Friday, November 10, 2006

Pueblo Pandemic Planning

Thoughts on Pueblo’s preparations for the arrival of some horrific ailment.

Today, the Pueblo Chieftain has an interesting article on how the Pueblo City County Health Department (PCCHD) is planning to cope with any sort of serious disease coming through the area.

I used to attend these planning meetings. But, ever since I wanted to bring these discussions out into the public venue, it seems that I have not been informed of when and where such meetings are being held.

So, all I have to go on is what I get out of the Chieftain. And here are my thoughts on the latest communication…..

Pueblo’s media, medical providers, schools and utilities are all planning for how they will handle a flu epidemic if it arrives as expected.

So. That’s interesting. What do they mean by “as expected”? Are they recognizing that another pandemic IS inevitable? Good for them. History proves them right.

Health officials around the state and the country expect a flu pandemic - an epidemic that reaches across the United States and maybe the world - within the next few years. There is no flu strain identified yet as causing a pandemic, but health officials say it is time for one.

Well. At least they ARE planning ahead. However, based on what I had seen, I was not particularly impressed with the state of preparedness I witnessed last Summer. And, after stating as much in an earlier blog item, I have not been invited, nor reminded, of such meetings since that date.

I wondered why…..but not for very long. During the course of my life, I’ve noticed a certain lack of interest, on the part of government and corporate activities, for inviting people—who have a critical eye—to participate in such meetings of import. Especially if they are rather well-informed on such matters. They tend to rock the boat the ‘authorities’ have so carefully crafted. This is unfortunate as such meetings need someone who looks at these things critically. This, in order to provide additional useful input on potential problems and errors.

Planning for how Pueblo will deal with a flu pandemic has been the job of the Community Coordinating Committee, organized by the Pueblo City-County Health Department. The group has subcommittees including representatives of many of Pueblo’s local governmental and medical agencies, as well as some businesses that will be crucial to coping with the flu.

Interesting that there is no representation from the neighborhoods listed. I wonder why. Well…actually, I don’t. This is despite the fact that the neighborhoods are going to be the hardest hit. Why? Well…because no one is looking out for them. That’s why.

This is disappointing because the neighborhoods comprise the people that these organizations SHOULD be looking out for. You know…the ‘citizens’.

The PCCHD may claim they ARE looking out for them. However, as I don’t see them represented amongst the participants in these planning meetings, I call into question their sincerity towards such a claim.

The health department would like more businesses and agencies to participate in the planning effort, and to conduct their own, according to Jennifer Ludwig, the health department’s lead flu contact.

As I just asked….where are the neighborhoods?

The committee plans to have a preliminary response plan finished by March 15, Ludwig said. State officials are working on a state-level plan and will need to know what Pueblo is doing by then.

Wow! March 15th? Bird flu could have gone ballistic and raced through Pueblo by then. Let’s hope it doesn’t.

Among the subcommittees working to plan how to cope with a flu pandemic:

The utilities subcommittee has met several times, with representatives from Xcel, Aquila and water, trash and wastewater agencies, to talk about how to continue those services in the event of a flu pandemic.

Again. I don’t see ANY mention of neighborhoods. You know. Us simple folk who actually comprise the people who work for these agencies and rely on them.

One problem for all agencies and businesses is how to provide their particular services when as much as 30 percent of their work force could be sick or otherwise absent from work.

Once again. No mention of people who actually live in the community. It’s all business and government.

Joe Jenkin of Aquila said the utilities are examining now what services are crucial to provide during a flu pandemic, what goods the utilities need to provide those services and what employees will be crucial for continuing services.

This is well and good. Utilities and essential services, e.g., police and fire, will be essential for the good of the community. Trying to decide how to cope with a pandemic situation, where many people will be too ill to work certain essential positions, will be important. This is especially true for certain low-population skills. In the military we refer to this sort of situation as single-point-failure. Case in point….you’ve got only one nuclear engineer on a nuclear submarine? What happens if he falls ill and dies while on patrol? Give up and go home? Hardly. You’d better have other people reasonably well trained to take over those duties. The same applies to electricity, water, gas and sewer utilities in Pueblo.

I certainly hope these organizations have at least quadruple redundancy in their staff’s training.

Businesses and agencies are being urged by the health department to plan who will do what jobs in their organization if a particular employee can’t come to work - and to make that depth chart five people deep. They also need to identify what goods and services they must have to remain open during a pandemic, or if they should be open.

As I was saying…..

My big concern is over what I heard at the last meeting I was invited to and attended. I was not, repeat NOT, impressed with what I heard from certain members of the law enforcement community.

The communications subcommittee, made up of representatives from Pueblo’s radio, television and newspaper outlets, has met several times to discuss how best to inform Pueblo County residents during a pandemic.

Furthermore, based on what I heard at the last meeting I attended, I don’t count on the media to do much about informing people of the dangers until it is too late. Something to do with a concern about causing ‘panic’.

As an old Army axiom goes….

Bad news does not improve with age.

This will be true with any pandemic. I expect that the media will play this business close-hold until it is blatantly obvious that they can’t keep it secret anymore. In that circumstance the REAL panic will likely begin. And it will get rather messy.

My personal opinion is that it is better to do with panic in small doses. Let the early-comers/panicers do their thing early on. Then, when things REALLY get ‘interesting’, there will be less overall panic.

What was it Louis Pasteur (the Father of Microbiology) said?

Chance favors the prepared mind.

I think he was thinking about the import of pandemics at that time. Something to do with trying to forestall another outbreak of the Black Death.

Members of that group and others told Ludwig that they’ll need the health department to announce when pandemic flu - not the seasonal flu - has reached Pueblo and what people should do about it.

That will be ENTIRELY ‘too late’. People should be made aware that a pandemic form of some disease is on the march WELL BEFORE it reaches Pueblo itself. If such a disease is already amongst us in Pueblo, when the media tells us it is, it will too late for anyone to really prepare for it. Preparation, as even PCCHD admits, needs to be accomplished MONTHS before the arrival of the disease. Once it is amongst us is TOO LATE.

If you don’t believe that, then….

...wait for the announcement that death is amongst us and THEN go out to buy food supplies….standing in line with people who are spewing the disease organisms amongst everyone in line with them.

The health care subcommittee will meet as needed while its members, local doctors offices and clinics, create their own internal pandemic flu plans first.

Again. No mention of the neighborhoods.

Bryon Geer of the Pueblo Community Health Center said the group’s planning for the community has prompted organizations to ask themselves what services and personnel are critical and how they will function in a pandemic.

Ludwig said that’s good news, and that more of Pueblo needs to do the same thing.

It’s good to see they’re beginning to think along those lines. However, thinking is one thing. Doing is another order of magnitude, above mere thinking.

“Our hope is that every business and organization in Pueblo is planning for itself,” she said.

My hope is that they are doing more than merely ‘hoping’.

The good news is that Pueblo is much further along that the rest of the state or country, she said. She’s attended national planning conferences and “I feel really good about the groups we are pulling together.”

Good for Ludwig. Good for Pueblo. However, I’m afraid that there is so much more to do about this than has been done.

To participate, or for help from the Health Department on making a plan for your business or group, call Ludwig at 583-4300.

If you think you’ve got something to contribute, either to the city, county or even your neighborhood, please step forward.

If this comes to pass, we’re going to need ALL the help we can get. Especially at the neighborhood level, as they seem to have been forgotten by these ‘agencies’ and ‘businesses’.

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