flu season.• Severity difficult to predict, but could stress

healthcare systems, and economic functioning.

Public Health

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What are goals of Public Health? • Reduce spread of flu.• Protect vulnerable people from complications.• Assure availability of treatment for severely ill.• Minimize social and economic disruption.

Public Health

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Specific planning to help prevent or reduce the effects of a flu pandemic

- Track the epidemic

- Provide accurate information to public

- Provide more detailed information to specific sectors, (e.g. schools, hospitals and businesses)

Public Health

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Ways we can all minimize the spread of H1N1:

1- Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you sneeze or cough. Throw the tissue in the trash after

you use it. 2- Wash your hands often with soap and water, especially after you cough or sneeze. Alcohol-based hand cleaners are also effective.

3- If you are sick, stay home. Seek medical treatment when necessary.

Public Health

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Continuity of Operations Planning (COOP) can help reduce service disruption at work

Steps you can take:- Identify essential functions

- Develop order of succession & delegation of authority

- Assess workplace risks and facilitate adaptations

- Consider allowing staff to work remotely, when feasible

Public Health

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Workplace planning can help everyone reduce the effects of a flu pandemic

Stay informed—information changes rapidly Develop a COOP plan Promote social-distancing Initiate non-punitive policies that allow people to

stay home if sick or to care for a sick family member

Communicate plans and policies to employees

Public Health

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Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I wil spend the first four sharpening the axe.

- Abraham Lincoln

Public Health

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For further information about H1N1 pandemic: www.flu.oregon.gov

www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/

www.oregon.gov/DAS/HR/flu.shtml

www.oregon.gov/DAS/PEBB/flushots.shtml

Public Health

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Enterprise Security Office

Theresa A. Masse, State Chief Information Security Officer

Department of Administrative Services

Enterprise Security Office

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Enterprise Security Office

Workforce Reduction - Key Considerations: Commitment to deliver services Critical Business Functions (defined in BCP) Interdependencies with Business Partners Protecting State information Planning/preparing in advance

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Enterprise Security Office

Telecommuting: A planned/pre-approved regular schedule for

working from an alternate location

Teleworking: Working remotely on an irregular or ad-hoc

basis

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Enterprise Security Office

Teleworking Checklist: What are agency remote access capabilities?

Email System/Applications Phones

Consider third party workforce State or personal equipment

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Enterprise Security Office

Teleworking Checklist: Document agreements - in advance Protection – based on Information

Classification level Test – test - test!

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Agency Panel

Holly Mercer, Executive Director

Oregon Board of Nursing

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Board of Nursing

Regulate approximately 70,000 licenses of nurses and nursing assistants.

48 FTEs, $12.1 million budget Process an average 3,316 licenses per month. Call center (4 people) fields an average 4,800

calls per month. Receive an average of 60 complaints via phone

or e-mail per month. Process an average 117 criminal history hits per

month.

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Board of Nursing

Preparing a plan to assure continuity of service with a 40-50% reduction in staff.

Core business functions: Licensing (public safety; ensure healthcare staffing

needs are met). IT & Finance (ecommerce; fee based revenue) Complaint intake (identify possible emergency

situations to maintain public safety).

Working to identify “skill bank” among staff.

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Board of Nursing

Management team will gather periodically to handle reallocation of staff/duties as needed.

Need to manage expectations of customers in advance; e.g. communicate that staff may not be able to take calls directly, but will return messages within 24 hours.

No telecommuting; assess telework as needed.

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Agency Panel

Paul Cleary, Executive Director

Public Employees Retirement System

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PERS and Our CustomersAgency Three locations; two in Tigard, one in Salem 364 employees

Customer profile 167,000 active members 48,000 inactive members 105,000 retirees 870 employers

Customer contacts Phone centers – employers, members, and third-party administrators Email and website Walk-ins in Tigard and Salem Group presentations Individual counseling sessions

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5,700 Tier One/Tier Two and 5,359 IAP retirements

9,932 account withdrawals

172,000 telephone calls (incoming/outgoing)

118,861 emails (outgoing)

12,502 written benefit estimates

12,773 employer reports with 3,501,158 member records received

263,000 member annual statements

$200 million in benefit payments each month

2008 Retirement System Workload

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Business Seasonality – Workload Processing

FLU SEASON

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

1400

1600

JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN

TIER ONE/TIER TWO ESTIMATESTIER ONE/TIER TWO RETIREMENTSIAP RETIREMENTSTIER ONE/TIER TWO WITHDRAWALSIAP WITHDRAWALS

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Increased Telephone and Email VolumePerennial triggering events First three business days of a month when retiree checks are mailed Mondays Retirement spike (January 1 retirements) Tax season (January – April) Variable account adjustment for retirees (February) Annual statements (mailed in May) Retirement spike (July 1 retirements) Cost-of-living adjustments (August) New plan participants (September – educators)

One-off events Litigation and legislation Changes in benefit calculation factors Media coverage

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Key Business FunctionsBenefit

PaymentsOSGP & Health

InsuranceCustomer Service Fiscal Services Information

ServicesPolicy,

Planning, & Legislative Analysis

Benefit applications processing

Weekly check processing

Monthly pension roll

Retirement & withdrawal disbursement

Qualified domestic relations orders

Distributions Enrollment

premiums Plan transfers

& rollovers Phone & mail

handling Enrollments &

catch-up Eligibility &

subsidies Loans Payroll

deductions

Internal/external communications coordination

Customer service desk operations

Customer Service Center & Employer Service Center incoming calls & email

Employer reporting

Maintain member accounts

Post purchases File server

accessibility Separations/

eligibility Database fixes Member

withdrawals Benefit estimates

Cashiering Wire transfers Investment

buys Mail service/

bldg/ship/receive

Accounts payable and receivable

Manual checks Purchasing

services Withholding

deposits Retiree

payments Annual report Tax returns

IT system operations/ maintenance

IT system helpdesk

Program development & testing

Information security

Imaging documents

Emergency system program testing

Legislative analysis

Member appeals

Litigation support

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Critical Business Functions and Staffing Review

Identify and prioritize time-sensitive transactions and qualifying events

Review production chain for weakest links and essential staff

Assess staff skills/work experience for redeployment

Identify system access methods, roles, and security levels

Assess potential workflow process and service delays caused by external and internal partners

Review opportunities for manual work-arounds and outsourcing

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Focus on Mitigating Staff Shortages Redeployment options and cross training

Documentation of procedures (desk manuals)

Streamline system access/approval processes

Temporary delegation of authority

Assess and communicate the need for alternate contacts with employers, vendors, and third-party administrators

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Teleworking Considerations and Concerns

Limited remote access capability on current infrastructure

Production work from home raises security risks and accuracy concerns

Employees at home assumed to be sick or caring for sick

Extended school closures or other extenuating circumstances may require teleworking consideration

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Manage Customer Expectations

Communicate production priorities and estimated timelines via website, newsletter, and automated phone messaging

Engage stakeholders in helping communicate production priorities and timelines

Encourage use of online benefit estimate calculator instead of written estimate

Prepare members for estimated benefit payments

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Agency Panel

Karen Gregory, Deputy Director

Oregon Department of Revenue

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Department of Revenue’s Department of Revenue’s H1N1 PlanH1N1 Plan

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Topics:Topics: Brief overview of DOR businessBrief overview of DOR business How DOR will handle 20%–40% potential How DOR will handle 20%–40% potential

absenteeism including:absenteeism including: Communication PlanCommunication Plan IT plan for the seasonIT plan for the season Working offsite (telecommuting)Working offsite (telecommuting) Web ConferencingWeb Conferencing

Questions and answersQuestions and answers

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Overview

DOR administers over 30 tax systemsDOR administers over 30 tax systems

Governments rely on all of these collected Governments rely on all of these collected taxestaxes

Business peaks February-April, yet constant Business peaks February-April, yet constant throughout the yearthroughout the year

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Swine flu paranoia is getting out of Swine flu paranoia is getting out of hand!hand!

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Plan to Handle

H1N1 PlanH1N1 Plan 6-prong approach6-prong approach

Work units determine priorities and create Work units determine priorities and create plans for core workplans for core work

Agency plan focuses on additional revenue Agency plan focuses on additional revenue commitments made to the legislaturecommitments made to the legislature

Communication plan—agency wellness Communication plan—agency wellness committeecommittee

ITIT Plan includes partnering with SDCPlan includes partnering with SDC

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Approach

Telecommuting:Telecommuting: WhyWhy How we did itHow we did it Managers’ reactionsManagers’ reactions ResultsResults BenefitsBenefits DownsidesDownsides

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Approach

Web Conferencing Web Conferencing

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Presented by Karen Gregory Presented by Karen Gregory Deputy Director Deputy Director

Oregon Department of RevenueOregon Department of RevenuePhone: 503-945-8288Phone: 503-945-8288

Fax: 503-945-8290Fax: 503-945-8290E-mail: E-mail:

karen.s.gregory@state.or.us

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Human Resources Service Division

Rebecca Gray, Senior State Human Resource Consultant

Department of Administrative Services Human Resources Service Division

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Human Resources Service DivisionTelecommuting Policy - Draft

Inclusive of both Telecommuting and Telework Focus on accountability while working at

alternate location Agreements

Telecommuting agreement IT Telecommuting Application

Gathering additional comments

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Risk Management

Deb Bogart, Senior Safety and Risk Unit Consultant

Department of Administrative Services Risk Management

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Workers’ Compensation H1N1 Claims It is a worker’s right to file a claim

Claims for contracting H1N1 are likely

Employee burden of proof is high

Risk will be monitoring the nature and number of these claims

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Workers’ Compensation Coverage Out-of-state telecommuting requires special

coordination to ensure WC coverage Routine use of alternative worksite

Out-of-state teleworking does not require special WC coverage coordination Non-routine, short-term use of alternative worksite

Where is the grey line? Use Policy Model Agreement and/or Checklist

to offset offsite worksite risks

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Questions?

Thank You!