Disaster Due Diligence Sep. 3, 2010
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Health matters
SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Over the course of several years writing these analyses, we have chosen many titles, typically driven by current events at the time. If you are a long-time reader, you will have seen examination of issues under the headings communicable disease, health headlines, pandemic influenza, and pandemic preparedness, among others. With the waning of the H1N1 pandemic, the need for a new heading became evident. The desire was for a more inclusive title, one that reflected the wide scope of issues facing individual, businesses, communities, and – in fact – the world.
While many of the issues discussed have ramifications for individuals, in a broader sense they more regularly impact the public, i.e. in loose terms these are matters of public health. As we examine, then, matters concerning public health, it is instructive to recall the words of Dr. C. Everett Koop: “Health care matters to all of us some of the time, public health matters to all of us all of the time.”
Therein lays the key to renaming this effort. We discuss the broad scope of health matters because in the end, health matters. There is a pervasive tendency to ignore matters pertaining to health and wellness. We only go to see a doctor when sick. Vast numbers of people never visit the dentist despite having employer-provided dental insurance. And we draw erroneous conclusions based upon hearsay, something read on the Internet, or out of non-specific fear.
The goal of Health Matters is to provide rationale analysis of the seeming tsunami of information inundating us daily. While it neither can nor should take the place of a physician’s advice, understanding risk and issues is an essential first step to preparedness and resiliency. When it comes to health, the fact of the matter is what you don’t know CAN hurt you.
--Dr. Don Donahue, Director, Firestorm Healthcare Response Team
HEADLINE: Speedy test seen as big advance in diagnosing TB
SUMMARY: Scientists are reporting a new test that can diagnose tuberculosis in less than two hours with very high accuracy, and whether the disease is drug resistant. The test could revolutionize TB care and replace the 125-year-old process used now, which is slow and misses more than half of all cases. It could be a powerful tool to curb TB in poor countries, where most people spread the lung disease before they are diagnosed and treated, and many don't return to get test results.
STORY LINK: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38959496/ns/health-infectious_diseases/
ANALYSIS: A rapid and accurate test offers benefits for detecting, treating, and preventing any disease. In the case of tuberculosis, this value is amplified because of the highly communicable nature of TB and in light of the multiple drug-resistant strains that exist. While offering the greatest utility to underserved populations as cited, a fast and true test would have vast applicability for travelers, healthcare workers, and post-exposure testing. This test awaits scientific validation, but offers hope for replacement of a time-consuming process that is wrong more than it is correct. If validated as effective, this new test would be a major breakthrough in public health and medical care delivery.
HEADLINE: HHS sees greater federal role in building biodefense tools
SUMMARY: Federal health officials are calling for increased government partnerships with the private sector to boost the development of biodefense measures that have little or no commercial market. Among other things, the report from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) calls for establishing special centers to provide surge production capacity for vaccines and advanced development and production of other medical countermeasures.
STORY LINK: http://www.cidrap.umn.edu/cidrap/content/bt/bioprep/news/aug1910counter.html
ANALYSIS: In its 2007 World Health Report, the WHO reported an increasing threat from new diseases, stating: Infectious diseases can not only spread faster, they appear to be emerging more quickly than ever before. Since the 1970s, new diseases have been indentified at the unprecedented rate of one or more per year. There are now at least 40 diseases that were unknown a generation ago. In addition, during the last five years, WHO has verified more than 1,100 epidemic events.
The WHO went on to say “the most serious threats to human existence are likely to emerge without warning.” In many if not most cases, the danger posed derives from the fact that the disease is new and, therefore, rare. The economic reality is a private concern has little financial incentive to produce products for which there is no definable or reliable market. To do so and have the product not be needed, and not purchased, would generate a rapid trip to bankruptcy and extinction. It is because of this fact that government has maintained a presence in the vaccine development and production market for many years. Creating the ability to combat an esoteric disease is both a necessary and costly endeavor. It falls within the realm – like national defense and regulating interstate commerce – that is best fostered by government.
Natural disasters
HEADLINE: Study shakes up scientists' view of San Andreas earthquake risk
SUMMARY: Researchers have found that major earthquakes have historically occurred an average of every 88 years on the southern section of the San Andreas Fault — three times as often as previously thought, meaning Southern California is long overdue for a major quake. For years, scientists have said major earthquakes occurred every 250 to 450 years in this area. The last massive quake on that part of the fault was in 1857, leading scientists to warn that another such temblor is likely “sooner than later."
STORY LINK: http://articles.latimes.com/2010/aug/21/local/la-me-earthquake-fault-20100821
ANALYSIS: This study provides another arrow in the quiver of emergency preparedness pundits. New research accelerates the theory that Southern California is overdue for a major earthquake along the San Andreas Fault. With the discovery of major earthquake activity along the Carrizo Plain northwest of Los Angeles occurring almost three times more often than originally thought, data that identifies earthquake activity as far back as the 15th century have now added scientific urgency to an already accepted expectation.
Networks of faults create an integrated system subject to series of movements, according to scientists. Much like the domino theory, energy produced from even a relatively small earth jostle can trigger seismic activity in adjacent or abutting faults. The initial quake need not be large; it just needs to send out a wave of energy created by the movement that disrupts or adds pressure to an existing fault system.
Scientists believe that the Easter Sunday 2010 quake, a 7.2 felt from Mexicali to Fresno, was caused by an energy “jump” from a small tremor on an unknown fault to the larger adjacent San Jacinto Fault. This “energy” jump triggered significantly more intense activity in the large, less stable fault. The result caused considerable damage to homes and infrastructure in the U.S. and Mexico.
Preparedness for earthquakes is something that can’t be ignored, hoping the disaster never happens or waiting for a more definitive time of occurrence. By then, it’s too late. When living in areas with known faults and seismic activity such as San Andreas and New Madrid faults, and with the advent of new technologies to study earth movements, the knowledge of the possibility of a large quake is increased. Preparedness should be equally and amply adjusted upward.
Having continuity of operations plans is essential for businesses in active quake zones (or flood zones, or hurricane regions, etc.). Off-site data storage, backup supply contracts, telecommuting policies and procedures, and identifiable alternate work facilities are just a few imperatives for the continuity of the enterprise. Being prepared is smart business, and smart businesses survive disasters.
Disaster preparedness
HEADLINE: Poll: US No Better Prepared 5 Years After Katrina
SUMMARY: Most Americans believe the country is no better prepared for natural disasters than it was in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and left more than 1,300 dead, according to a new poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. Fifty-seven percent of respondents said the U.S. is not better prepared, and that skepticism cuts across political and racial lines, with a majority of Republicans, Democrats and independents saying the U.S. is no better prepared, as did solid majorities among whites and blacks.
STORY LINK: http://www.aolnews.com/nation/article/poll-us-no-better-prepared-5-years-after-katrina/19609685
ANALYSIS: Are you ready? Most Americans think that we, as a nation, are not ready. They are right. Every survey of businesses over the past 10 years has indicated that the majority of businesses are not prepared.
Why are we not prepared? Disaster denial? Time needed to prepare? Expense to prepare? Uncertainty of threats? Don’t know where to start? Confusion? A lack of management support? ... The list goes on.
There are more than 35 million businesses in America. These represent 85 percent of the U.S. infrastructure and the majority of jobs. Without these businesses we would have no food in our grocery stores, no electricity, and no paychecks.
You shouldn’t go to Las Vegas and bet you family’s future on one spin of the roulette wheel. Yet, most businesses are doing the equivalent every day. The American Red Cross states that there are over 70,000 disasters annually. FEMA states that 55 percent of businesses struck by a disaster fail within two years. About 20 percent of businesses face a disruption annually.
What can you do? Where do you start? Visit www.preaction.com . The Preaction Alliance can get you started for less than $1 a day. Is your business worth a dollar? Are you ready?
Business continuity
HEADLINE: Quality Equals Risk Management
SUMMARY: Recent crises -- from the worldwide recession to a Europe-wide cloud of volcanic ash -- suggest that future business success will require effective response to uncertain or unpredictable events. Traditionally, quality has been about managing risks in production processes, but in today's globally connected world, the risks are potentially more devastating. The answer may lie in a proactive examination of quality processes and procedures to ensure effective risk management.
STORY LINK: http://www.industryweek.com/articles/quality_equals_risk_management_22563.aspx?SectionID=2
ANALYSIS: As business continuity professionals, we have long known that understanding risks is a key component of our process of building and maintaining a thorough business continuity program. Understanding risks and the impact they may have on the organization is the first step to establishing controls and strategies to protect our environment.
Business continuity is more than an IT issue, but we must not forget just how broad-reaching our business continuity programs need to be and how important it is to establish the ability to protect and prepare our organizations to respond to any type of disruption or risk. Quality issues often create brand issues, and brand issues can have a long-term impact on or ultimately devastate organizations.
When we evaluate risks and then their potential impacts, it is important to remember that we must broaden our analysis into risks that can create brand issues as well as financial, regulatory, contractual, or other operational impacts.
As the article mentions, supply chain issues can create downstream impacts in quality and productivity. Understanding your risks within your supply chain will establish the first step in preparing a strategy to monitor those risks, establish triggers or “call to action” milestones, and develop strategies to mitigate the risks when appropriate.
The disciplines of business continuity can be applied by individuals responsible for quality management. Establishing a risk rating index will help identify the risks of greatest concern and help you protect your organization from disruptions, establishing business continuity as a brand attribute throughout your organization.
Preparedness groups
Join Firestorm’s LinkedIn groups and help build a Culture of Preparedness for your family and organization:
DISASTER READY PEOPLE: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1914314&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
WORKPLACE VIOLENCE: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1898572&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
COMMUNICABLE ILLNESS: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1899278&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
SWINE FLU: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1921222&trk=myg_ugrp_ovr
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