Core Members/ Alternates /
  • British Columbia – Shawn Carby
  • Oregon – Mike Harryman
  • Saskatchewan - Garnet Matchett (Co-Chair)
  • Washington - Wayne Turnberg (Co-Chair)

Workgroup Leads /
  • Epidemiology Surveillance - Wayne Turnberg(US)
  • Emergency Management -Ken Back (US)Shawn Carby (CA)
  • Public Health Laboratory - Yolanda Houze (US)
  • Public Health Law - Joyce Roper (US)

Liaison Members /
  • PHAC (BC & YK Region) -Caitlin Harrison & Yvette Lebrun-Campbell

Core Members Absent /
  • Alaska
  • Idaho
  • Montana
  • Yukon

Secretariat /
  • Wayne Dauphinee, Executive Director
  • Elaine McCandless, Administrative Assistant (BC MoH)

Observers /
  • Luann D'Ambrosio & Dacey Storzbach (NWCPHP)
  • Andy Stevermer – US HSS Region X

1. Welcome & Introduction

Presiding meeting chair: Garnet Matchett welcomed participants and a roll call was conducted. It was determined there was a not quorum.

2. Agenda

Executive Director,Wayne Dauphineepresented the agenda, which was adopted as presented.

3. SummaryRecord –June 14, 2012 Meeting

Wayne Dauphineebriefly reviewed theSummary Recordfrom the June 14, 2012,JCC conference call.

  • Action Item: Wayne D. suggested a case study of the Septicemic Plague event and PSET Team response.Mike H. to connect with key contacts and provide an update during October 2012 JCC meeting.
  • Action Item: Gail to forward 2012 Cross Border Workshop planning timeline to Committee for review and forward index of documents to Wayne D. to upload to website.Documents uploaded as received. Standing action item:documents forwarded to and received by Wayne D. will be distributed to Committee based on relevance.
  • Action Item: Luann to distribute pre-assessment and post-assessment survey analysis to Committee by month’s end. Luann to convene a meeting to discuss both reports findings. Key findings of both survey assessments to be discussed during “NWCPHP Next Steps Review”.

Decision: Summary Record adopted as presented.

4. Jurisdiction and Working Group Updates

Jurisdictions

  • British Columbia –Shawn Carby reported that a 21’ vessel from the Fukushima prefecture washed ashore on Spring Island, off the coast of Vancouver Island. Working with PHAC and Health Canada the vessel was tested for radiation. Health Canada confirmed that no levels of radiation were detected. Furthermore, on September 6th and 7th, Emergency Management Unit staff and select Ministry of Health (MoH) staff participated in customized Health Emergency Coordination Centre (HECC) training facilitated by the Justice Institute of BC. Building on this the MoH will participate in Magnitude 2012, a large scale,Federal exercise October 19th with plans to activate the HECC and participate in exercise “play” centered around heavy urban search and rescue following a massive earthquake. Finally, real time events in BC include monitoring wildfire threats, with advanced planning well underway to respond any future events.

Action: Shawn to forward details of customized HECC training to Wayne D. to upload to website.

  • Oregon - Mike Harryman advised that several wildfires have occurred, with a sizeable fire burning in Central OR. Resulting smoke is “hanging” over a small community creating concernforpossible respiratory issues. In addition, an isolated, naturally occurring case of Anthrax was found in one steer. The Department of Agriculture isolated the affected ranch and other steer exposed. Mike also reported that staff participated in FEMA training (Integrated EmergencyManagement) focused on running an operations center and includedtable top sessions focused on public health.
  • Saskatchewan– Garnet Matchett reported that SK experienced a hot summer with a number of odd weather events including high winds (70-80 km/hour), a tornado, and several grass fires in the South. SK’s web based notification system was also evaluated and on September 11tha BS Level 3 disease control lab was opened.
  • Washington– Ken Back reported that WA is diligently testing tsunami debris for radiation, with the State’s emergency division leading the initiative. There has also been significant wildfire activity in Central WA, with a large fire burning in Wenatchee that has created smoke and health impacts. Dr. Wayne Turnberg provided an update on Pertussis (Whooping Cough) with over 4,000 reported cases in WA, far exceeding the400 case average. Wayne T. reported that the CDC has dispatched 39 investigators to WA (half currently in State, other half to arrive in coming days) to attend clinics and review case files. A case control evaluation will be conducted contrasting 1,000 cases to 3,000 controlled cases to yield statistical results and examine trends. Once CDC investigators have departed, the WA DoH will do a “mop up” of additional cases. In a related matter, Alberta and BC epidemiologists met August 2nd to compare notes and foster shared communication on Pertussis with a subsequent meeting scheduled forOctober.
  • HSS Region X – Andy Stevermer provided a quick update noting an HSS presence at political conventions in the Southeast and the deployment of two Federal medical stations in anticipation of Hurricane Isaac. Andy noted that there was nothing of significance to report from said deployments.
  • PHAC – Caitlin Harrison reported that collectively, members of the tsunami debris management plan have approved Phase 1, which defines roles and responsibilities across jurisdictions and has been posted on the BC Ministry of Environment (MoE) website.

Action: Caitlin to forward MoE link to Wayne D. to post on website.

Working Groups

  • Public Health Laboratory– Yolanda Houze reported a desire to include Alberta in JCC work plan. Steve Drew attended lab breakout session, which proves promising. It was noted that membership and jurisdictional involvementfrom Alberta will allow for better cross border collaboration and information sharing.
  • Epidemiology & Surveillance – Wayne Turnberg provided a brief update on the ongoing pertussis (whooping cough) outbreak in Washington State and indicated that over 1000 cases had been reported.
  • Emergency Management–Ken Backreported that the After Action Review (AAR) for theEvergreen Quake 2012 exercise will be released the week of September 17th.Dan thanked Shawnfor sending down a BC representative to observe the exercise with hopes of reciprocating by sending WA State representatives to participate in Magnitude 2012. In addition, a Duty Officer Communications drill will be conducted in November 2012. The drill date will be confirmed in the next few weeks and posted on the JCC website. In 2013WA will participate in a Region 4 (Southwest corner of WA) exercise, partnering with OR to test cross border response. Dan noted that OR may request one or more BC representatives to help with evaluation.

Action: Dan to forward Evergreen Quake 2012 AAR to Wayne D. to upload to website.

  • Public Health Law - Joyce Roper reported need to review applicable agreements and legal issues. Wayne D. also requested that Joyceprovide comments on Information Sharing (Draft) Report.

Action: Joyceto check on status of Information Sharing (Draft) Report forwarded by Wayne D. for review.

5. NWCPHP Next Steps Review

Luann D’Ambrosio noted that the pre-assessment report was sent to Wayne D. and the post-assessment report is nearing completion. Dacey Storzbach provided an overview of both the pre and post assessment surveys key findings. Analysis of the pre-assessment surveys found that half of the respondents had not participated in a workshop in the past. It was noted that the most valuable contribution was the opportunity for networking and information sharing. Reported barriers included a lack of funding to attend and decreased momentum post workshop. Suggestions were also made to allow for more discussion sessions, making presentations more interactive. Key findings from the post assessment survey includedmodest support for introducing a registration fee, as many respondents felt they would be unable to attend if costs increased. Also noted was a need to increase general communication of activities. A suggestion was made to upload resources on the PNWBHA website, which would allow for a communal suppository of information, as well as promotion of the JCC initiatives. Also noted was a need to reach out to key interested parties possibly by creating a blue ribbon committee. Ultimately, the key findings suggestthe need for buy-in and support at the leadership level. Face-to-face interactionsproved beneficialallowing cross jurisdictional relationships to be built and strengthened. A next step, moving forward, is to support sustainability and find alternate means of funding and leadership support.

6. PBPHPC Update

Wayne D. noted that a funding proposal was forwarded to PBPHPC co-chairs, who are currently reviewing its contents. I was also communicated that the Secretariat function will move from PHAC to HSS. The bimonthly PBPHPCteleconference will be held September 18, 2012.

7. 2012 Cross Border Workshop Evaluation & Report

Wayne D. reported that the Risk Communications Working Group is nearing completion of the 2012 report and should bereleased in two to three weeks.

8. High Level Conference Call

Wayne D. noted that he has only received contact information from one jurisdiction and requires more response to move forward. Mary Selecky has volunteered to host the call, which would provide anopportunity to engage key leadership. Information required from each jurisdiction is: number of representatives (principle and alternate), title, and name.

Action: Wayne D. to send a reminder to JCCjurisdictional representatives. (Note: Email sent September 13, 2012)

9. 2013 Workshop

Shawn C. reported that BC is working to finalize a venue, with the target location being Vancouver and a preliminary date of May 2013. Additional information will be circulated once the time and location have been confirmed.

10. Alliance Expansion

All agreed it would be beneficial to continue to reach out to Alberta to promote JCC membership. North Dakota has voiced interest, as well. It was agreed welcoming both jurisdictions simultaneously would be beneficial in order to reduce revisions to Committee documents.

11. Other/New Business

Wayne D. reminded everyone to keep the PNWBHA website vibrant by forwarding current and compelling information. The goal is to make the website a place where health partners and jurisdictions can turn to for information. Garnet suggested posting relevant AAR, risk assessments & recommendations, etc., to foster information sharing and lessons learned across jurisdictions.

Action: Garnet to provide a SK product to Wayne D. who will upload to website.

12. Concluding Remarks

Garnet thanked all attendees for their participation and feedbackand wished everyone safe entry into Fall.

The next meeting is scheduled: October 11, 2012

Prepared by: Elaine McCandless, Administrative Assistant(BC MoH)

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