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Hurricane Sandy: Managing Call Surge with 2-1-1 Partners

Hurricane Sandy: Managing Call Surge with 2-1-1 Partners. Session Objectives. Make informed decisions around how to establish a disaster back-up systems Understand how to plan now for real time resource exchange and caller information before a disaster occurs

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Hurricane Sandy: Managing Call Surge with 2-1-1 Partners

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  1. Hurricane Sandy: Managing Call Surge with 2-1-1 Partners

  2. Session Objectives • Make informed decisions around how to establish a disaster back-up systems • Understand how to plan now for real time resource exchange and caller information before a disaster occurs • Consider the use of web based technologies as a part of the Continuity of Operations planning

  3. Scenario October 2013 Hurricane Sandy hits the NJ coastline causing 2.4 million power outages, 45,000 damaged homes, transportation interruptions, thousands of displaced residents

  4. NJ 2-1-1 Partnership with NJ Office of Homeland Security • Make emergency preparedness / disaster response information easily available to the public • Increase public awareness about the importance of preparing for emergencies and taking action. • Make scalable to provide information during times of increased DHS threat levels or statewide emergencies, i.e, floods, hurricanes, evacuations, health emergencies, etc. • Serve as the Missing Persons Portal for the public utilizing UVIS (Uniform Victim Identification System) as directed by the NJ OEM.

  5. NJ 2-1-1 Role in a Disaster • Public Information Portal • By dialing 2-1-1 or visiting www.nj211.org • Addictions Hotline: point of contact for medical Maintenance: methodone etc • UVIS – Uniform Victim Identification System • NJVOAD member • Assistance Guides: Floods, Hurricanes, Haitian Earthquake • For Hurricane Sandy, Rebuild & Volunteer Coordination • Long Term Recovery Coordination for NJ VOAD

  6. Continuity of Operations COOP Plan To Do Checklist Testing Implementation Sustainability Over Time

  7. Hurricane Sandy Preparation • Shelter in Place: staff volunteer, food, cots, blankets • Send some staff home in case of power outages • Planning call with Palm Beach 2-1-1 • Reviewed our Continuity of Operations Plan with management team • Tested Technologies

  8. Technologies • Web Based: Telecom (Five9), Caller Management System and Data Resources (Referral & Resource House) • Premise Based (redundancy): Telecom (IP Office), Referral and Resource House Installed on our servers • Phone App: Resource House • Communication Delivery: T-1s and FIOS that have back up capability • Utilities: Our Achilles Heal (no back-up generator)

  9. #1 Challenge: Handling the Surge

  10. Hurricane Sandy Calls October 28 – December 31, 2013 • Received over 79,000 calls (85% in first three weeks) • Volunteers (Medical Reserve Corp, AmeriCorps, Spontaneous Volunteers) logged 5,783 calls and 590 hours a value of $12,390. • Back Up From 2-1-1 Palm Beach, Houston 2-1-1 and Vermont 2-1-1 (voice mails), 12,000 calls fielded by our partners • Web site saw 143,337 unique visitors viewed 281.902 web pages dedicated to Hurricane Sandy resources. Of those visitors 78% were new to the nj211.org website. • Top Needs included food replacement, sheltering, power outages, disaster food stamps & FEMA rumor control, disaster services (evacuations, emergency requests related to electrical outage), FEMA registration information, clean-up requests, local services, donations, and volunteering. • Developed an 83 page Hurricane Sandy Relief and Recovery Guide that is available at all DRCs, downloadable and web based for disaster case managers and others working with survivors in the field http://www.nj211.org/images/HurricaneSandy/NJ211HurricaneSandyResourceGuide.pdf

  11. Getting Ready to Offset Calls to Partners Telecom: routing of calls, with ability to send a percentage of overall calls Resource Information: online real time resources, email exchanges, open communication line with partner to allow for emerging issues Contact Records: provided hard copy forms, could used web based form or allow access to your internal systems. Needs List will drive reporting, make sure your needs match the disaster. Timeframe: idea of how long calls will be answered by partners and long term plans to sustain overtime.

  12. Providing Back-up in Houston • First asked on Sunday Nov 4th • Began answering calls on Monday Nov 5th at 11:30am • Committed to work together to provide 2-1-1 coverage and to track and report service results

  13. How it worked • Routed calls to a dedicated “point to” number • Inbound calls sent to a separate skill group of Helpline specialists trained to handle calls • Warm center room in a separate area from local 2-1-1 call center • Disaster resource information and orientation supplied by 2-1-1 NJ. Suggested websites added to group favorites.

  14. What Worked, Opportunities for Improvement Flexibility of our 2-1-1 Partners Call Flow Resources Contact Records Reporting

  15. On Being Prepared • Overview of Sample Tools • MOU with 211 Partner • Highlights of COOP Plan • Implementation Checklists: • As the sending 2-1-1 • As the receiving 2-1-1 • Individual Work: In your role, what can you do to start planning for sharing calls with 2-1-1 partners. • In Pairs, share your plans and brainstorm obstacles • Large Group Report Out

  16. Questions????? David Jobe djobe@unitedwayhouston.org 713-685-2309 Laura Zink Marx lmarx@nj211.org 973-929-3704

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