Presentation title slide 42 pt Times New Roman, White

1
2007 NPHIC Annual Conference BioWatch
Chad R. Wood Public Health/Risk Communication
Advisor Office of Public Affairs Department of
Homeland Security July 23, 2007
2
BioWatch

• Overview
• Early warning system designed to detect the
  intentional release of select aerosolized
  biological agents
• Multi-agency program led by Dept of Homeland
  Security
• Partners City/County/State governments, CDC,
  EPA, FBI, LRN
• Been in continuous operation since 2003
• Building the next generation of technology for
  faster, more efficient detection
• BioWatch Actionable Result (BAR) official term
  for a BioWatch hit

3
Review of the Past Year

• Coordination
• Improved federal coordination capability by
  integrating relationships with HHS, CDC, and FBI
• Enhancing coordination with SL via PA Working
  Group NICCL/NPHIC
• New dynamics for public affairs
• Incidents require direct contact/coordination
  between Federal and local levels
• Coordination between DHS and public health
  agencies
• Supporting Plans and Products
• New Standard Operating Procedure
• Internal and External Q/As
• Templates
• Flowchart of PA activities (following a BAR)

4
Supporting Plans and Products

• Standard Operating Procedure
• Risk Communications - methodology of messaging
  based on the science of behavior
• Incident Communication Procedures that outline
• Objectives
• Concept of Operations (i.e. responding to BARs)
• Pre-incident planning
• BAR from naturally occurring sources
• BAR that is or suspected to be the result of
  terrorism
• Q/As
• Internal Addresses internal FOUO questions
  related to the program
• External Commonly asked questions by the public
  and media.
• Press Release Templates In production
• Flowchart Series of actions for PIOs to take or
  consider following a BAR

5
Public Affairs Working Group

• State and Local Participants
• Joy Alexiou Santa Clara (SF Bay Area)
• Kathy Barton Houston
• Lucy Caldwell Virginia/NCR
• Dr. John Carlo Dallas
• Jeanene Fowler-DeRepentigny Phoenix
• Mary Kay Hager Missouri
• Rita Obey Harris County (TX)
• Leslie Ridgeway San Diego
• Anthony Shaw Riverside (L.A.)
• Terri Stratton California
• Federal Participants
• Clair Hill DHS
• Von Roebuck CDC
• Marc Wolfson HHS
• Chad R. Wood DHS

6
Incident Communications 9-11 to Now

• September 2001
• No pre-incident interagency team
• No single incident communications leadership
• No Federal incident communications protocol
• No single all-hazards incident communications
  plan or process
• No unity of effort

• September 2007
• ICPACC-all Dept/agency counterparts established
  in 2003
• DHS leads Federal communications
• Communications protocols for Federal, state,
  local, international
• One plan the NRP
• Processes successful in T3, London bombing,
  multiple incidents, Cabinet, senior officials
  exercises
• Emergency Support Function 15 unifies Federal
  external affairs

7
National Response PlanIncident Communications
Coordination
Affected State, local, incident manager, Joint
Information Center
White House Communications Homeland Security
Council
Interagency
DHS Public Affairs Coordination Center
International
Media
Other States, Cities
NICCL (Federal Coordination)
SICCL (State Incident Communications Line)
CI/KR Private Sector
Special Media Line
Other