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Yesterday, August 12, 2019, BOLDplanning conducted the Continuity of Operations (COOP) plan finalization meeting with the City of Powder Springs, Georgia. Attending the meeting (as pictured) were BOLDplanning representatives, Emily Long, and Brittney Whatley, CBCP; along with Mayor Albert Thurman; City Manager, Pam Conner, and Chief of Police, Tony Bailey.

The City’s COOP plan is now 100% complete. Congratulations on a job well done!

Like so many other locations across the country, it’s time for San Juan County, New Mexico, to update its Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP). HMPs, as planners well know, have to be updated and approved by FEMA every five years. That is, if their county, city, or state is to remain eligible to receive certain types of pre-disaster, or mitigation, funding.

Knowing that the process of updating an HMP can be time-consuming, if not daunting, San Juan County looked for outside help and planning expertise. They chose long-time partner, BOLDplanning. The County has used the BOLDplanning.com platform for the development and maintenance of its Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) for years.

To kick things off for the HMP update, BOLDplanning representative, Brittney Whatley, CBCP, met with plan participants on Tuesday, August 6, 2019. Among those in attendance were folks from San Juan County, and the participating jurisdictions of the City of Aztec, the City of Bloomfield, the City of Farmington, and the Town of Kirtland. The next meeting (a mitigation planning team meeting) will take place in October or November 2019.

HMPs, as expressed by FEMA, are key to breaking the cycle of disaster damage, reconstruction, and repeated damage. In fact, the National Institute of Building Sciences now estimates that for every dollar invested in mitigation saves six dollars in prevented damages (up from four dollars in previous years). With an updated, FEMA-approved HMP, San Juan County should be better prepared for the hazards, natural and human-caused, it’s known to face.

Recently, the Robert Wood May Foundation released the latest version of its National Health Security Preparedness Index. The Index includes 129 measures grouped into six broad domains:

• Health Security Surveillance
• Community Planning and Engagement
• Information and Incident Management
• Healthcare Delivery
• Countermeasure Management
• Environmental and Occupational Health

Results from the release indicate that security preparedness continued to improve in 2018, but still remain far from optimal. The national index reached 6.7 out of 10 in 2018, representing a 3.1 percent improvement over the prior year, and a 11.7 percent improvement since 2013.

According to the report, if current trends continue, the average state will require six additional years to reach health security levels currently found in the best-prepared states, and at least ten more years to reach a strong health security level of at least 9.0 out of 10.

The following are select key findings from the report:

• Consistent Gains. The United States posted a sixth consecutive year of gains in health security nationally, with the Index reaching its highest level of 6.7 out of 10 in 2018.
• Modest Improvement. The national index increased by two percentage points in 2018 from the prior year (3.1%), and by seven percentage points since 2013 (11.7%).
• Inequities in Protection. The nation’s health protections are not distributed evenly across the United States. A gap of 25 percent in index values exists between the highest and lowest states (states in the South Central, Upper Mountain West, Pacific Coast and Midwest regions experienced significantly lower health security levels and smaller gains in health security over time compared to their counterparts in other regions).
• Largest Gains: Distribution of Supplies and Equipment. The largest one-year gain in health security occurred in the Countermeasure Management domain, which rose by 8.3 percent in 2018 to reach a national average of 6.5. According to the report, the activities measured in this domain focus on “distributing protective supplies and equipment to the people and places that experience hazardous events.” Health security has improved by 16.1 percent since 2013 in this domain.
• A Downturn in Community Engagement. Performance in this domain declined moderately in 2018 to 5.2. Previously, this domain showed large gains in health security, increasing by 17.8% between 2013 and 2017 to reach a national average of 5.3.
• Core Strength: Managing Acute Phases of Emergencies. Health security levels remained highest in the Incident and Information Management domain. Health security in this domain reached 8.7 in 2018, significantly higher than any other domain (1.2 percent higher than the previous year’s score).
• Health Care Preparedness Lags Behind. Health security levels remained lowest in the Healthcare Delivery domain, which reflects the ability of health care professionals and facilities to maintain high-quality medical care during and after emergency events.

The index offered a number of recommended strategies for improving health security. In general, these recommendations centered on developing cross-functional relationships, creating multi-layered preparedness plans and compiling shared data sources. In short—effective management of complex relationships and resources to combat an ever-changing landscape of threats.

Improving health security is a worthwhile national goal. Though changes are slow to materialize, indexes such as this illustrate improvements are being made. Here’s encouragement to keep up the fight on a daily basis to continuously improve the planning and response practices in our industry.

After months of preparation and a series of workshops, the planning efforts of the Oregon State Treasury culminated with a Continuity of Operations (COOP) Tabletop Exercise (TTX) on Tuesday, July 30, 2019. The exercise, which complied with Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) principles, revolved around an ice storm scenario. It was specifically designed to meet the following four core (communication and operational coordination capabilities in a business disruption:

• Demonstrate the ability to alert and activate personnel, facilities, and systems required to respond to an incident
• Identify and discuss communications gaps and solution alternatives during an incident
• Identify and discuss the organization’s structure, identify processes and challenges in the event key staff are unavailable
• Identify and discuss key authorities the agency has and who is potentially responsible to take over when the primary is unavailable

The COOP TTX was facilitated by Tennessee-based BOLDplanning, namely company representative, Matt Eyer, PMP, CHS-V, CBCP. Over 20 people were in attendance, including Treasurer Reed and key staff, for the two and a half hour long exercise.

Congratulations on a successful exercise, Oregon State Treasury, and thank you for working so diligently to ensure the availability of essential services to the State’s estimated 4.2 million residents!

Last week, BOLDplanning was on the road yet again. Among the company’s stops was Wayne County, New York. There, BOLDplanning representatives, Cathleen Atchison, MEP, PCP, and Chad Bowers, CBCP (and BOLDplanning co-founder), led two full days of Mid-term COOP Planning Workshops. The two were accompanied by BOLDplanning newcomer, Rich McCarty.

The visit ended with a Kick-off Meeting for the County’s Hazard Mitigation Plan (HMP) update project. BOLDplanning will return to Wayne County, New York, in October, when it helps take the County’s planning programs to the next level. Until then, keep planning, keep improving, and keep thinking ahead!

In just a matter of eight months, the City of Powder Springs, Georgia, has developed, honed, and now, nearly wrapped up its Continuity of Operations (COOP) plan.

Last week, BOLDplanning representative, Will Minkoff, CBCP, traveled to the City to conduct a day of COOP Plan Finalization Workshops. These workshops involved nearly every planner in the City, and each one-on-one session was attended by not only the Chief of Police but the City Manager as well.

Bravo to the City of Powder Springs for making COOP planning a priority! And, of course, for making BOLDplanning feel so very welcome.