Chisago County

Jodi Budde, Chisago County Public Health

Jodi Budde did the math before making any purchases. What she learned was the Everbridge Aware notification system would dramatically improve the Chisago County Public Health Department’s ability to contact, instruct, and deploy staff efficiently and effectively during a public health emergency, such as a disease outbreak or natural disaster, while delivering a return on investment (ROI) and meeting compliance requirements. Chisago County Public Health and Chisago County Emergency Management have also formed a local Health Alert Network (LHAN) to maintain fast and reliable communication between agencies in Chisago County, Minnesota. These notification systems are compliant with federal and state regulations requiring swift response times.

Complying with Federal and State Requirements

Chisago County needed to comply with regulations from the federal government and the State of Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) that require public health agencies to be able to respond swiftly to all health and staff alerts within one to two hours. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (HHS/ASPR) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) measure state and local health department emergency preparedness and are strengthening the current system’s focus on operational efficiency. Chisago County historically used a calling tree format where assigned staff would call to alert staff and agency partners one by one over a number of hours. Typically, it required up to four people to work the phones, and the paperwork associated with reporting the metrics back to the CDC and MDH was cumbersome. Budde knew that complying with federal and state requirements required a change in approach.

Staff Call Down Alert - Message

To: Staff
Subject: Staff Call Down Alert - CCHIRP System (Everbridge)

THIS IS AN EXERCISE. PRESS ONE to listen to this message:
This alert is a test of our internal Public Health Staff automated alert system. Please listen to the full message as specific instructions are included for you to confirm receipt of this message.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Minnesota Department of Health require Local Public Health to test emergency staff call down procedures and readiness under Emergency Preparedness.

Should this have been a real Public Health emergency, you would have been given further instructions on where to report and training on site for your job action assignment.

Showing ROI in Dollars and Sense

Chisago County approved the purchase of the Everbridge system by demonstrating ROI both in dollars and through compliance with the Public Health Emergency Alert response requirements set forth by federal and state guidelines.

Chisago County has calculated that by automating the process it saves 16 man hours per alert between time spent calling, database management, and analysis of results. The Everbridge system-generated reports meet federal and state reporting requirements, saving hours previously spent on paperwork and enabling Budde to measure improvements and trends over time. Chisago County’s alert acknowledgement rate – a critical measurement for federal and state agencies – has improved from 56% to 86% since using the Everbridge system, dubbed internally as “CCHIRP” so responders will immediately recognize the message as an emergency alert (CCHIRP = Chisago County Health Incident Response Program). Even more dramatic is the confidence Chisago County gained knowing that in an emergency they are able to contact, instruct, and deploy staff effectively and efficiently.

“We improved our drill alert systems significantly by switching to Everbridge. As a result, we improved our alert efficiencies and timeliness; saved on labor costs; and met state and federal alert response time requirements.”
– Jodi Budde, Public Health Emergency Preparedness Coordinator, Chisago County Public Health

Peer-to-Peer: Jodi’s Advice

• Put together an ROI assessment to demonstrate the time and cost savings you will gain with the Everbridge system. Don’t underestimate the value of delivering swift alert communications that are compliant with federal and state requirements.
• Train and drill staff to become familiar with the alert system. Staff should know what the system is and what it does. Give your alert system a name they will recognize. (For example, CCHIRP = Chisago County Health Incident Response Program.) Drills improve results and ensure that staff will respond effectively in a true emergency.
• Have someone whose voice and/or title people recognize record the message. People pay more attention to a message and are more likely to take action when it comes from a credible source they recognize. Set the Caller ID and callback number to a familiar number.
• Get a true measurement of exercise effectiveness. Never announce drills. When people know a drill is coming, they are more prepared and respond differently than if caught off-guard.
• Use multiple calling tools (phone, email, cell, fax, and so forth) and allow variable reply methods. Do not rely on one contact or reply method. Experience has shown us that people answer and reply via a variety of contact methods with no single method preferred over another.