Preparedness and Response (ASPR) since the early dark days of the pandemic. She played a key role in confronting the worldwide cruise industry crisis from a public health perspective. “Imagine a [hurricane] striking every county in the U.S. and its territories, as well as all countries around the world at the same time, and you’ll understand the size, scope and duration of this emergency,” Austin said. “It is the largest incident response in the nation’s history, and it required people to be nimble and quick in ways that they haven’t had to in the past.” Azar asked Abel to synchronize internal HHS actions and balance the federal role between his department and FEMA in preparation for hurricane season. His formal role was director of a joint coordination cell, or JCC, located near the Capitol. The JCC was created to foster intra-HHS unity of effort and to harmonize federal activities and authorities. Within a short time, the JCC was fully staffed by a cadre of Coast Guard reservists and members of the Public Health Service, but continued to add representatives from additional agencies along the way. A balancing act With the advent of the 2020 hurricane season, the need to free FEMA from the day-to-day pandemic operations became urgent. That came with challenges, especially shifting mid- operation. The HHS office building had space and technology challenges that didn’t exist over at FEMA. It was difficult to cram all of the working groups into the HHS building, as well as ensure every member had a computer, cell coverage, internet access, building access, appropriate and socially distanced workspaces. Once all 350 civilian personnel and uniformed members shifted, the management of federal operations became the responsibility of HHS while FEMA remained the lead federal agency. Federal operations Abel was responsible for working among HHS elements to break down silos, increase dialog and optimize response operations. To do this, he and the JCC staff served as executive stewards to ensure coordination of roles between the many agencies and authorities. Further, the JCC managed the Secretary’s daily operations-synchronizing calls with HHS senior leadership and coordinating the activities assigned. The Coast Guard reservists were no strangers to the multiple layers and levels of interagency partnership and collaboration. Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said, “The small cadre of Coast Guard Reserve talent that was added into HHS COVID response emergency management has boosted collaboration and cooperation.” He noted the seasoned emergency response experience Coast Guard members “brought to the fight,” remarking that their “adaptability to apply these skills in a pandemic setting speaks volume to their flexibility, talents and training.” The JCC executed over 200 separate taskings covering all aspects of the pandemic response. Projects ranged from working with the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare to forward regulatory proposals allowing EMTs and other paraprofessionals to receive payments for providing in-home care (to keep hospitals from filling up), to developing “Project Greenlight,” the single federally managed electronic common operating picture for federal, state, territorial, and tribal emergency responders and health officials to better manage pandemic response operations. “The depth and breadth of activity when working for a cabinet-level secretary was astonishing” said Lt. Cmdr. Josiah Toepfer, the JCC’s executive officer. “In a given day, we might be involved in discussions ranging from the expenditure of billions of dollars to expand domestic manufacturing capabilities under the Domestic Production Act to delivering federal assistance to a specific facility in support of an underserved population.” Two Coast Guard members served in the Testing and Diagnostics workgroup, Lt. Cmdr. Miguel Bosch and Cmdr. Ian Bartonicek. Bosch was as a program manager for a type of COVID-19 testing equipment, a dynamic logistics environment with competing priorities for the COVID-19 mitigation resources. “While nothing in my Coast Guard career prepared me for the work I was expected to perform, it was one of the best deployments I’ve ever been on,” said Bosch. “The numbers were staggering,” said Bartonicek, who led a team responsible for procuring and allocating 246 million swabs and 245 million pieces of viral transport media, and executing $720 million in contracts. “The level of Federal effort put forth in responding to the pandemic dwarfed anything I’d done previously in my career. I was humbled on a daily basis by the knowledge, dedication and selflessness of the team.” Lt. Cmdr. Brad Bryan was a member of the Healthcare The Joint Coordination Cell held daily meetings to help coordinate all aspects of the pandemic response. Clockwise from left, HHS Secretary Alex M. Azar, Public Health Service Lt. Cmdr. Nicole Carr, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Diana Gertsch, Air Force Brig. Gen. David Sanford, Coast Guard Capt. Michael Barton, Ms. Carol Danko, Mr. Paul Mango, Coast Guard Vice Adm. Daniel Abel. Photo courtesy of Lt. Cmdr. Giana Gertsch. Issue 1 • 2021 � RESERVIST 29
