Update for March 23

Message from Helen Robbins-Meyer, Chief Administrative Officer

I want to thank you for all you continue to do to serve the public and your flexibility in the current environment. Our Emergency Operations Center has been activated as the nerve center for our response. Many of you who aren’t involved there have asked what that looks like. Well, I’d like to give you a quick peek behind the curtain.

First of all, it follows an Incident Command System, which is a highly structured way to organize used whenever there are large-scale emergencies. Dozens of your co-workers have been assigned roles in this system. They are located at the EOC and surrounding conference rooms with phones and computers working hard to keep our region safe and healthy.

The day begins at 7:00 a.m. with a health screening at the door. Then everyone takes their places carrying out a variety of critical roles. They fill supply requests from our local hospitals. They help procure hotel rooms to house people who need a safe place to isolate. They arrange all of the support systems those rooms need like food, supplies, transportation, and cleaning. They field dozens of calls from the public and the media on how to access information and services. They connect information between public health, law enforcement, and logistics coordinators. They manage communications and coordinate response actions with the business community, other local governments, and schools just- to name a few.

And this is all done with things changing moment to moment. Orders are issued at various levels of government. Needs change as the virus spreads. Supplies run low and shipments come in. Any change can set off a chain reaction. It’s a constant challenge to keep everyone up to date with the latest information and make sure we are prepared to respond. 

In addition, there is the planning. We plan for having to keep at this for a while, and for the needs of the community, as the number of positive tests increase. We maintain a comprehensive website so the public can find the information they need to be informed and prepared.

This is the pulse of the emergency response, and it is awesome to watch our team rise to the occasion and use their skills in this defining moment. In many cases they are putting their personal lives on hold to serve our region.

At 7:00 p.m., or 19:00 hours as we say in emergency management, the shift ends. The Duty Officer keeps watch throughout the night until we are back up to full speed again at 7:00 a.m.- and this happens seven days a week. In fact, there’s so much going on that I need to cut back on the frequency of these mails to you. I’ll be in touch regularly, but a step back from daily.

I know it is tough to maintain operations while your co-workers are responding elsewhere. This is our charge as disaster workers. As one County Team, we’ll handle both roles- operations and response- with the amazing work you always do.

Thanks for all your incredibly hard work!