Cross Border Collaboration Tracking Infectious Disease Across Borders

Cross Border Collaboration Tracking Infectious Disease Across Borders in the Pacific Northwest Wayne Dauphinee Executive Director Emergency Management Branch BC Ministry of Health

Background Post 9/11 need to: l Track acts of bioterrorism and emerging pathogen threats l Maximize capacity to address extraordinary demands impacting the public health and health care delivery systems l Reinforce existing informal communication/ collaboration between cross-border public health partners

Feedback Poll Are you involved in cross border collaboration as it relates to public health preparedness? A. Yes B. No

Goal Establish a seamless cross border, cross-jurisdictional public health infectious disease surveillance and response network

Cross-Border Workshops l Tracking Infectious Disease Across Borders – l Pandemic Influenza Preparedness – l August 9 -11, 2004, Bellingham, WA April 18 -20, 2005, Vancouver, BC Building Cross Border Infectious Disease Surveillance and Response Partnerships – May 8 -10, 2006, Bellingham, WA

Feedback Poll Which, if any, of the previous Cross Border conferences did you attend? A. Bellingham, WA (2004) B. Vancouver, BC (2005) C. Both D. Niether

Feedback Poll Are you planning to attend the upcoming Cross Border Preparedness conference on May 810? A. Yes B. No

Participant Jurisdictions

Target Audience l Epidemiologists l Public Health Labs l Public Health Lawyers l Risk Communicators l Emergency Managers l Hospital and Health Authorities

Charge to Participants l Build and strengthen relationships l Understand response systems across borders l Identify obstacles to a seamless response l Identify actions needed to overcome obstacles

Workshop Breakout Sessions l Discipline-specific workgroups l Multi-discipline groups (cross-pollination) – Surveillance – Infection control – Surge capacity – Risk communication – Border quarantine

Feedback Poll Which session is most important? A. Surveillance B. Infection control or Border quarantine C. Surge Capacity D. Risk Communication

Obstacles to Overcome l Legal issues l Cross-border consistency – Policies – Message l Resources l Inclusion of tribal/first nations governments

Keeping the Momentum l Establish working committees to address obstacles – Develop work plans, timelines, deadlines – Work towards building MOUs and written agreements

Working Groups l Epidemiology/Surveillance/Infection Control l Public Health Laboratories l Emergency Management/Surge Capacity l Communications l Public Health Law l Exercise Planning l Regional Preparedness Assessment l Public Policy

Feedback Poll How interested would you be in working on this initiative? A. Very likely B. Somewhat likely C. Not likely D. Definitely not

Accomplishments l 24/7 emergency contact list l Electronic connectivity l – BC-CDC added to CDC Epi-X electronic alerting system – Adjacent states and provinces added to Washington State SECURES electronic health alert network Continued cross-border communication – l Regional surveillance plans for the 2010 Olympics Annual cross-border workshops