Introduction
As the Director of Security at the New York metropolitan airport that services both public and private carriers, I was expected to address the biological threat that faced the organization. News of the anthrax scare had disrupted the normal operations of the firm and employees become unsettled because of the threat. The anthrax scare prompted me to facilitate a rapid identification of the source of the biological threat as well as the route of exposure. The paper will comprehensively address the public and private-sector resources that could be utilized to respond to the threat. Moreover, it will also highlight the collaboration between the public and the private sector in solving the dilemma. Nonetheless, it will offer a detailed explanation on the best advice to the supervisor, staff, and the operation manager when solving the situation.
What public- and private-sector resources could be used to respond to the threat?
I will guide the New York Metropolitan Airport to handle the situation. There are numerous public and private-sector resources that will be essential in responding to the threat. First, the organization will contact the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) to send a team of professional to examine the situation on the ground. Nonetheless, the federal agencies and other health departments will offer assistance to combat the anthrax scare.
The CDC’s Emergency Operations Center is a private sector that offers financial resources to agencies that are capable of dealing with emergency situations. Since it provides funds to health departments, it will be advisable to contact the responsible health officers so that they can offer help to the firm. In most incidences, health departments have proven their strength in responding to public health incidences within the society.
The organization will also work with hospitals, laboratories, and emergency response teams. Both public and private hospitals can offer health-care providers that will assess the biological threat and advise the affected parties. Laboratories will also serve a critical role in establishing if the anthrax scare is a hoax or reality. The emergency response team will act accordingly and offer first aid to those people thought to have been contaminated with the threat.
How can public- and private-sector responders collaborate?
The public- and private-sector responders can collaborate in numerous ways. First, the CDC’s Emergency Response Operations Center will liaise with all other stakeholders and work together in addressing the issue. CDC will provide funds to hospitals, health departments, laboratories, emergency response teams, and other federal agencies. The public- and private-sector responders will work together and allocate themselves duties to avoid duplication of efforts towards solving the problem (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2015). The responders will collaborate to avail the required medicines and other supplies that will assess, prevent, and control the biological threat affecting the Metropolitan Airport. The Emergency Response team will work with other federal agencies and offer assistance to the affected persons after arriving on the site.
Furthermore, the health care providers from hospitals will collect the samples from people that contacted envelopes that contained the suspected chemical. The laboratories will be useful in examining the blood samples and determine if there is a real scare of anthrax or any other biological threat to the employees (Pray et.al, 2002). As a result, responders will collaborate with each other, share information easily, and establish the modes of transmission and therapy that will play an essential role in solving the nightmare.
How will you advise your supervisor, the staff, and the operations manager?
I will advise the operations manager to remain calm and keep the information confidential to avoid disorder and unnecessary tension among the workforce. The operations manager will be required to come back at the workplace so that he can receive care from the medical team that came to deal with the anthrax threat. It would be a wrong move for the operations manager to leave the premises without knowing the dangers that might be associated with the threat.
I will also advise the supervisor to avoid the notion that the situation might be a hoax. I will convince her to remain patient and wait for the medical professionals to assess the situation and advise the company accordingly. The supervisor should also stop working before the medical team dispatched to the scene evaluates the situation and decides the steps to be undertaken.
In conclusion, I will advise the staff to remain peaceful and composed despite the scare. I will assure them that emergency response teams are coming to evaluate the situation. Therefore, it will be needless to tense even before the problem is established. I will also ask the staff to avoid leaking the sensitive information to unauthorized parties as it will create confusion and disturbance to the public.
What special considerations should you make due to the nature of your facility?
The first move will be to call an emergency meeting and inform all workers that there is an anthrax scare in the facility. It will be therefore critical for people to take protective measures and avoid direct contacts with the chemical. I will also ensure that the entry to the airport is stopped for a while. This will ensure there is no potential exposure to more people to the biological threat that is yet to be established by the medical personnel. Every person at the airport will undergo screening, and the affected persons will receive treatment. \
Who will you notify, if anyone, for follow up after the incident is contained?
After the incident is contained, I will contact the Emergency Response Team to follow up the situation and establish any cases that might emerge in the future. The team will perform screenings after a specific period to guarantee maximum safety for all people at the airport. The Emergency Response Team will follow up the progress of the situation in a consistent and timely manner. In the process, there will confirm if the situation has been handled effectively and advise the company how to react to similar situations in the future.
What action items will you request from the agencies and persons you notify?
I will request the Emergency response team to prepare a detailed document that illustrates the tracking process when evaluating the processes involved in the situation. The action item will comprise of vital information like the date when the action was identified, the name of the individual linked to the action, and the description of his/her condition. It will also consist of outcomes and deliverables that provide a clear picture of the situation. The action item will only be completed if the process is still relevant. In some instances, the completion does not occur if other factors thwart the relevance of the process.
References
Pray, L. A., Mahmoud, A. A., & Knobler, S. L. (Eds.). (2002). Biological Threats and Terrorism:: Assessing the Science and Response Capabilities: Workshop Summary. National Academies Press.
Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015, September 1). What CDC is Doing to Prepare| Anthrax | CDC. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/anthrax/bioterrorism/cdc-action.html
