Only a slight rant...

I suspect that many local planners are in a similar position; that the responsibility for the production of a specific document, policy or procedure is "owned" by someone else. A central office, a stakeholder in the planning process, or a jurisdiction can have a significant impact on the local planner. I have been applauded and chastised for the production of documents that are owned by another organization.

Sometimes, doing the work of others allows for the best ability to influence the process. It is more easy to sign a document and get a checkmark in the box, thus allowing the plan to move forward. In other situations, the development of conflict over turf actually produces a better or more timely result. Either way, I think the public we all serve wins.

Since I serve five jurisdictions, I volunteer to help the local jurisdiction planners by writing the health and medical annexes for their plans. With every iteration, those plans get closer and closer together, actually reflecting what the local health department can provide, what we can coordinate with central office staff or what we need a jurisdiction to provide.

Inorder for all of these things to occur. I believe local health department planners need to make sure that the jurisdictions see and feel the value of the health department planner. The professional relationship are very important. An emergency manager needs to trust the local health department....

Planning for the loss of the planner...

In discussions with the CDC consultants over the past few months, I was really disappointed that they wanted more and more details for an event, that by definition, occurs in an ambiguous environment. I had prepared a variety of plans that could aply nearly anywhere that would be convenient for the emergency managers and jurisdictional leadership; school gymnasiums, parking lots or empty strip malls. These general flow paths gave the assigned staff flexibility.

I know that many individual prefer more structure than I require in order to accomplish a task. This need for structure, although not what I need for the completion of response to the complex scenarios of the Cities Readiness Initiative, would prove difficult for some colleagues.

I have decided to address the issue as though I will never be present for an activity. For our seasonal and H1N1 campaigns I have appointed operations chiefs, and I will only provide consultation; they must move through the phases, make assignments and so on. It is a little painful for some, but others rise to the challenge.