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- 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- 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.
5A tabletop exercise simulated emergency
situations are presented to elicit discussion
focus is on problem solving.
6STRUCTURE 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- 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.
8Players 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- Todays exercise includes
- Facilitator
- Note taker
- Evaluator
- Players
10JIC 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 System
- Joint Information Center
12- 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- 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- 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- A JIC can be easily adapted and scaled to fit the
situation.
16 17 18 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.
22Calusa 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.
23DeSoto 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.
24Liberty 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
46Day 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.
47Day 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.
48Day 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.
49Day 3 Friday Night
- Tonight at the festivals formal banquet, several
guests, including the actress daughter,
hurriedly leave, complaining of intestinal
distress.
50Day 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.
51Day 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.
52Day 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.
53Day 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.
54Discussion 1
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
- 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?
55Discussion 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?
56Discussion 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?
57Day 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.
58Day 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.
59Day 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.
60Day 4 - Saturday Midday
- By noon, the patient count is 60.
- The health commissioner has a conference call
with staff to discuss the next steps.
61Day 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.
62Day 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.
63Day 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.
64Discussion 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?
65Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
- 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?
66Discussion 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?
67Discussion 2
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
- At this point, does the event warrant you going
to the office?
68Discussion 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?
69Discussion 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?
70Discussion 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?
71Day 4 - Saturday Afternoon
- Several reporters have called the hospitals
24-hour phone center. The staff contacts the
hospital communications director each time.
72Day 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.
73Discussion 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?
74Discussion 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?
75INTERVIEW 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.
76INTERVIEW 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.
77INTERVIEW 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.
78Day 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.
79Day 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.
80Day 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)
81Day 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.
82Day 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
83Day 4 - Saturday Evening
- You also find several links to reports about
food terrorism.
84Day 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)
85Day 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
86Discussion 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?
87Discussion 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?
88Discussion 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?
89Discussion 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?
90Day 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.
91Day 5 Sunday Early Morning
- You pick up the Sunday Big Town Herald and the
headline on the front page says
92Day 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)
93Day 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.
94Discussion 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?
95Discussion 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?
96Discussion 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?
97Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
- Would you have spoken with law enforcement about
the outbreak before now?
98Discussion 5
Please answer questions based on your
communication plans
Hospital and Health
- Does the police PIO have your after-hours contact
information?
99Discussion 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?
100Discussion 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?
101Discussion 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?
102Discussion 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?
103Discussion 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?
104Day 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.
105Day 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.
106Day 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.
107ANNOUNCING 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.
108ANNOUNCING 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.
109STAFFING 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).
110Day 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.
111Day 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.
112Discussion 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?
113Discussion 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?
114Discussion 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?
115PREPARING 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.
116PREPARING 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.
117PREPARING 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.
118PREPARING 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.
119PREPARING 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.
120Discussion 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.
121Discussion 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?
122Discussion 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.
123Discussion 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)?
124Day 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.
125Day 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.
126Day 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.
127Discussion 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?
128Discussion 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?
129Discussion 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?
130Discussion 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?
131Discussion 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?
132Discussion 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.
133Discussion 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?
134Discussion 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?
135Conclusion
- 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.
136Conclusion
- 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.
137Conclusion
- 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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