JIC in a Box

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JIC in a Box

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Title: JIC in a Box


1
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise

2
  • PURPOSE OF EXERCISE
  • An opportunity for communications experts
  • to gain knowledge and hone their skills
  • to prepare for and respond to
  • a public health emergency.

3
  • GOALS OF EXERCISE
  • This exercise will help you identify policy
    issues to consider when responding to a public
    health emergency or other large-scale crisis.
  • The tabletop portion of the exercise enables you
    to identify and understand gaps that may exist in
    those policies or in operational procedures.

4
  • GOALS OF EXERCISE
  • The functional portion of the exercise enables
    you to test procedures, equipment and facilities
    used when a JIC is activated.
  • This exercise also offers you an opportunity to
    assess your own preparedness and identify
    individual needs for information or training.

5
  • STRUCTURE OF EXERCISE

A tabletop exercise simulated emergency
situations are presented to elicit discussion
focus is on problem solving.
6
STRUCTURE OF EXERCISE
A functional exercise is designed to enhance
individual and group skills emphasis is on
completing an activity, such as creating
communications products.
7
  • LIMITATIONS OF EXERCISE
  • This exercise is designed to test only crisis
    communications activities as presented in a
    simulated public health emergency.
  • No medical expertise is required nor will any
    epidemiological issues be tested.
  • This exercise scenario covers a distinct window
    of time during an event.

8
  • LIMITATIONS OF EXERCISE

Players are to utilize local and regional
resources. The scope of tasks within this
exercise is limited. There are functions (jobs)
within the JIC you may choose not to fill,
depending on the number of players.
9
  • ROLES
  • Todays exercise includes
  • Facilitator
  • Note taker
  • Evaluator
  • Players

10
  • ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

JIC in a Box was developed by the Office of
Public Affairs at the Ohio Department of Health
and was funded as part of preparedness grants
from the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the Health Resources Services
Administration.
11
  • JOINT INFORMATION
  • Joint Information System
  • Joint Information Center

12
  • JOINT INFORMATION
  • Public information is part of emergency response.
  • The public information officer (PIO) is
    responsible for operating within a joint
    information system (JIS).
  • A JIS includes plans, protocols and structures
    used to provide information to the public.


13
  • JOINT INFORMATION
  • One way to ensure accurate and coordinated
    information is released is to establish a joint
    information center (JIC).
  • A JIC is the physical location where PIOs and
    other information staff gather to
  • Collect
  • Prepare
  • Release


Information
14
  • JOINT INFORMATION
  • Depending on the size and nature
  • of the event
  • The JIC may be large or small.
  • All JIC staff may not be in the JIC.
  • There may be more than one JIC.
  • The JIC may be local or involve state and
    federal resources.

15
  • JOINT INFORMATION
  • A JIC can be easily adapted and scaled to fit the
    situation.


16
  • JOINT INFORMATION


17
  • JOINT INFORMATION


18
  • JOINT INFORMATION


19
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise
  • Background Information

20
  • Bay Cove is a lakeside resort community on a
    peninsula with a permanent population of 1,000.
    It hosts nearly 1 million tourists yearly.
  • Access to the peninsula is along a two-lane state
    route which leads into the town from the south
    and east.

21
  • Tourism is the biggest business in Bay Cove
    visitors spend more than 30 million there
    annually.
  • It is located in Calusa County which has an
    extensive horticultural and agricultural industry.

22
Calusa County
  • The county has a population of 41,000.
  • U.S. Census figures show the population of Calusa
    County is 97 percent Caucasian and 3 percent
    minority.

23
DeSoto County
  • DeSoto County, located south of Calusa and in the
    heart of the agricultural belt, has a Hispanic
    population that is 7 percent of the countys
    population.

24
Liberty County
  • To the north is Liberty County, in which Big Town
    is located.
  • It has a population of about 1 million and a
    minority demographic of nearly 30 percent.

25
  • Bay Cove has a small municipal water and sanitary
    sewer system but there are areas outside the
    village where residents use well water and septic
    systems.

26
  • Much of the non-English-speaking population in
    Calusa County is migrant labor important to the
    multimillion dollar horticultural and
    agricultural industry.
  • Fruits, flowers and vegetables grown here are
    celebrated in community festivals.

27
  • There is an annual festival celebrating
    agricultural crops grown in the area.
  • A sailing regatta and other high-profile
    activities are part of this three-day weekend
    festival.

28
  • Six years ago, Bay Cove was struck by a tornado.
    Much of the downtown and marina district was
    heavily damaged.

29
  • In the years before the tornado, Bay Cove was
    known as a family-oriented vacation spot. In an
    effort to quickly rebound economically, the town
    encouraged more youthful-oriented, hip
    businesses to locate there.

30
  • A local conservative radio talk show host,
    Al Waysright, disagrees strongly with how Bay
    Cove has changed.

He speaks about it frequently on his show.
31
  • There is no hospital in Bay Cove.
  • St. Anns, the nearest one, is a 60-bed facility
    30 miles away.

There are two first-aid stations and a small
clinic near downtown.
32
  • There are three pharmacies in the area
  • one small mom-and-pop store
  • a discount-chain pharmacy and
  • a large retail megastore with a pharmacy.

33
  • The Bay Cove Port, the community weekly
    newspaper, is considered more a voice of the
    local tourism industry than a newspaper with
    hard-hitting journalism.

34
  • Jim Smith, a reporter who worked several years at
    the Port now works for the Big Town Herald.
  • He has worked for the Herald for five years and
    was hired because of his excellent work on the
    Bay Cove tornado.

35
  • Many of the expensive homes along the lake are
    owned by successful business people from both Bay
    Cove and Big Town.

36
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise
  • Current Events

37
  • Some 25 years ago, Bay Cove was the setting for a
    romantic movie starring a young unknown actress
    who grew up in this area she has since become a
    famous Hollywood star.

38
  • The movie, Loves Time, was a hit.
  • For the past several years, a group of devoted
    fans has staged a small conference to discuss it
    and other films.

39
  • Because of the 25th anniversary, the actress
    attends the festival and brings her teenage
    daughter.
  • The daughter has garnered a reputation as a
    Hollywood party girl.

Paparazzi and tabloid headlines often follow her.
40
  • With the daughter is her current boyfriend, a
    well-known Hollywood hunk.
  • Next weekend the boyfriend will take part in a
    bachelor auction to benefit a Bay Cove charity
    whose board includes the wife of a state senator.

41
  • The bachelor auction is part of the big three-day
    annual celebration held the weekend after
  • the film festival.

42
  • Bob Lesh is a well-known professional athlete who
    owns a multimillion dollar summer home along the
    lake.
  • He drives a distinctive and recognizable luxury
    sports utility vehicle.

43
  • For the past several weeks, Lesh has been in
    contentious, high-profile contract negotiations.
  • After the recent announcement of a breakthrough,
    a cable TV sports network is sending a satellite
    truck and crew to do a live interview with the
    sports star.

44
  • The mayor of Bay Cove is running for
  • re-election.
  • Al Waysright is one of the candidates running
    against the mayor.

45
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise
  • The Scenario

46
Day 1 Wednesday Night
  • It is midsummer. The weather has been extremely
    warm and humid.
  • Despite the conditions, the small community of
    Bay Cove is buzzing with thousands of tourists.

47
Day 1 Wednesday Night
  • The festival for the movie Loves Time began this
    evening with a catered reception serving a
    variety of seafood appetizers, cooked meats,
    fresh local vegetables and deserts.
  • Because of the 25th anniversary of the film, more
    than 1,000 fans, film critics and reporters
    attend.

48
Day 2 Thursday
  • Today on his radio show, Al Waysright spoke out
    against the movie festival.
  • Because the film featured a brief scene of
    intimacy, he called it pornography and objected
    to the celebration.

49
Day 3 Friday Night
  • Tonight at the festivals formal banquet, several
    guests, including the actress daughter,
    hurriedly leave, complaining of intestinal
    distress.

50
Day 4 - Saturday Early Morning
  • There have been three dozen phone calls overnight
    to the 24-hour patient care line at St. Anns
    Hospital.
  • The callers complain about several symptoms
    including diarrhea, fever, chills, headache,
    nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and in some
    cases, bloody stools.
  • In addition, two people came into the emergency
    department overnight seeking treatment for severe
    diarrhea.

51
Day 4 - Saturday Early Morning
  • There are a dozen or more people waiting in line
    at the two first-aid stations and the clinic
    before they open in the morning.
  • These people are complaining about the same
    symptoms as those calling or visiting the
    hospital.

52
Day 4 - Saturday Early Morning
  • An engineer from the local radio station, setting
    up a remote broadcast truck nearby for the
    festival, sees the crowd at one of the first-aid
    stations.

53
Day 4 - Saturday Early Morning
  • After talking with a couple of people, the
    engineer calls the radio newsroom and relays
    information about the possible news story.
  • Within 20 minutes, a young reporter is at the
    first-aid station, interviewing people in line.

54
Discussion 1
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
  • Hospital
  • Assume a nurse at the hospital called you at home
    on a Saturday morning and notified you of the
    spike in overnight cases, all with similar
    symptoms. What would you do?
  • Who, if anyone, would you notify?

55
Discussion 1
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital
  • Would you recommend issuing any statement or news
    release at this time and why or why not?
  • Would you proactively call any reporters? Why or
    why not?

56
Discussion 1
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Health
  • Does the hospital communications staff have your
    after-hours contact information or that of your
    on-call staff?

57
Day 4 - Saturday Late Morning
  • Patients are still coming to the hospital
    emergency department, clinic and first-aid
    stations.
  • By 10 a.m., the number of patients with similar
    symptoms is 45.

58
Day 4 - Saturday Late Morning
  • St. Anns Hospital officials decide to notify the
    Calusa County Health Department.
  • Hospital officials are concerned about the
    increasing number of patients seeking treatment.

59
Day 4 - Saturday Late Morning
  • The radio reporter submits a story about the
    illnesses to the news wire service.
  • The service runs the story on the state wire,
    automatically supplying the story to news Web
    sites and media around the state.

60
Day 4 - Saturday Midday
  • By noon, the patient count is 60.
  • The health commissioner has a conference call
    with staff to discuss the next steps.

61
Day 4 - Saturday Midday
  • One of the local pharmacists calls the hospital
    to report the store is almost out of
    anti-diarrheal medicine because of heavy demand.

62
Day 4 - Saturday Midday
  • Editors and producers from the Herald and the TV
    stations in Big Town work on their Sunday edition
    and evening newscasts.
  • They see the story on the news wire and make
    calls to learn more.

63
Day 4 - Saturday Afternoon
  • Doctors from various clinics and hospitals in
    Calusa, DeSoto and Liberty counties report a high
    number of patients complaining about severe
    gastrointestinal problems.
  • By 4 p.m., the total patient count is 75. Six
    people have been hospitalized.

64
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Health
  • You are on the conference call with the health
    commissioner. Based on what you know so far in
    the scenario, what are your communications
    recommendations?

65
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
  • Hospital and Health
  • Based on your communications plan, would you have
    conversations about the incident with one another
    during the day?
  • Would you call your counterparts in the other two
    counties?

66
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • At this point, does the event warrant calling
    other members of your communication staff?
  • If so, who would you call and why?

67
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • At this point, does the event warrant you going
    to the office?

68
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Do reporters have after-hours contact information
    for you?
  • If they dont, what system is in place for a
    reporter to contact you?

69
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Assume both of you are getting calls from
    reporters how do you work together to coordinate
    your response, or at a minimum, inform one
    another of the calls?

70
Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • What information would you gather to answer
    questions about this incident?
  • What sources would you use?
  • What kinds of messages can you create when you
    have little information?

71
Day 4 - Saturday Afternoon
  • Several reporters have called the hospitals
    24-hour phone center. The staff contacts the
    hospital communications director each time.

72
Day 4 - Saturday Afternoon
  • The Herald reporter would like to speak with the
    hospital CEO or head of the emergency department
    while three TV stations from Big Town would like
    a live interview for the 6 p.m. show.
  • Each TV station is sending a live-broadcast truck
    to Bay Cove.

73
Discussion 3
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital
  • What is your strategy for dealing with this
    significant number of reporters in a short period
    of time?
  • Will you agree to the interviews with reporters?
    If not, why?
  • If so, who will be your hospitals spokesperson?

74
Discussion 3
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Health
  • Assume by now, you and the hospital
    communications representative have been in
    contact and you know about the request for live
    interviews with the hospital for the evening
    newscast. Do you suggest including or
    substituting the health commissioner for the
    interviews? Why, or why not?

75
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
Activity 1
  • Task 1 Assume both the hospital emergency
    department (ED) director and the health
    commissioner will take part in the various
    interviews that are less than two hours from now.
  • Take five minutes, work together in small groups
    and write as many questions as you think
    reporters will ask during the interviews.

76
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
Activity 1
  • Task 2 Now, still working together, take five
    minutes and write three key messages about the
    incident and your response to it.
  • A key message is a positive statement of
    compassion, action or recommendation from your
    organization.

77
INTERVIEW PREPARATION
Activity 1
  • Task 3 Discuss how questions differ or are
    similar between the groups.
  • Task 4 Use information from the scenario and
    your key messages to answer a few questions.

78
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • Each of the TV stations from Big Town broadcasts
    a live report during the evening newscasts.
  • Because you remained at the interview location in
    the hospital parking lot, you are able to listen
    to each reporter.

79
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • You dont notice any undue alarm from the
    reporters and the tone of each report is there
    are more questions than answers.
  • The reporter from the Big Town Herald also asked
    straightforward questions although they were a
    bit more probing than those asked by the TV
    reporters.

80
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • Later that evening, you do an Internet search on
    the term food-borne illness and discover
    several articles, reports and news stories about
    the topic.
  • (Refer to the Food-borne Fact Sheet)

81
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • On average, up to 30 percent of the U.S.
    population suffers from food-borne diseases each
    year.
  • Around 76 million cases of food-borne diseases
    result in 325,000 hospitalizations and 5,000
    deaths annually in the United States.

82
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • The most commonly reported food-borne illnesses
    have a biological, not chemical cause. The
    organisms include
  • Campylobacter
  • Salmonella
  • Shigella
  • E. coli O157H7
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Listeria

83
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • You also find several links to reports about
    food terrorism.

84
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • There are many news accounts of intentional or
    accidental acts of food contamination that killed
    or sickened thousands of people in the United
    States and other countries.
  • (Refer to the Food-borne Fact Sheet)

85
Day 4 - Saturday Evening
  • For the life of me, I cannot understand why the
    terrorists have not attacked our food supply
    because it is so easy to do.
  • Tommy Thompson
  • U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary
  • December 2004

86
Discussion 4
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Assume there is another conference call after the
    TV interviews. The call includes top management
    and medical staff from the hospitals and the
    health departments in the three counties. What
    recommendations about communications will you
    make during the call?

87
Discussion 4
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Assume you are the one who researched the
    Internet about food-borne illness and food
    terrorism. There has been no cause established
    yet. How does your research affect your
    communication strategy?

88
Discussion 4
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Hospitals and health departments from three
    counties are involved in this outbreak. At this
    point, should there be a lead PIO or communicator
    to coordinate and manage the strategy? If not,
    why? If so, which hospital or health department
    should he or she come from?

89
Discussion 4
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Do you start a joint information center (JIC) at
    this time? Why or why not? Where should that JIC
    be located?

90
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • Most of those who fell ill were at the film
    festival reception others ate at various
    restaurants in the area.
  • Some of the restaurants have a history of food
    service violations.
  • Lab results on patients wont be available until
    tomorrow, but no evidence of person-to-person
    spread has been found so far.

91
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • You pick up the Sunday Big Town Herald and the
    headline on the front page says

92
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
Big Town Herald
Team Wins!
Details in Sports
84
Dozens Sick in Bay Cove
Police Looking at Possible Terrorism
A photo of the anonymous note faxed to Bay Cove
Police Saturday.
Although Sgt. Jones wouldnt elaborate on his
suspicions, the fax came to the police just hours
after the Calusa County health commissioner and
St. Anns Hospital emergency department director
announced an investigation into the
illnesses. (See Bay Cove on Page 2)
93
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • The story continues with information from the
    hospital interviews and facts you provided to the
    reporter.
  • It is apparent there were developments to the
    story after the reporter left your interviews
    last night.

94
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Law Enforcement
  • What recommendations would you give to the JIC
    staff about the anonymous fax sent to the police
    department?

95
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • What are your initial reactions to the story?
  • Is the story completely accurate? If not, what is
    incorrect?

96
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Is the characterization scratching their heads
    a fair description? Figuratively speaking, is it
    an accurate one?

97
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Would you have spoken with law enforcement about
    the outbreak before now?

98
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Does the police PIO have your after-hours contact
    information?

99
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Law Enforcement
  • From what you know based on the scenario, are
    Sgt. Jones quotes correct?
  • The newspaper reporter worked in Bay Cove for
    years and probably knows Sgt. Jones well. Even
    so, should he have made those comments?

100
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • Would you call the newspaper to complain about
    the story? If so, what would your complaint be?
  • Do you think the paper should run a correction?
    If so, why?

101
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Do you contact the police and request they be
    part of your joint information system or JIC?
    Why, or why not?
  • What other agencies should be part of a JIC
    dealing with a public health crisis?
  • Do those other agencies have your after-hours
    contact information?

102
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • What have you included in your communications
    strategy to address the mental health needs of
    your staff and the public?

103
Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • What have you included in your communications
    strategy to address the difficulties faced when
    communicating with non-English speakers,
    particularly the migrant community?
  • If you needed a news release or fact sheet
    translated into Spanish, who would you call first?

104
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • Overnight, people who are sick continue to call
    or visit area hospitals.
  • The number of cases is now 140.
  • One ED doctor who attended the film festival
    reception has called in sick.

105
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • Big Town has two TV stations with Sunday morning
    newscasts. One of them is doing a live broadcast
    across the street from St. Anns Hospital while
    the other is in downtown Bay Cove.
  • The first reporter holds a copy of the Herald
    showing the large headline her report repeats
    much of the material in the newspaper story and
    she runs a video clip of last nights interview
    with the health commissioner.

106
Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
  • The second reporter refers to the deserted
    streets of downtown Bay Cove as he narrates about
    the outbreak.
  • The downtown streets of Bay Cove are always
    deserted early Sunday morning, even during the
    film festival.

107
ANNOUNCING THE JIC
Activity 2
  • Assume local health departments, hospitals, law
    enforcement and other partners will open a joint
    information center today.
  • Typically, an advisory announcing the JIC is sent
    to reporters. It provides information about the
    location, hours of operation and purpose of the
    JIC.

108
ANNOUNCING THE JIC
Activity 2
  • Using the sample JIC announcement (form 9) as a
    guide, the lead PIO will assign a team to create
    an advisory using information from this scenario
    and any real information such as the actual
    location of your JIC.
  • To simulate sending the document to the media,
    fax or e-mail it to Bret Atkins at the Ohio
    Department of Health, Public Affairs when you
    complete it.
  • E-mail batkins_at_odh.ohio.gov or fax
    614-644-8208.

109
STAFFING THE JIC
Activity 3
  • Examine the list of job duties associated with a
    JIC operation (form 10). Determine which are most
    needed for this early phase of the JIC and
    determine who should assume those tasks.
  • Assign and distribute the job descriptions. You
    may wish to separate the job descriptions by
    cutting the forms and handing out the slips of
    paper. Use form 11 to indicate which jobs are
    filled.
  • There may be some who are performing a task but
    are not physically located in the JIC. If so, fax
    them their job description and make note of it in
    the JIC log (form 12).

110
Day 5 Sunday Midmorning
  • After watching and reading news accounts of the
    illnesses, many more people call or visit area
    hospitals.
  • The investigation is focused toward a food-borne
    outbreak, although lab results are still pending.

111
Day 5 Sunday Midmorning
  • One of the Big Town TV stations broadcasts a news
    update. The video shows a luxury sports utility
    vehicle in the parking lot of the hospital.
    Emergency workers pull an apparently unconscious
    man from the passenger seat onto a gurney and
    quickly rush him inside.
  • The news anchor reports the ill person appears
    to be sports great Bob Lesh.

112
Discussion 6
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Re-examine your key messages from last nights
    news interviews. Based on the increase in cases,
    a possible cause of the illnesses, your Internet
    research and the news reports you have seen and
    read, would your key messages change? If so, how?

113
Discussion 6
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • How will the illness of well-known people affect
    how the media cover this story and will you
    respond to this coverage?
  • How will you deal with the significant number of
    entertainment reporters covering your health news
    story?
  • If you expect the number of media calls and
    requests for interviews to dramatically increase,
    do you have sufficient staff in the JIC? If not,
    what will you do?

114
Discussion 6
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • How often will you do news briefings? Do you
    have adequate staff to prepare for that number of
    briefings?
  • When will they start?

115
PREPARING FOR THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Activity 4
  • Assume you will schedule a news briefing for
    early afternoon, several hours from now.
  • At the briefing you will distribute a news
    release based on information in this scenario.
  • You should also prepare a fact sheet with
    information or recommendations.
  • In addition, you will need to prepare health and
    hospital spokespeople for the news briefing.

116
PREPARING FOR THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Activity 4
  • This activity has more than one task you may
    find it helpful to divide the JIC staff into
    groups.
  • Task 1 Write a one-page news release on your JIC
    news release letterhead.
  • Have the news release approved by those who
    typically do this (e.g., subject matter expert,
    health commissioner or CEO, PIO) using the
    protocol you normally use (e.g., signature
    approval). This approval may require a phone
    call, e-mail or in-person meeting.

117
PREPARING FOR THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Activity 4
  • This activity has more than one task you may
    find it helpful to divide the JIC staff into
    groups.
  • Task 2 Use provided material and information
    from the scenario to create a one-page fact sheet
    for reporters.

118
PREPARING FOR THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Activity 4
  • This activity has more than one task you may
    find it helpful to divide the JIC staff into
    groups.
  • Task 3 Prepare a list of 20 questions you expect
    reporters will ask during the briefing.
  • Prepare answers for each question based on local
    procedures, information from the scenario and
    proper crisis communication techniques.
  • Choose a player to portray a health and a
    hospital spokesperson and prepare them for the
    news briefing.

119
PREPARING FOR THE NEWS CONFERENCE
Activity 4
  • REVIEW
  • Task 1 Write a one-page news release on your JIC
    news release letterhead. Have the news release
    approved by those who typically do this (e.g.,
    subject matter expert, health commissioner or
    CEO, PIO) using the protocol you normally use
    (e.g., signature approval).
  • Task 2 Create a one-page fact sheet for
    reporters.
  • Task 3 Prepare a list of 20 questions. Prepare
    answers for each question based on local
    procedures, information from the scenario and
    proper crisis communication techniques. Choose
    and prepare a health and a hospital spokesperson
    for the news briefing.

120
Discussion 7
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • Where will you hold the news briefing? Consider
  • The number of reporters who may attend.
  • The bulkiness of video equipment .
  • Adequate nearby parking.
  • Proximity to the JIC and command center.
  • Acoustics.
  • Ease of finding the briefing room.

121
Discussion 7
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • Review and discuss the news release, fact sheet,
    prepared questions and answers and the
    spokesperson briefing. What issues arose for you?
  • Would you find these tasks easier or harder with
    more staff? What is the optimal number of JIC
    staff on a shift?

122
Discussion 7
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • Discuss your procedure for notifying law
    enforcement or security about high-profile news
    conferences. Law enforcement, do you have
    suggestions to offer?
  • Assume youve learned radio host Al Waysright
    will be attending the news conference. Discuss
    your procedure for maintaining order and decorum
    during a news conference.

123
Discussion 7
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
  • How is the JIC communicating with the EOC or
    field units?
  • What decisions came about through other
    discussions youve had during the exercise (e.g.,
    dealing with VIPs, dealing with network media,
    shift changes, HIPAA laws)?

124
Day 5 Sunday Late Afternoon
  • The news conference has ended. Local, state,
    national and international reporters attended.
    The media sign-in sheet shows 65 names.
  • Your spokespeople faced questions that were
    prickly, hard to answer and were often shouted.
    The briefing room was packed to capacity with
    some reporters standing outside the door.

125
Day 5 Sunday Late Afternoon
  • A few minutes before the news conference began,
    the mayor insisted he present the opening
    remarks. In those remarks, he guaranteed a cause
    would be found to the illness and promised the
    annual regatta and festival would occur as
    scheduled next weekend.
  • The chief of police was asked about the anonymous
    fax he said he believed it was a hoax although
    he wouldnt explain why.

126
Day 5 Sunday Late Afternoon
  • The number of patients has increased to 300.
  • As you return to your office, there are voice
    mails from several network morning show producers
    requesting interviews for tomorrow.

127
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • Being sensitive to their position and office,
    what would be your recommendations to the mayor
    and police chief concerning their comments at the
    news briefing?

128
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • The mayor and tourism director are pressuring
    those involved to get this thing solved before
    next weekends annual regatta and festival. From
    a risk communication viewpoint, what would be
    your recommendations to the mayor about
    continuing or canceling the festival?

129
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • So far in the scenario, your most significant
    audience has been the media. As events continue
    to develop, other audiences will emerge, each
    requiring a message and method of communication
    specific to them. What possible audiences can you
    identify and what messages and methods will you
    use to communicate with them?

130
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • The wife of the local state senator wants to talk
    to the health commissioner. She insists on having
    the bachelor auction next weekend. What messages
    would you prepare for the health commissioner?

131
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • Events like this outbreak can be a breeding
    ground for rumors. How do you deal with rumors in
    your communication strategy?

132
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • How would you use your Web sites to release
    information?
  • Describe your access/ability to post information
    to the Web during the weekend and after hours.

133
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • The hospitals patient care line staff is
    overwhelmed with the number of calls theyve
    received. What facilities and personnel do you
    have to offer assistance?
  • Should there be a separate information line for
    public calls? If so, do you have the resources
    needed to answer more than 100 calls per day?

134
Discussion 8
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
All
  • What procedures have you identified to prevent or
    mitigate staff burnout?
  • How long can your group maintain 10-14 hour days?
    Who have you already identified to step in and
    help?

135
Conclusion
  • The window of time portrayed in this scenario is
    from Wednesday night to late afternoon Sunday.
  • In reality, the outbreak investigation and media
    coverage might continue much longer.

136
Conclusion
  • As youve seen, a public health crisis can affect
    hundreds of people suddenly.
  • You will often have to make recommendations and
    deliver messages based on incomplete information.
  • You may have too few resources and too many phone
    calls to return.

137
Conclusion
  • Fostering and maintaining good communication
    between various agencies in your area is the
    first step to an effective joint information
    system.
  • When conditions warrant, these same partners can
    work together to overcome the crisis using a
    joint information center.

138
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise

Debriefing
139
  • JIC in a Box
  • Joint Information Center
  • Tabletop and
  • Functional Exercise

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