Operations
The OPEO Operations Division is responsible for the operational effectiveness of the HHS response to medical and public health emergencies and serves as the eyes and ears of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, coordinating activities for HHS with its partners. The Operations Division’s overall responsibilities include:
- Managing the SOC, which is the primary Headquarters-level branch involved in situational awareness
- Analyzing incoming information and identifying potential impacts and trends that may indicate need for federal involvement and/or asset deployment and key operational and policy issues requiring leadership decisions
- Leading command, coordination and control ESF 8 functions and supporting other ESF operations by overseeing the development, blueprinting, implementation, and management of processes and procedures to coordinate response – overall, field (NDMS) and tactical.
- Leading development of HHS-level operations-related concepts, policies, and procedures
- Communicating with HHS leadership concerning potential incidents and emergency responses to events
- Developing and participating in training, exercises, and lessons learned (TELL) activities
- Training and exercising the HHS IRCT
- Planning, implementing, and evaluating departmental readiness response exercises
The Operations Division is comprised of five branches:
Operations Branches and Roles
The major responsibilities of each Operations branch are described below.
Secretary’s Operations Center
The SOC is the focal point for collection and distribution of critical public health and medical information on behalf of the U.S. Government. Through the SOC, the Operations Division provides real-time situational awareness, analysis, and monitoring of the public health, medical, and human services environment. The SOC continually monitors potential or developing incidents or public health emergencies, and supports and tracks field operations during incidents. Regular surveillance and monitoring of multiple information sources is conducted to maintain situational awareness and identify any emerging threats. During emergency situations or exigent circumstances, the SOC supports incident management system responses for HHS, serving as a conduit for information from HHS organizations, field teams, and partners. The SOC conducts required notifications of Headquarters staff, and collects, integrates, conducts initial analysis of, and disseminates incident information. As the HHS focal point, the SOC serves as a liaison to the NOC and other organizations on public health issues, and establishes and maintains communications and coordination with other federal Emergency Operations Centers (EOC). In addition, the SOC is the U.S. central point of reporting for incidents related to International Health Regulations (IHR).
Fusion Cell
Providing rapid and effective information to support preparedness and response requires useful, actionable information and intelligence, and the ability to synthesize and analyze that data to provide recommendations to key decision makers. The Fusion Cell will support emergency response activities by “fusing” or integrating information obtained from situational awareness activities and analyzing the information using a comprehensive risk assessment framework. The Fusion Cell will have the ability to conduct decision support/course of action analysis with the information obtained from the SOC. The Fusion Cell will conduct risk and threat assessment and forecast potential risks and impacts to public health from potential and emerging incidents. The analysis will highlight risks associated during operations with limited public health and medical support capability and make recommendations on mitigation options. As part of its responsibilities, the Fusion Cell will also lead developmental efforts in defining the Common Operational Picture (COP) data elements and sources. The Fusion Cell works collaboratively with the intelligence and scientific communities and with HHS’s interagency partners to enhance the situational awareness capabilities within the SOC.
Response Operations
Response Operations is responsible for overseeing the development, blueprinting, implementation, and management of processes and procedures to coordinate public health, medical and human services emergency response efforts. During the response and recovery of operations capabilities phases, Response Operations is charged with situational analysis and oversight, specifically looking at current operations and future operations in the next 24 – 48 hours, and developing operations and future planning in support of the Preparedness Planning, the Joint Field Office, and the IRCT. Response Operations is also responsible for developing Operations Orders that provide specific information related to upcoming events. Additionally, the FMS program is managed by Response Operations. Operations works with NDMS and the Office of Force Readiness and Deployment (OFRD) to enhance the federal response capability through deployable teams and manages the development of a variety of Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) and Concepts of Operations (CONOPS) related to preparedness and response to medical and public health emergencies.
NDMS Operations
NDMS Operations is responsible for setting readiness standards for teams in terms of self assessments, regular reporting, setting standards and working with RMO and Log on administrative/material inspections, and operational readiness evaluations tied into the PDB training and exercise program, determining requirements for rotational schedule and publish on a yearly basis or more often as required, operational /crisis action execution based planning for all training, exercises and real events, leads NDMS input into operational plans/playbooks and orders, and organizes the implementation of the overall strategies, specific operational activities and collaborative efforts to assure appropriate implementation of the operations program., during incident response – organized into West, Central and East Branches to ensure coordination of teams and personnel, staffs the EMG when requested (ensure completion/input for required ICP/SITREP and other reports), as part of the HHS Emergency Management Group, assists in the coordination, activation, and deployment of the medical response teams, personnel, and assets to the incident scene, preparation of taskers, orders, (to include advisories, alerts, activations), oversight of teams when required for deployments and preplanned events (NSSEs), oversight and decision on which teams to place on advisory, alert, activation and which to deploy (selection made from teams that are designated as operational vice developmental), day to day management of alerted, activated, deployed teams during initial deployment, then support to IRCT, once established, gather, update and maintain situational awareness on disposition of teams (relevant to the event/incident), and update and develop Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the NDMS Operations Branch, and supervises subordinate staff engaged in these activities.
Training, Exercises, and Lessons Learned
The Operations Division leads TELL programs that are designed to ensure that HHS’s training, exercise, and evaluation program goals and objectives are achieved and that the Department has the capability to manage and coordinate its emergency preparedness and response missions. TELL has established a systematic approach for the improvement of the Department’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities through training events, exercises, and evaluation. It provides a means to achieve annual goals and objectives, capture lessons observed, and implement corrective actions to improve the Department’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities. TELL provides the necessary structure for the entire Department to better coordinate readiness efforts through a development cycle of training, exercise, and evaluation, resulting in greater preparedness for the next public health or medical emergency. TELL provides a framework and mechanisms for the Department to coordinate and improve its readiness capabilities, which includes effective all-hazards training; exercising within a robust and realistic domain; identifying lessons observed from training, events, exercises, and real-world contingencies; and implementing corrective action plans to improve the Department’s emergency preparedness and response capabilities.
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