Behind The Scenes: CDC Emergency Operations Center 

[Indistinct conversations] 

[Woman] Sixty-two percent of our cases are less than 18, and we have 16 cases less than 12 

months. And we have half male and half female cases. 

[Man] I'm looking at this week as a week of transition. 

[Bruce Burney] You see representatives in this room, but this is only the tip of the iceberg of 

where we have people supporting this event. 

[Inzune Hwang] Hi, I'm Inzune Hwang, and I'm the Technical Special Unit Lead. I help 

coordinate the science activities for the programs and divisions that are currently working the 

EOC. 

[Woman #2] The Joint Information Center, which is also known as the JIC, is the 

communications arm for CDC's Emergency Operations Center. The JIC staff are responsible for 

implementing CDC's emergency risk communication strategies for all public-health 

emergencies. 

[Bruce Burney] We've just left the main floor of the Emergency Operations Center, and we're 

now in the area where the team rooms are located. There are approximately 17 team rooms 

throughout this facility, with state-of-the-art equipment. This is where our supplemental experts 

work to analyze and provide information that will assist us in accomplishing our goals. 

[Man #2] Well, I'm a mapmaker, so I'm a little biased about maps, but they convey a lot of 

information. They're really, you know, information-rich. So they can really help decision makers 

make the correct decision quickly. 

[Woman #3] My job is to come in each morning. I get here about 3:30 or 4:00, and I compile all 

the information that goes into the Director's brief by eight o'clock. 

[Woman #4] The Plans Unit tends to look towards the future of what could be happening with 

this outbreak. We look to gain an outside perspective on things that CDC may not be 

considering, kind of making sure that outside perspectives and experts' opinions are included in 

any decision that CDC is making going forward. 

[Man #3] What we're doing is we're uploading our information onto a web page, basically. And 

what that does is it tells what we've sent to the states. And every day we upload that information 

so that the leadership of this organization can be aware of what's going on, what's been sent, 

what we still have to send in the next couple days. 

[Woman #5] We have a team of people who work on communications, on quarantine issues -- so 

anything that has to do with travel or coming in through one of our ports of entry, cruises, 

anything like that. And we also work on what we call community mitigation. In the news, some 

Behind the Scenes: CDC Emergency Operations Center 

Page 1 of 2 June 2009 
Behind the Scenes: CDC Emergency Operations Center 

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people are calling it social distancing, but basically keeping sick people isolated and away from 

other people and helping people stay healthy by stopping the spread of germs. 

[Bruce Burney] You're now in the Operations section of the Emergency Operations Center. This 

is the heart and soul of our response activity, in that we monitor all actions going on throughout 

the Center from this location. 

[Woman #6] I work for CDC, been here 29 years -- emergency response since Hurricane 

Katrina. This is totally different from any other side of CDC 'cause we're actually 24/7. This is 

the only Center at CDC that we work 24/7. So it's quite different. 

[Man #4] So, the folks in this office are the Senior Science Office, and what we do is help try to 

coordinate some of the science that's going on in the outbreak, try to coordinate the various 

activities that the different teams are involved in to try to make sure that the questions are 

answered correctly, the questions are answered rapidly, and we do good public health.