142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

307711
Effective and Efficient Continuity of Operations Plan Development

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Monday, November 17, 2014

Andrew C. Rucks, PhD , Department of Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL
Peter M. Ginter, PhD , Health Care Organization and Policy, University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health, Birmingham, AL
The creation of a continuity of operations plan (COOP) widely recognized as a key element of disaster preparedness and disaster response strategies and has been an accepted part of the emergency preparedness landscape since 1955. In 2009, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) issued Continuity Guidance Circular 1 (CGC 1) as guidance for non-Federal entities; however, did not offer an effective means of translating the content into a practical  disaster plan. The South Central Preparedness and Emergency Response Learning Center developed Focused Continuity of Operations Planning (FCOOP) to develop an effective plan in a short period of time. Focused COOP or “FCOOP” has been successfully used by agencies in Alabama, Georgia, Oregon, and other states. In 2010, FEMA released Continuity Guidance Circular 2 (CGC 2). Although CGC 2 remedied some of the shortcomings of CGC 1, it too failed to offer sufficient worksheets and templates for the development of a complete plan. Therefore, the FCOOP methodology has been updated to conform to CGC 2 and offers an effective and efficient method for continuity plan development. FCOOP has two parts: 1) a set of work sheets to be completed by the COOP Team and 2) the document shell into which completed work sheets will be inserted. The template consists of 22 work sheets designed for preparing for all-hazards, including special considerations for responses to emergencies with significant worker absenteeism, such as influenza pandemics, and those that affect access to facilities and transportation resources, such as hurricanes, floods, and acts of terrorism.

Learning Areas:

Administration, management, leadership

Learning Objectives:
Describe the shortcomings of CGC 2 and show why continuity of operations plans for organizations are difficult to develop without additional clarifications, worksheets and templates. Describe FCOOP – an effective and efficient methodology to develop a continuity of operations plan. Demonstrate how a continuity of operation plan may be developed by an organization in a one-day session.

Keyword(s): Planning, Disasters

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Andrew C. Rucks, Ph.D. is Professor, Department of Health Care Organization and Policy and Executive Director of the Survey Research Unit, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham. He has more than 30 years of academic and business experience. He authored two books and more than seventy-five articles and cases. He focuses on regional pediatric disaster surge networks, continuity of operations planning, process optimization, collaboration among organizations, and strategic planning.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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