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Pandemic Preparedness Myths, Hype, and Reality FIRMA Phoenix, 2007 Michael J. O’Connor VP – Risk Contingency Manager. Agenda. Presentation Objectives Background Incident Management Program Definitions Status of Threat Planning Process Key Research Areas The Plan Challenges
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Pandemic PreparednessMyths, Hype, and RealityFIRMA Phoenix, 2007Michael J. O’ConnorVP – Risk Contingency Manager
Agenda • Presentation Objectives • Background • Incident Management Program • Definitions • Status of Threat • Planning Process • Key Research Areas • The Plan • Challenges • Information Sources
Presentation Objectives • Pandemic Preparedness Roadmap • A starting point for those who need it • More details for those who are further along • Sources of Information • Government, industry, medical • Myth-busting… • And deflecting the media hype • Lesson learned (so far)
Background • Headquartered in Portland, Maine • Approximately 59% owned by TD Bank Financial Group (TD) • Will likely be 100% by end of April, 2007 (pending final approval) • Over 9,000 employees • Approximately $40 billion in assets as of 12/31/06 • Banking, Insurance brokerage, Wealth Management, Investment Planning lines of business • Markets served: • Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Philadelphia
Incident Management Program • Need for formal, defined plans and testing • Contact lists, command centers, workgroup/system/process recovery, contingency plans • Table-top tests • Full-scale tests • Need for consistent approach • Defined communication; content, medium, and responsibility • Defined relationships; internal and external • Defined accountabilities; remember Al Haig? • Leverage program for “Minor” incidents
Incident Management Program Objectives of each Stage Reporting and Routing – Ensure that the incident has been reported to the right person for decision-making and tracking purposes Qualification and Initiation – Notify key responders there may be an incident; determine if this is an incident; its severity; initiate the Incident Management Team; and develop appropriate Resolution, Communication, and Impact Mitigation plans Resolution/Communication/Impact Mitigation – Execute (and adjust as required) the appropriate plans developed by the Incident Management Team; report progress back to the Incident Management Team Closure – Ensure that all Resolution, Communication, and Impact Mitigation steps have been completed; also, define and manage any long-term recovery plans Post-Incident Review – Within 2 weeks of the incident being officially closed, assess the effectiveness of the Incident Response process as applied to this particular incident and develop recommendations for improvement.
Incident Management Program • All TD Banknorth departments and subsidiaries • “Major” Incidents • Natural • Human-caused • Incidents managed by Risk Contingency Manager • There are exceptions... • Determined by Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Risk Officer, Chief Auditor, or General Counsel
Incident Management Program PANDEMIC
Definitions • Pandemic: A pandemic is defined as an outbreak of an infectious disease that spreads worldwide or across a very large part of the world • The disease must be new • The disease must affect humans, causing serious illness • The disease spreads easily and sustainably among humans • Influenza: An acute contagious viral infection characterized by inflammation of the respiratory tract and by fever, chills, and muscular pain • Avian viruses do not typically infect humans • Mutation • Transfer through another species • Extremely close contact
Definitions World Health Organization - 6 Pandemic Phases
Status of Threat • A current influenza virus (H5N1) is classified as a Stage Three pandemic health risk (per the World Health Organization’s Six Pandemic Stages) • The virus is not being transmitted from human-to-human, or it has spread in rare instances where there is very close contact (one instance of this in Indonesia) • Stages Four through Five indicate increased health risk • Stage Four: Small, localized clusters of human-to-human transmission • Stage Five: Larger, localized clusters of human-to-human transmission – Indicates substantial pandemic risk • Stage Six – Pandemic • Sustained, worldwide transmission in the general population • Preparedness and Planning are critical • There is no way to predict if the current virus will reach pandemic status • Planning efforts can be leveraged for other Major Incident Types
Pandemic Planning Framework Corporate • Developed by Pandemic Working Group members (SMEs) • Presented to Operational Risk Committee for feedback • Approved by Executives 1 Critical Business Processes • Facilitated by Risk Management • Agreed to by participants • Presented to Operational Risk Committee for feedback • Approved by Executives 2 • General guidelines and principles • Prioritized list Departmental 3 • Workgroup recovery • System recovery • Staffing plan • Contac lists/communication protocol • Leverage LDRPS work • Reviewed by Pandemic Working Group
Planning Process – Guiding Principles • Leverage existing internal and external materials • We are not physicians or medical experts; focus on the planning and preparation, not the status of the virus • Align planning and preparation to the World Health Organization’s 6 pandemic phases • Integrate efforts with the greater community • Manage effort as a formal program • The planning is ongoing and will never be complete • Enterprise impact = enterprise involvement • Broad representation • Top to bottom support
Planning Process • Working Group and governance has been established • Consists of Risk Management, Corporate Communications, Internal Communications, Marketing, Human Resources, Corporate Security, Facilities, Safety, Technology • Board Risk Committee receiving quarterly updates • Executive Committee approving contents and supporting resource requirements • Plan is being aligned to World Health Organization’s Six Pandemic Stages • Work plan is broken down into preparation for general impacts… • Employees • Partners • Customers • Vendors • Facilities • Technology and other Infrastructure • Community • As well as impacts to our critical business processes • Business Line meeting has been facilitated to inventory and prioritize critical business processes, and also understand service level agreements (including regulatory requirements)
Planning Process – Critical Business Processes • Develop materials • Assumptions • Scenarios • Worksheets • Finalize assumptions • Select business line representatives • Distribute materials • Business Line Working Session • Follow up (gaps, questions) • Consolidate and publish document • Working Group review • Present Plan to Executive Management
Planning Process – Critical Business Process Assumptions • 40% absenteeism over 3 – 4 month period • Discretionary and Business Development activities on hold • Alternate delivery channel volume expected to increase • Vendor availability will be significantly reduced • Customer volume to decrease • Critical infrastructure may be impacted • Government restrictions may be in place
Key Research Areas • National and TD Banknorth telecommunications infrastructure • Will our VPN be able to support additional volume? • Will ISPs be able to support additional volume? • Usage policy? • Additional users? • National telecommute day? • Commitments from critical vendors • Identify critical vendors (Vendor Management program and critical business process analysis) • Identify risks • Evaluate contracts • Survey their preparedness • Temporary Human Resource (and other) policy changes • Modify policies to handle a pandemic scenario or create separate pandemic policies • Who declares the “corporate state of emergency”?
Key Research Areas (cont.) • Temporary consolidation of branches • Close most branches and focus on alternate channels? • Requirements for employee entry? • Cleaning and hygiene recommendations • Start now • Preparedness kits? • Integration with state and local response planning • State Emergency Management Agencies • Law enforcement • Hospitals
Key Research Areas (cont.) • Resource management strategies • Cross-training • Outsourcing • Sharing with TD • Travel policy • Restrictions? • Tracking employees? • Testing upon return? • Government actions • Quarantines • School closings • Regulatory changes • Containment • Antivirals • Vaccine
The Plan • Communication • Employee • Media • Customer • Hygiene, Cleaning, and Infection Control • Pandemic Preparedness Kits • Employee Travel • Risk Reduction • Human Resources • Business Continuity • Vendor Management • Remote Access
The Plan (cont.) • Pandemic-specific policies • Testing approach and plans • Employee Assistance Program resources • Contact lists • Incident Management procedures • Command center • Escalation and notification • External reporting requirements
The Plan - Communication Start now; will help to identify planning gaps
Challenges • Resource requirements • Competing priorities for internal subject-matter-experts • Vendor availability • Support for the development of the plan itself • Breadth, scale, and complexity of issues • A pandemic would impact every aspect of our business • Common assumptions are critical • What level of detail should the plan contain? • How detailed should the plans be for critical business processes? • How deep should managers plan for having backup resources? • Awareness, Advocacy, and Sponsorship • Need to stress importance of planning without scaring employees • Need to continue to provide employees with accurate information and dispel rumors • Need to ensure that Executive and Senior Management are continued advocates of the planning process
Information Sources • The Great Influenza (John M. Barry) • www.pandemicflu.gov • www.who.int • www.fema.gov • www.cdc.gov/flu/avian/ • www.dhs.gov/dhspublic/