Guilford County, NC

 In the nineties, a Human Services Committee was formed with  Social Services  Mental Health  Public Health  Red Cross  Emergency Management  Committee met monthly and then quarterly to coordinate shelter and unmet needs

 Expanded Players  Volunteer Center for coordination  Faith Based Community for Recovery center  External health providers for child healthcare

 Emergency Operations Planning Update  ESF Meetings for each major revision  Open meeting dates and multiple reviews  Recovery Framework Process  Meetings for each Recovery Function  Expansion of Roles to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc  Ongoing planning engagement through exercises and supporting plan development

 Over time, relationships, agency missions, agency policies, and politics change pre- existing agreements  A need for “Expectation Management” with all partner agencies  Open dialogue is required without egos  Paid vs Volunteer representatives and expectations  Relationship building is what gets an organization through change

 Inviting partner agencies to meetings help to build relationships and educates them on the whole picture of the communities Emergency Management program  Integration into ICS classes, JIC classes, etc helps agencies “talk the talk” and understand the complexities of the system  Exercise involvement as much as possible!

 ½ Inch of Ice across the southern 2/3 of Guilford County  Power Outages “Rebuild and not Restore”  Estimated 22.5m in damages in Guilford  Shelter opened for 3 days

 It takes a Village to solve problems  All partner agencies may not have the same communication expectations  Primary contacts are ALWAYS out of town during disasters  Hospital Coordination  POD Plan enhancements

 Advanced Homecare as a long time partner  Personnel changes over the years  Delivered oxygen to home patients  Setup refill stations for bottles  Provided oxygen generators at the shelter  Received FEMA Reimbursement

 Mental Health participation is still a challenge  Reduced budgets of partner agencies  Transitioning staff in key leadership positions  Relationship Maintenance

Don Campbell Guilford County Emergency Mgnt Susan Smith Red Cross