5-Mar-10 1:00 PM EST

Firestorm Newsletter 5-Mar-10

March 5, 2010

Disaster Due Diligence March 5, 2010

Risk management

HEADLINE: A More Dangerous World: Why we misunderstand risk.

SUMMARY: Most experts agree that we will see more frequent, severe and costly natural disasters – such as the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile -- in the coming years. Factors include climate change, the world's quickly growing population, a larger concentration of assets in high-risk areas, and its increasing social and economic interdependency. However, best mitigating the human and financial toll requires overcoming persistent disaster denial.

STORY LINK: http://www.newsweek.com/id/233838

ANALYSIS: Disaster Denial is the largest reason individuals and companies fail to plan. Everyone has good intentions; yet they believe disasters are something that happens to someone else. Most overestimate their response capabilities and minimize impacts. Excuses abound: “It can’t happen here.” “It won’t be so bad.” “I am smarter than everyone else.”

Can you list the vulnerabilities and threats faced by your company? Can you quantify the likelihood of each and their impacts? How do you monitor these threats? Who is responsible for monitoring? What are the triggers to activate your plans? Do your employees know the plans? Do they know what to look for and do? Have the plans been tested? Are there critical supplies in place? Have you identified critical vendors? Have you reviewed their plans? What metrics have you used to evaluate their plans? Have you conducted a joint test with them? Do your employees have disaster plans at home?

If you are not sure of the answers to these questions, then the answer is no. Your plans can keep a disruption from becoming a disaster. Now is the time to do a self-assessment. Are you ready?

--Jim Satterfield, Firestorm COO/President

Campus safety

HEADLINE: Death threat ignites fear around campus

SUMMARY: Rutgers University is on alert after a death threat posted on a bathroom wall at the student center said “everybody in Hickman (Hall) will die.” Police searched the bags of everyone entering the building Tuesday, but some students stayed away from classes despite a campus-wide e-mail from the administration assuring them that all necessary precautions were being taken.

STORY LINK: http://www.dailytargum.com/news/death-threat-ignites-fear-around-campus-1.2176901

ANALYSIS: This web-based newsflash was able to reach out to thousands of students probably before the university had an opportunity to hear about it, never mind react to this potential nightmare.

“A death threat posted on a bathroom wall in the Rutgers Students Center on the College Avenue campus caused problems Tuesday morning for both police and students. The message, found on Monday, threatened that “everybody in Hickman will die.” Students did not know what to think of the message.”

This was the opening paragraph from the Targum daily publication. Overall, they did a good job not fanning panic. But the headline, well ….

I found myself asking questions like: Did this truly ignite fear? Has the recent history of campus violence ruined the psyche of the carefree student life of the past?

Student online publications and various other virtual soapboxes such as Twitter, Blogs, Facebook, etc. have the ability to pit their creative journalistic skills with catchy headlines against the views of an experienced professional with more maturity.

My overview of the situation differs slightly. Bathroom graffiti created some tense moments while the university and local law enforcement responded. The statement, “everybody in Hickman will die” was found on a wall. As a precautionary measure, security will be increased while an investigation continues.

It seems that Rutgers handled this minor situation well. The real question is, how do they regain the trust of the students? By including them in the training and drills to visibly demonstrate to the student body, regulatory agencies and the public, that the administration is prepared for an emergency or an evacuation.

But now we must ask, does the campus meet all the requirements of the Clery Act? Especially the important new operational and training regulations with an October 2010 deadline looming? Between downsizing and job description changes, it is no wonder that 70 percent of employees do not know what to do during an emergency and 80 percent of disaster plans have never been tested.

In a Psychology Today Online story entitled “Preventing Campus Attacks: University Threat Assessment Teams,” a group of professionals came to a couple of conclusions that we share:

· A “one-size-fits-all” program will not work.

· Teamwork from a collection of professionals is essential for success.

· As more apply best practices and training, they will become the benchmarks for the public and the law.

Firestorm looks to test the cohesion of all the existing policies so they work as a single plan, not as isolated ideas.

--Scott Watkowski, Firestorm franchise principal

Health security

HEADLINE: Why pay for health insurance when you can steal it?

SUMMARY: Experts say a different type of identity theft is on the rise — patients using someone else's name, Social Security number or insurance card to get health care and avoid having to pay the bills. Hospitals are scrambling to fight ID theft because of the nightmare it presents when one patient's medical chart gets exchanged for someone else's.

STORY LINK: http://www.wbur.org/npr/123977187

ANALYSIS: Using another’s identity to obtain free medical care may seem like an easy way to game the system, but it presents the very real danger of significant ramifications. Medical decisions are based on the individual’s history and diagnosis. The possibility exists that conditions documented in one medical record – items such as blood type, allergies, diabetes, or hypertension, for example – may indicate a course of action that would be harmful to the imposter. The unintended consequences of such subterfuge could be literally deadly.

Individual identification and insurance coverage information should be treated in the same careful manner as credit cards, driver’s licenses, and other sensitive documents. This includes keeping them in a safe place and immediately reporting lost or stolen items to the appropriate organizations. For healthcare providers, this also points to the need for precautions to validate the accuracy of information presented by patients and clients.

There are several practical ways to accomplish this task. One is to ask for a form of government-issued identification, as is required for air travel, in addition to insurance information. Another approach is to update and validate individual items of information within the record, such as home address, telephone number, or next of kin. This offers both the opportunity to verify identity and a mechanism for updating the chart on an incremental basis. There is a further role for direct care staff in ensuring the information recorded matches the individual. Significant discrepancies in terms of height, weight, eye color, or scars or other identifying marks can be indicators of identity theft and fraud. While it may seem intrusive or overbearing, the effort expended toward positive identification can prevent an adverse event such as an anaphylactic reaction, something for which no one wishes to bear responsibility.

--Don Donahue, Director, Firestorm Healthcare Response Team

Communicable illness

HEADLINE: Puerto Rico authorities declare dengue epidemic

SUMMARY: Officials on the Caribbean Island say cases of dengue fever, endemic to Puerto Rico, have exceeded the epidemic threshold for two weeks. Health Secretary Lorenzo Gonzalez asked that prevention measures be maximized to keep the mosquito-borne disease from spreading further, including avoiding areas with stagnant water and a general clean-up of likely breeding grounds.

STORY LINK: http://www.laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=353105&CategoryId=14092

ANALYSIS: Although dengue is naturally occurring in Puerto Rico, throughout the Caribbean, and globally in the tropics, this outbreak provides a reminder of the value of the Predict. Plan. Perform.™ model when traveling. Dengue fever is spread by mosquitoes. The World Health Organization (WHO), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and various travel medicine firms offer information regarding endemic disease threats. Knowing what exposures you may face allows for adequate preparation and protection. Persons traveling to these regions should employ protective clothing and insect repellent. Other mosquito control activities such as elimination of standing water and use of mosquito nets on beds when insects are present can minimize the risk of transmission.

--Don Donahue, Director, Firestorm Healthcare Response Team

HEADLINE: WHO confirms recent H5N1 cases in Vietnam, Egypt

SUMMARY: The World Health Organization confirmed eight H5N1 avian influenza cases, three from Vietnam and five from Egypt. The recent spate of human cases mirrors reports of several recent H5N1 poultry outbreaks in both countries. Veterinary experts have attributed Vietnam's recent spike in H5N1 outbreaks to illegal transport and processing of birds, especially in the weeks surrounding the Tet holiday, when demand for poultry is typically high.

STORY LINK: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/influenza/avianflu/news/mar0410avian.html