April 15, 2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Myles Chamblee, Public Information Officer
Office: 256-435-0540; Cell: 256-499-8607; Email: mchamblee@calhounema.org
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CALHOUN COUNTY UNIFIED COMMAND ESTABLISHES INCIDENT PRIORITIES
Calhoun County, Alabama – The Calhoun County COVID Unified Command System has established guiding incident priorities to help lead the response to the increasing coronavirus pandemic in Calhoun County. The initial response priorities set forth by the Unified Incident Commanders are:
1) First Responder / Healthcare Worker Health, Safety, and Support
2) Current Modeling and Data
3) Capacity for Response and Care
4) Supply of Resources
The first priority is to take care of those heroes who give their lives to take care of others. The initiatives in this area include; housing for first responders and healthcare workers who may become symptomatic, require testing, and need to be isolated, offering peer support and specific mental health resources, and ensuring sure the first responders and healthcare workers are properly supplied with and are wearing PPE. Incident Safety Officer and Oxford Fire Chief, Gary Sparks, stated, “Offering peer support is the biggest part we can help with. With the extra worry and the stress of COVID, on top of an already hazardous job, you have to take care of yourself if you
are going to take care of others”.
The second priority of modeling and data, focuses on collecting specific details that may serve as critical indictors of the incident, and help provide accurate information to the first responders, healthcare workers, unified commanders, and elected officials for decision making. Planning Section Chief Randy Childs, and Assistant Chief of Jacksonville Fire Department, stated, “We use modeling to incorporate the best available data on the virus, comparing control strategies, and identifying important areas of uncertainty. This helps us anticipate the surge of patients and how it will affect the hospital and EMS system so that we are able to assist with needed resources”.
The third priority is to provide plans to expand capacity for hospital patient care and ensure a system that emergency calls for service are adequately responded to by emergency medical services, fire departments, and law enforcement agencies, regardless of the jurisdiction in Calhoun County. This priority is executed through surge capacity plans in the hospitals, plans for an alternate care site, and mutual aid agreements and staffing support with medical, fire, and law enforcement. Operations Section Chief, Chris Collins, stated, “In the event one of our response agencies, Fire, EMS or Police, lose personnel due to a quarantine, emergency calls for that agency will not cease. During a community emergency like we are facing, emergency response agencies in our County are prepared to support and help any community within our County when the need arises. Our County citizens can rest assured that the needed emergency services they are accustomed to are available and will remain available to them”.
The final priority is the supply of necessary resources to meet the incident objectives. This includes sources and logistics for PPE, critical medications, ventilators, and coronavirus testing resources. “Locating, purchasing, and providing the tools needed to get the job done, in a timely and efficient manner, is a very important responsibility of the unified command system, stated Michael Barton, Co-Incident Commander and,
Calhoun County Director of Emergency Management.”
The Calhoun County COVID Unified Command System is led by co-incident commanders Dr. Almena Free, Chief of Staff, Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center; Mary Gomillion, Area Administrator, Alabama Department of Public Health; Louis Bass, CEO Northeast Regional Medical Center; and Michael Barton, Director, of Emergency Management, Calhoun County. Dr. Almena Free, Chief of Staff at Northeast Alabama Regional Medical Center, Anniston stated, “as we strategically prepare for the COVID surge in our area, it is important to bring together many facets of the community to collaborate and form the best capabilities to help treat our patients”.
The incident priorities are achieved daily though a dedicated team of public safety and healthcare professions from many of the jurisdictions throughout Calhoun County. Incident priorities are constantly evaluated as the situation develops and may be updated as the response progresses through the pandemic. Organizationally, the unified command system is divided into five main components including: Command Staff, Operations Section, Planning Section, Logistics Section, and Finance Section. To complete all the objectives necessary in Calhoun County, there are almost 80 public safety, healthcare, and local government servants engaged in the structure to support the response effort from all across the County.
Virtual interviews can be conducted with:
Incident Commander: Dr. Almena Free, Chief of Staff (256-256-310-0082)
Incident Commander, Michael Barton, EMA Director (256-312-2890)
Incident Safety Officer: Gary Sparks, Chief Oxford Fire Department (256-310-4691)
Planning Section Chief: Randy Childs, Assistant Chief, Jacksonville Fire Department (256-310-5745)
Operations Section Chief: Chris Collins, Chief Anniston Fire Department (256-343-5751)