# Presentation: 892427

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

- Bret Atkins
- Ohio Department of Health
- Office of Public Affairs

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

- The Need
- The Goal
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Process
- The Result
- The Next Step

**Notes:**
Seven steps to arrive at a workable solution; we’ll examine one at a time.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Need**
- Communicating the organization’s response can be as important as the response itself
- People will find their own solutions and determine their own actions unless directed otherwise

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Need**
- Public health was under funded for decades
- Crisis and risk communication is the “new kid on the block”

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Need**
- The increased number of media outlets has increased the competition among media outlets
- Reporters are more skilled and demanding

**Notes:**
Why do communications professionals need to improve?

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Goal**
- Establish and maintain a communications workforce with sufficient capability to work independently and jointly before and during a crisis

**Notes:**
Effective crisis, risk and emergency communication helps prevent negative public health outcomes and can limit some harmful behaviors known to arise during a crisis. Attaining and maintaining the ability to manage information effectively requires public health communications professionals become and remain well-versed in a variety of issues and skills. This listed goal is an abstract goal.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Goal**
- PIOs at local health departments capable of launching and operating a joint information center

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Challenge**

**Notes:**
However, the wide scope of knowledge needed and the time and effort necessary to master it must be balanced against current workload, budget limitations and a finite capacity to retain information. 

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Solution**
- Communications training
- instruction
- practice
- plans
- drills
- exercises

**Notes:**
One solution is to develop a curriculum, taught incrementally, that becomes more complex over time. Each subsequent workshop presents tasks and training built on earlier lessons. 

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Process**
- Needs assessment
- Spokesperson training
- PIO training
- PIO exercises

**Notes:**
Using federal bioterrorism dollars, ODH presented communications training for local health departments. ODH made completion of communications training part of the local public health preparedness grant.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**Needs Assessment**
- Survey of Ohio’s 139 local health departments to determine communications capacity early in preparedness process
- Survey repeated 15 months later

**Notes:**
It began the process nearly three years ago by conducting a needs assessment of communication capacity among Ohio’s 139 local health departments (LHDs). The results provided a baseline of existing staff, equipment and knowledge. Repeat survey gave ODH specific examples of how preparedness efforts had paid off.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**Spokesperson Training**
- WAS: Interview training
- WAS NOT: Writing, planning, operations, information management or other “behind the scenes” duties

**Notes:**
Year 1. Using information gained from the needs assessment and the Crisis, Emergency and Risk Communication training from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), ODH Public Affairs identified communication training needs. Using funds from the CDC bioterrorism grant, ODH retained Vincent Covello, a renowned crisis and risk communications expert. Covello came to Ohio and presented various aspects of communication theory and techniques, particularly those for the role of a spokesperson. Two days long.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**PIO Training**
- WAS NOT: Interview training
- WAS: Writing, planning, operations, information management or other “behind the scenes” duties

**Notes:**
Year 2 – One-day workshop focused on duties that led up to the interview or news conference. 

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**PIO Training**
- Networking and partnership building
- Presentations on:
- Differences between PIO and spokesperson
- Role of PIO in Incident Command
- Introduction to NIMS
- Short tabletop exercise on JIS/JIC

**Notes:**
HHS initiated cross-cutting activities as part of the CDC/HRSA grant; workshop invitee list was expanded to include hospitals, emergency response and management, law enforcement, fire, mental health, school systems, Red Cross, transportation and universities.
During registration, participants networked with these other agency representatives.
Exercise was two-hours long and served as an introduction to joint information systems/centers.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**PIO Training**
- Review of previous material
- How to facilitate an exercise
- Four-hour JIS/JIC tabletop and functional exercise

**Notes:**
Year 3. Workshops scheduled for April 2005. Feedback from previous workshops indicated participants wanted longer exercise.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

- The Need
- The Goal
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Process
- The Result
- The Next Step

**Notes:**
Two years of training has led to enhanced communication capacity (abstract) and improvement on awareness and ability for JIS/JIC (concrete).

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**Communications Capacity**
- Regional PIO Advisory Group to ODH
- JIC locations identified in plans
- Nearly 400 PIOs and spokespersons identified (primary and backup)
- Regional PIO meetings
- Some independent training

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

- The Need
- The Goal
- The Challenge
- The Solution
- The Process
- The Result
- The Next Step

**Notes:**
ODH has one additional tier for communications training.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Next Step**
- Advance the material
- Remove artificiality
- “Put it to the test”

**Notes:**
Goals of the final tier.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

**The Next Step**
*JIC in a Box*
- A multimedia self-facilitated JIS/JIC exercise conducted at the local level, at the JIC location with real-life response partners

**Notes:**
Participation in a JIC exercise will be made part of the 2005-2006 local health department preparedness grant; ODH will provide opportunity for the exercise. JIC in a Box is the reason for the presentation on facilitating an exercise during the current PIO workshops.
Exercises are done locally to end artificiality and to “road test” the county’s JIC location. Exercises are self-directed because ODH can’t attend or facilitate an exercise in each of Ohio’s 88 counties.

## Training the Public Health PIO:A Multiyear, Tiered Approach

- Bret Atkins
- Ohio Department of Health
- Office of Public Affairs
- Questions?