1. Making Mutual Aid Happen: A Leadership & Advocacy Training
Kerry Dunnell, MSW Local Government Liaison
Mary E. Clark, JD, MPH, Regional Preparedness Manager
Cambridge Public Health Department
Advanced Practice Center for Emergency Preparedness

2. Agenda for the Day Introductions
What is the public health mutual aid agreement?
Why leadership and advocacy training?
The Training
Tools

3. Who is the CPHD APC?
Host agency for Massachusetts public health Region 4b (27 communities surrounding Boston)
Public health emergency planning for City of Cambridge, MA
Emergency planning & training for the Cambridge Health Alliance

4. Public Health Mutual Aid WHY?
Limited local staffing & resources
Hepatitis A in food handler
CDC Deliverable

5. Public Health Mutual Aid Working Group
APC staff
Attorneys with municipal and health board expertise
MDPH Attorney
MDPH Center for Emergency Preparedness staff

6. Leadership & Advocacy WHY?
Need for tools to accomplish implementation of mutual aid agreement
Need for training that acknowledges challenges of work system

7. Leadership & Advocacy Working Group
Training developed with Local Public Health Institute
Piloted with local staff in R4b
Peer reviewed by MDPH health educators and APC trade show group
Further review by MDPH rural health educators

8. The Training

9. Leadership & Advocacy
Let no man imagine he has no influence. Whoever he may be, and wherever he may be placed, the man who thinks becomes a light and a power.
-Henry George
Notes:
Have this slide up as participants gather for the training.
When ready to begin, welcome participants, introduce yourself and the training, and ask participants to do the same. Ask people to include their names, where they work, and one thing they’d like to get from the training.
Then read the quote.
This quote was chosen to set a tone of optimism and power. It is idealistic – meant to inspire, encourage, and remind the participants about their own power – it captures the intent of this training.

10. Workshop Goals
To empower one another and reinforce leadership and advocacy skills
To draw on personal and professional experiences to address the obstacles you face in your work
Review the goals and link them to any expectations participants expressed in their introductions.

11. Workshop objectives Collectively, we will be able to describe:
The definition and characteristics of effective leadership
The steps to effective advocacy
The key aspects of the Mutual Aid Agreement
A process to obtain approval of the agreement
The 3rd and 4th objectives should be modified to reflect the issues you are addressing with the training.

12. What is leadership?
“Leadership is a function of knowing yourself, having a vision that is well communicated, building trust among colleagues, and taking effective action to realize your own leadership potential.”
Warren Bennis, Chairman of the Leadership Institute, Marshall Business School, University of Southern California
Start by reading the quote and identifying the speaker. Warren Bennis is recognized as the person who ‘created’ the discipline of leadership studies.

13. Qualities of effective leaders
Creativity in action
Vision with the courage and fortitude to put the vision into reality
Flexibility with a commitment to change things for the better
Ability to back off when someone else is the better lead
These two slides are excerpted from a speech given by Dr. Louis Rowitz, Director of the MidAmerica Regional Public Health Leadership Institute.
While the list is long, the points are good, and the words are those of a public health leader.

14. Qualities of effective leaders
Ability to work within the context of the organization without letting the organization defeat us
Commitment to the community and the values for which it stands
Dr. Louis Rowitz, Director of the Mid America Regional Public Health Leadership Institute

15. Discussion
Is your definition of leadership in local public health similar to or different from the previous definition?
How would you describe the qualities of an effective leader?
Participatory exercise for the group. Spend 10 minutes. Use easel pad or dry board to take down responses (You may wish to have an additional facilitator to record the comments).

16. Case example: Changing the smoking ordinance
What obstacles did the Health Director face?
What options are available to her now?
What might she do differently if she had the opportunity to do it all over again?
Would options be different under a different government structure?
Distribute the smoking ordinance case example, review and then brainstorm around these questions.

17. What is advocacy?
“The act of pleading or arguing in favor of something, such as a cause, idea, or policy; active support.”
The American Heritage Dictionary
Be sure to read the quote, and allow time for the participants to absorb and reflect upon the meaning.

18. Discussion
How is the definition of public health advocacy similar to or different from the previous definitions?
How would you describe the steps to successful advocacy?
Participatory exercise for the group. Allow 10 minutes. Use easel pad or dry board to take down responses (may need separate recorder person).
Personal Example “I describe my work as conversations and dialogues. I educate and explain.”

19. Steps to successful advocacy
Be able to clearly articulate the outcome you want
Know your stakeholders – allies and opponents
Craft an effective message
Practice and improve your ASK
Follow up
Ask for examples of when these steps have worked, failed or been neglected.
Be prepared to provide your own.

20. Advocacy Tools Coalitions Fundraising Data Messages Presentations
Evaluation
Participatory exercise for the group. Ask them to provide examples of these tools, either from personal experience, or from knowledge of current events.
Come prepared with your own local examples just in case.
Spend 10 minutes. Use easel pad or dry board to take down responses. (You may wish to have another person record the responses for you.)

21. Small group activity
As a group, choose one current issue that requires leadership and advocacy
Work together to identify the stakeholders and describe the obstacles
Brainstorm actions to address the obstacles
Be prepared to report back to the whole group
Allow minutes for this portion. Come prepared with your own examples in case a group is slow to start.
Use easel for report back, and look for connections to prior report backs.

22. Leadership & Advocacy Challenge
Public Health Mutual Aid

23. Public Health Mutual Aid Questions
What is public health mutual aid intended for?
Who is in charge?
Is giving aid required?
How does it work?
How do we make this happen?

24. Public Health Mutual Aid Agreement
An intermunicipal agreement that allows communities to support each other, IF their resources are stretched beyond normal capacity.  The agreement addresses the scope of work, issues of employment and liability, and provides guidelines for requesting and providing mutual aid. 

25. Public Health Mutual Aid Definition
Aid to another public health agency
Personnel, equipment, facilities, services, supplies, or other resources
Includes inspections, vaccination clinics, emergency dispensing sites, administrative assistance, etc….

26. Public Health Mutual Aid Scope & Limitations
Scope - mutual aid for “incidents” not just emergencies
Limitations - communities are not required to provide aid  

27. Public Health Mutual Aid Employment & Liability
Employment- Employees sent for mutual aid remain employees of their community
Employees report to the Incident Commander in the receiving community
Liability- Liability for employees retained by home community

28. Public Health Mutual Aid Key Concepts
Public Health = first responders
Response is local
Mutual Aid = one agreement
“Mutual Aid allows us to expand our resources without expanding our budget” Canton, MA Board of Health

29. How do we make this happen?
Do you know the process for adoption of such an agreement within your community?
Who in your community do you need to involve for this project to be successful?
What concerns/questions do you anticipate?
What potential obstacles can you identify?
How will you address these barriers?
Review the questions with the goal of identifying and addressing the obstacles participants are likely to face in presenting the mutual aid agreement to their town counsel. Distribute scenarios for use of mutual aid.

30. Training Materials Presentation and trainer notes Handouts
Public Health Mutual Aid kit
Evaluation forms

31. Questions? Comments? Kerry C. Dunnell Local Government Liaison
Mary E. Clark
Regional Preparedness Manager