Making Mutual Aid Happen: A Leadership & Advocacy Training

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Making Mutual Aid HappenA Leadership Advocacy
Training

• Kerry Dunnell, MSW Local Government Liaison
• Mary E. Clark, JD, MPH, Regional Preparedness
  Manager
• Cambridge Public Health Department
• Advanced Practice Center for Emergency
  Preparedness

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Agenda for the Day

• Introductions
• What is the public health mutual aid agreement?
• Why leadership and advocacy training?
• The Training
• Tools

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Who is the CPHD APC?

• Host agency for Massachusetts public health
  Region 4b (27 communities surrounding Boston)
• Public health emergency planning for City of
  Cambridge, MA
• Emergency planning training for the Cambridge
  Health Alliance

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Public Health Mutual AidWHY?

• Limited local staffing resources
• Hepatitis A in food handler
• CDC Deliverable

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Public Health Mutual AidWorking Group

• APC staff
• Attorneys with municipal and health board
  expertise
• MDPH Attorney
• MDPH Center for Emergency Preparedness staff

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Leadership AdvocacyWHY?

• Need for tools to accomplish implementation of
  mutual aid agreement
• Need for training that acknowledges challenges of
  work system

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Leadership AdvocacyWorking Group

• Training developed with Local Public Health
  Institute
• Piloted with local staff in R4b
• Peer reviewed by MDPH health educators and APC
  trade show group
• Further review by MDPH rural health educators

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• The Training

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Leadership Advocacy

• Let no man imagine he has no influence. Whoever
  he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man
  who thinks becomes a light and a power.
• -Henry George

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Workshop Goals

• To empower one another and reinforce leadership
  and advocacy skills
• To draw on personal and professional experiences
  to address the obstacles you face in your work

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Workshop objectives

• Collectively, we will be able to describe
• The definition and characteristics of effective
  leadership
• The steps to effective advocacy
• The key aspects of the Mutual Aid Agreement
• A process to obtain approval of the agreement

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What is leadership?

• Leadership is a function of knowing yourself,
  having a vision that is well communicated,
  building trust among colleagues, and taking
  effective action to realize your own leadership
  potential.
• Warren Bennis, Chairman of the Leadership
  Institute, Marshall Business School,
  University of Southern California

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Qualities of effective leaders

• Creativity in action
• Vision with the courage and fortitude to put the
  vision into reality
• Flexibility with a commitment to change things
  for the better
• Ability to back off when someone else is the
  better lead

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Qualities of effective leaders

• Ability to work within the context of the
  organization without letting the organization
  defeat us
• Commitment to the community and the values for
  which it stands
• Dr. Louis Rowitz, Director of the Mid America
  Regional Public Health Leadership Institute

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Discussion

• Is your definition of leadership in local public
  health similar to or different from the previous
  definition?
• How would you describe the qualities of an
  effective leader?

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Case exampleChanging the smoking ordinance

• What obstacles did the Health Director face?
• What options are available to her now?
• What might she do differently if she had the
  opportunity to do it all over again?
• Would options be different under a different
  government structure?

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What is advocacy?

• The act of pleading or arguing in favor of
  something, such as a cause, idea, or policy
  active support.
• The American Heritage Dictionary

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Discussion

• How is the definition of public health advocacy
  similar to or different from the previous
  definitions?
• How would you describe the steps to successful
  advocacy?

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Steps to successful advocacy

• Be able to clearly articulate the outcome you
  want
• Know your stakeholders allies and opponents
• Craft an effective message
• Practice and improve your ASK
• Follow up

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Advocacy Tools

• Coalitions
• Fundraising
• Data
• Messages
• Presentations
• Evaluation

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Small group activity

• As a group, choose one current issue that
  requires leadership and advocacy
• Work together to identify the stakeholders and
  describe the obstacles
• Brainstorm actions to address the obstacles
• Be prepared to report back to the whole group

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Leadership Advocacy Challenge

• Public Health Mutual Aid

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Public Health Mutual AidQuestions

• What is public health mutual aid intended for?
• Who is in charge?
• Is giving aid required?
• How does it work?
• How do we make this happen?

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Public Health Mutual Aid Agreement

• An intermunicipal agreement that allows
  communities to support each other, IF their
  resources are stretched beyond normal capacity. 
  The agreement addresses the scope of work, issues
  of employment and liability, and provides
  guidelines for requesting and providing mutual
  aid. 
•  
•  

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Public Health Mutual AidDefinition

• Aid to another public health agency
• Personnel, equipment, facilities, services,
  supplies, or other resources
• Includes inspections, vaccination clinics,
  emergency dispensing sites, administrative
  assistance, etc.
•  
•  

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Public Health Mutual AidScope Limitations

•  
• Scope - mutual aid for incidents not just
  emergencies
•  
• Limitations - communities are not required to
  provide aid  

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Public Health Mutual AidEmployment Liability

• Employment- Employees sent for mutual aid remain
  employees of their community
• Employees report to the Incident Commander in the
  receiving community
• Liability- Liability for employees retained by
  home community

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Public Health Mutual AidKey Concepts

• Public Health first responders
• Response is local
• Mutual Aid one agreement
• Mutual Aid allows us to expand our resources
  without expanding our budget Canton, MA Board
  of Health

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How do we make this happen?

• Do you know the process for adoption of such an
  agreement within your community?
• Who in your community do you need to involve for
  this project to be successful?
• What concerns/questions do you anticipate?
• What potential obstacles can you identify?
• How will you address these barriers?

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Training Materials

• Presentation and trainer notes
• Handouts
• Public Health Mutual Aid kit
• Evaluation forms

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Questions? Comments?

• Kerry C. Dunnell
• Local Government Liaison
• kdunnell_at_challiance.org
• 617-665-3859

• Mary E. Clark
• Regional Preparedness Manager
• mclark_at_challiance.org
• 617-665-3688