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Amy Burnett dispenses public health information in a pinch

CDC's National Contact Center rose to the challenge of answering
questions about H1N1 during the outbreak's peak

By Alice Lipowicz

Mar 22, 2010

Amy Burnett became director of the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's National Contact Center, also known as CDC-INFO, several
months before the H1N1 flu outbreak. The center was a focal point for
members of the medical profession and public who were seeking
information. She rose to the occasion with a solid plan for taking
care of her employees while getting people the information they needed
as quickly as possible.

At CDC-INFO, we collaborate closely with CDC groups that manage Web
communications and social media. We want to make sure we are providing
clear, accurate and relevant content and that the content is
integrated and consistent across the channels of communication.

When the H1N1 outbreak began in April 2009, our inquiry volume
increased by 500 percent in the first days of the outbreak. We were
all working 18- to 20-hour days to try to get a handle on it. We had
planned for a surge event, and now we were putting it into practice.
It was an exciting time.

The H1N1 outbreak was my first big public health event as director of
CDC-INFO. I had been on the job for about six months. My priority was
to take care of my team, making sure they were trained and had the
information they needed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

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Read more about the 2010 Federal 100 award winners

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Our advice had to be targeted and accurate. The doctors and nurses who
were calling us primarily wanted information on H1N1's mode of
transmission and period of incubation. The members of the public
mostly wanted to know what they should do if their child was sick.
Both groups asked about vaccines. People were worried. Some people
called repeatedly.

The coordination between CDC-INFO and CDC’s other communications units
worked well. When the CDC Web channel got an update on H1N1, we got
the same update.

One of the lessons learned was that CDC-INFO’s telecommunications
infrastructure could handle the additional inquiry loads. Usually, we
might get 1,200 to 1,400 calls a day, but at the peak we were getting
5,000 a day. The technology worked.

However, there were staffing challenges. In those first days, some
people who called CDC-INFO got a busy signal or were put on hold for
the 18-minute maximum. That is why I was keen to get butts in seats.
Typically, we have about 80 to 90 staff members trained and ready to
answer the calls, but at the height of the H1N1 outbreak, we had about
200 people. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and other
federal agencies provided emergency surge staff. It was the first time
we had tested those federal partnerships.

I’m really proud that we are a 24/7 train that is always available and
never stops. You can call, write or e-mail, and you will get a
response.

Overall, I would say we handled it really well. Of course, there were
some disappointments. It would have been nice to get up and rolling in
one day instead of four to seven days, and we're looking at ways to do
even better in the future.

Today, we are still activated for H1N1, even though the call volume is
low. We are getting calls for seasonal flu, AIDS, vaccines, hundreds
of topics. We have content that answers the majority of questions. If
we don’t have the answer, we will work with CDC colleagues to find it.

About the Author

Alice Lipowicz is a staff writer for Federal Computer Week.

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Related Articles

Federal 100: Lew Newlin03/22/2010

CDC goes viral through social media04/19/2010

Federal 100: Amy Burnett03/22/2010

CDC starts online surveillance of blood transfusion events02/19/2010

FDA rolls out Web-based risk assessment tool for food, drug
 imports02/08/2010

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