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COVID-19 has been an incredible challenge for Ottawa. Even before we declared the state of emergency, the City’s Office of Emergency Management was working behind the scenes to guide us through a pandemic unlike any we have ever experienced. The Office of Emergency Management is the brain of the City’s emergency response. They coordinate with external agencies and community associations, and bring together every City department and service area. Their bird’s eye view is essential to how the City adapts, responds and recovers from any extended emergency.
In a crisis or during major events, the Emergency Operations Centre at Ottawa City Hall is typically a hotbed of activity. But when the crisis in question involves an infectious disease, the City’s response looks very different. In the room that would normally host up to 30 people for briefings and planning meetings, these days there's no one to be found. Since Wednesday, March 18, the City’s emergency operations have been 100 per cent virtual.
Melissa Lavery (right) is the Program Manager for the Office of Emergency Management. During an emergency response, Melissa becomes an Emergency Operations Centre Commander. She and her Deputy, Paola Parenti (left), are quarterbacking the day-to-day operations of the City’s emergency response to COVID-19. Via videoconference, they shared what it’s like to manage an emergency that looks vastly different than anything Ottawa has ever faced before.
Can you tell me about the decision to take the emergency management office virtual?
Melissa: We started monitoring the outbreak and checking in regularly with Ottawa Public Health and other health agencies in January. By March, the scope of the pandemic became much clearer, but we made good use of the time in between to get ourselves ready. Our preparations for the arrival of COVID-19 in Ottawa included a tabletop exercise with Ottawa Public Health, City staff and external partners. As it turned out, the first positive case was confirmed the day after that exercise.
The health of our employees and the City’s ability to respond to this emergency are two sides of the same coin. The people we work with are indispensable, so we knew we would just have to adapt to working remotely.
How would you describe your role in this emergency?
Melissa: We’re the machine behind the scenes that supports the boots on the ground. In practical terms, it’s a lot of project management, problem solving and information sharing.
We bring together key people from all City departments and external partners, like the Province, Gatineau Emergency Management, Canadian Red Cross, The Salvation Army and United Way, and of course the hospitals and agencies within the health sector.
At the height of any emergency, we bring representatives from the relevant groups together twice a day, seven days a week, so everyone can share their updates. These touch points are how we get the City’s senior managers the information they need to make key decisions and build a strategy to guide the City through the emergency and make sure nothing falls between the cracks.
Normally these meetings would happen in-person at City Hall, with some people participating by phone, but right now, everyone is participating virtually through video or teleconferencing.
Keeping the public informed is a big piece of our work as well. The City’s communications staff are plugged into our operations every step of the way to keep the media and residents informed in real time. In any emergency, one of our main goals is to maintain public confidence. And we know that we need to go above and beyond in terms of communicating with residents to do that.
It sounds like your work involves managing a lot of moving parts. How do you do it?
Melissa: They key is finding the right people to fill critical roles.
Our current organizational structure consists of around 75 people, which includes the Commander, Scribe, Emergency Information Officer, Emergency Operations Centre Liaison, Public Health Liaison and Councillor Liaison.
Paola: Our structure breaks the work down into four sections:
The thinkers: This is our planning section. These are the people who are looking ahead to tomorrow, next week, next month to figure out what decisions need to be made and to identify what resources we’ll need to get us through. Their work is especially challenging this time because we have no idea how long this emergency will last. With this pandemic, the situation has been changing very quickly, so this group is constantly contending with emerging issues. Right now, for example, they’re exploring new and innovative solutions to make sure front-line staff get the protective gear they need to stay safe on the job.
Stacey Turnbull, Kate Todd (with 21-month old daughter, Rosie) and Lianne Shaver, who alternate the role of Planning Section Chief.
The doers: This is our operations section. They're the boots on the ground, the people working on everything from the status of special events and enforcement to food security and other supports for Ottawa’s vulnerable populations. They’re the force behind the facilities we’ve converted into shelters, respite centres and assessment centres where people go to be tested for COVID-19.
Clockwise from left: Clara Freire (Human Needs Task Force Leader), Amanda Mullins (Public Spaces Task Force Leader) and her daughter Mikayla, age six, Jill Young, David Barkley (Jill and David alternate the role of Operations Section Chief).
The getters: This is our logistics section. Do we need personal protective equipment? Port-o-potties? Transportation? This group finds whatever is needed and gets it to where it needs to be. Supply chain challenges have been a major theme throughout the pandemic, and that’s part of what this group is dealing with as we get front-line staff the protective gear they need to stay safe on the job. This group is also coordinating and distributing the donations the City has been receiving.
Clockwise from top left: Jason Myerson (Support Branch Assistant Director), Dan Bissonnette (Support Branch Director), Ingrid Meza-McDonald (Donations Management Branch Director), Greg Forsyth (Logistics Section Chief).
Last but certainly not least is the finance and administration section that tracks and pays for everything!
Who are the people leading these groups?
Melissa: There are section chiefs for each group, and we literally borrow staff from other departments to fill these roles during any emergency. This is one instance where job titles and position levels don’t matter. Our goal is to find people with the right combination of skills, experience and training.
We’ve managed a lot of emergencies in recent years including power outages, floods, tornadoes and other significant weather events. The silver lining is that the list of people who have gained experience working alongside us in emergency management is growing.
Nicole Ward, pictured here, is the Emergency Operations Centre’s Liaison Officer. She’s their main link to the office of the City’s General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services, and to external agencies including provincial representatives and the hospitals in the region.
Do you notice common traits among the people who are particularly good at this type of work?
Paola: Absolutely. These people are highly organized, self-starters, quick-thinking and dependable.
Melissa: People skills are also really important. Our section chiefs have to build consensus among their team members and keep them working together toward a common goal, so it’s important for them to be good communicators and have a high level of self-awareness.
Paola: I notice that the people who are effective in these roles don’t hesitate to seek out advice and support when they need it. I also notice that many of them have a good intuition for what questions need to be asked.
What has this experience been like for you personally?
Melissa: It’s a marathon! No one knows how long we’ll be in this heightened state in terms of our emergency operations, so we have to constantly remind one another to pace ourselves and take breaks from our devices once in a while. A lot of us have kids at home, so we’re all trying to navigate our work/life balance as well.
Paola: My priority, between emergencies, is to train City staff to work in our operations centre. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see those people now “in the field,” so to speak. Part of why we’ve focused on training more staff is the prospect of dealing with more than one emergency at a time. We are all thanking our lucky stars there has been minimal flooding this year!
When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the people who had helped during previous emergencies reached out to offer their help once more, and most of their managers have been happy to let them. We find that the best results are achieved when we’re adaptable and innovative, and we allow people to do the work they are passionate about. For me, that’s been the best part – witnessing people from all corners of our City structure work together to help us navigate an emergency that’s like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.
Melissa: The inner workings of emergency management may sound abstract when we talk about it in these high-level terms, but everyone working on this emergency knows they’re having a real impact on the lives of residents across Ottawa. Every role is vital. Whether you’re taking notes during a call or working with the logistics team to find protective gear for front-line staff, every role is contributing to this vast machinery that’s getting us through this pandemic, day by day, teleconference by teleconference, decision by decision.
More stories about how City of Ottawa staff are supporting the community during the COVID-19 pandemic:
查看原文...
In a crisis or during major events, the Emergency Operations Centre at Ottawa City Hall is typically a hotbed of activity. But when the crisis in question involves an infectious disease, the City’s response looks very different. In the room that would normally host up to 30 people for briefings and planning meetings, these days there's no one to be found. Since Wednesday, March 18, the City’s emergency operations have been 100 per cent virtual.
Melissa Lavery (right) is the Program Manager for the Office of Emergency Management. During an emergency response, Melissa becomes an Emergency Operations Centre Commander. She and her Deputy, Paola Parenti (left), are quarterbacking the day-to-day operations of the City’s emergency response to COVID-19. Via videoconference, they shared what it’s like to manage an emergency that looks vastly different than anything Ottawa has ever faced before.
Can you tell me about the decision to take the emergency management office virtual?
Melissa: We started monitoring the outbreak and checking in regularly with Ottawa Public Health and other health agencies in January. By March, the scope of the pandemic became much clearer, but we made good use of the time in between to get ourselves ready. Our preparations for the arrival of COVID-19 in Ottawa included a tabletop exercise with Ottawa Public Health, City staff and external partners. As it turned out, the first positive case was confirmed the day after that exercise.
The health of our employees and the City’s ability to respond to this emergency are two sides of the same coin. The people we work with are indispensable, so we knew we would just have to adapt to working remotely.
How would you describe your role in this emergency?
Melissa: We’re the machine behind the scenes that supports the boots on the ground. In practical terms, it’s a lot of project management, problem solving and information sharing.
We bring together key people from all City departments and external partners, like the Province, Gatineau Emergency Management, Canadian Red Cross, The Salvation Army and United Way, and of course the hospitals and agencies within the health sector.
At the height of any emergency, we bring representatives from the relevant groups together twice a day, seven days a week, so everyone can share their updates. These touch points are how we get the City’s senior managers the information they need to make key decisions and build a strategy to guide the City through the emergency and make sure nothing falls between the cracks.
Normally these meetings would happen in-person at City Hall, with some people participating by phone, but right now, everyone is participating virtually through video or teleconferencing.
Keeping the public informed is a big piece of our work as well. The City’s communications staff are plugged into our operations every step of the way to keep the media and residents informed in real time. In any emergency, one of our main goals is to maintain public confidence. And we know that we need to go above and beyond in terms of communicating with residents to do that.
It sounds like your work involves managing a lot of moving parts. How do you do it?
Melissa: They key is finding the right people to fill critical roles.
Our current organizational structure consists of around 75 people, which includes the Commander, Scribe, Emergency Information Officer, Emergency Operations Centre Liaison, Public Health Liaison and Councillor Liaison.
Paola: Our structure breaks the work down into four sections:
The thinkers: This is our planning section. These are the people who are looking ahead to tomorrow, next week, next month to figure out what decisions need to be made and to identify what resources we’ll need to get us through. Their work is especially challenging this time because we have no idea how long this emergency will last. With this pandemic, the situation has been changing very quickly, so this group is constantly contending with emerging issues. Right now, for example, they’re exploring new and innovative solutions to make sure front-line staff get the protective gear they need to stay safe on the job.
Stacey Turnbull, Kate Todd (with 21-month old daughter, Rosie) and Lianne Shaver, who alternate the role of Planning Section Chief.
The doers: This is our operations section. They're the boots on the ground, the people working on everything from the status of special events and enforcement to food security and other supports for Ottawa’s vulnerable populations. They’re the force behind the facilities we’ve converted into shelters, respite centres and assessment centres where people go to be tested for COVID-19.
Clockwise from left: Clara Freire (Human Needs Task Force Leader), Amanda Mullins (Public Spaces Task Force Leader) and her daughter Mikayla, age six, Jill Young, David Barkley (Jill and David alternate the role of Operations Section Chief).
The getters: This is our logistics section. Do we need personal protective equipment? Port-o-potties? Transportation? This group finds whatever is needed and gets it to where it needs to be. Supply chain challenges have been a major theme throughout the pandemic, and that’s part of what this group is dealing with as we get front-line staff the protective gear they need to stay safe on the job. This group is also coordinating and distributing the donations the City has been receiving.
Clockwise from top left: Jason Myerson (Support Branch Assistant Director), Dan Bissonnette (Support Branch Director), Ingrid Meza-McDonald (Donations Management Branch Director), Greg Forsyth (Logistics Section Chief).
Last but certainly not least is the finance and administration section that tracks and pays for everything!
Who are the people leading these groups?
Melissa: There are section chiefs for each group, and we literally borrow staff from other departments to fill these roles during any emergency. This is one instance where job titles and position levels don’t matter. Our goal is to find people with the right combination of skills, experience and training.
We’ve managed a lot of emergencies in recent years including power outages, floods, tornadoes and other significant weather events. The silver lining is that the list of people who have gained experience working alongside us in emergency management is growing.
Nicole Ward, pictured here, is the Emergency Operations Centre’s Liaison Officer. She’s their main link to the office of the City’s General Manager of Emergency and Protective Services, and to external agencies including provincial representatives and the hospitals in the region.
Do you notice common traits among the people who are particularly good at this type of work?
Paola: Absolutely. These people are highly organized, self-starters, quick-thinking and dependable.
Melissa: People skills are also really important. Our section chiefs have to build consensus among their team members and keep them working together toward a common goal, so it’s important for them to be good communicators and have a high level of self-awareness.
Paola: I notice that the people who are effective in these roles don’t hesitate to seek out advice and support when they need it. I also notice that many of them have a good intuition for what questions need to be asked.
What has this experience been like for you personally?
Melissa: It’s a marathon! No one knows how long we’ll be in this heightened state in terms of our emergency operations, so we have to constantly remind one another to pace ourselves and take breaks from our devices once in a while. A lot of us have kids at home, so we’re all trying to navigate our work/life balance as well.
Paola: My priority, between emergencies, is to train City staff to work in our operations centre. It’s been incredibly rewarding to see those people now “in the field,” so to speak. Part of why we’ve focused on training more staff is the prospect of dealing with more than one emergency at a time. We are all thanking our lucky stars there has been minimal flooding this year!
When COVID-19 hit, a lot of the people who had helped during previous emergencies reached out to offer their help once more, and most of their managers have been happy to let them. We find that the best results are achieved when we’re adaptable and innovative, and we allow people to do the work they are passionate about. For me, that’s been the best part – witnessing people from all corners of our City structure work together to help us navigate an emergency that’s like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.
Melissa: The inner workings of emergency management may sound abstract when we talk about it in these high-level terms, but everyone working on this emergency knows they’re having a real impact on the lives of residents across Ottawa. Every role is vital. Whether you’re taking notes during a call or working with the logistics team to find protective gear for front-line staff, every role is contributing to this vast machinery that’s getting us through this pandemic, day by day, teleconference by teleconference, decision by decision.
More stories about how City of Ottawa staff are supporting the community during the COVID-19 pandemic:
- A look behind the curtain: Meet the duo that’s mastering the art of the live stream to keep the public in the know about COVID-19
- In the time of COVID-19, Ottawa’s spirit of giving is alive and well
- For essential workers, a little daycare goes a long way
- Where the front lines and the phone lines intersect – Marianne Gervais and her fellow public health nurses offer help and hope to COVID-19 patients in quarantine
- Fair share: Yvonne van Lith lends out Ottawa Public Library's 3D printers to make protective equipment
- Remedy for cabin fever: Jill Hawken and her Ottawa Public Library colleagues are live-streaming Storytime
- Pandemic or otherwise, there’s no putting the brakes on the City of Ottawa’s fleet
- When parents of three young kids both work in health care, navigating work and home during a pandemic is about taking it one day at a time
- What does it take to transform an arena into a COVID-19 assessment centre? Danny Alves shares the tricks of the trade
- When it comes to waiting out COVID-19 at home, 3-1-1 Client Service Agents are walking the talk
- Love letters, live guitar and transatlantic family reunion: All in a day of quarantine at Carleton Lodge
- To support Ottawa’s most vulnerable through the pandemic, Para Transpo operator training drives on
- By-law enforcement in the time of COVID-19
- In the fight against COVID-19, Anne Irwin is deploying technology to help keep staff safe
- On the front lines of COVID-19 prevention, Jon Freda and his Water Distribution colleagues keep the taps flowing so the rest of us can wash our hands
- Rain, sleet or global pandemic, Waste Collection Operator Russel Potvin keeps on trucking
查看原文...
