Director Bill Lovingier

• ICS 201 Operations Plan: 2009 Swine Flu Pandemic event
• Draft
• 18 pages
• Law Enforcement Sensitive
• April 28, 2009

SWINE FLU PANDEMIC EVENT 2009
MISSION

The Denver Sheriff Department operational mission is to ensure a safe environment for employees, the public and inmates in our custody during this event. Our goals will be to:

• Limit the number of illnesses and deaths within our facilities and community
• Preserve continuity of essential government function
• Minimize fiscal impact on the City and County of Denver

This plan will be coordinated with other preparedness plans of the community, state and federal agencies.

GENERAL GUIDELINES
GENERAL POLICIES:
A. The Denver Sheriff Department will work in cooperation with Denver Public Health, the State Board of Health, the CDC, and the City and County of Denver during a pandemic event.

B. The Denver Sheriff Department will ensure notification of communications to appropriate state and federal agencies.

C. The Denver Sheriff Department will utilize the National Incident Management System (NIMS) as the organizational basis for response to health emergencies.

D. The appointed Incident Commander will retain the role until the threat to public safety is abated or the incident command is transferred to the appropriate state or federal agency.

E. Appropriate information will be shared with the public through the P.I.O. Staff and inmate information will come through the P.I.O, Director of Corrections office or designee.

F. The Denver Sheriff Department will adhere to appropriate medical ethics and practice when allocating resources.

G. Information will be shared with Denver County Health and emergency management agencies at appropriate levels.

H. Denver Sheriff Personnel will have a working knowledge of this plan.

I. All Denver Sheriff Personnel will follow established safety and health guidelines.

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Communicable Disease Response

PURPOSE: The purpose of this document is to establish procedures for quarantining, isolating or evacuating areas in response to an infectious disease outbreak. It is the purpose of the Denver Sheriff Department to take into consideration all Federal, State and municipal medical procedures and standards when dealing with an incident.

POLICY: It is the goal of the Denver Sheriff Department to minimize risk to the officers and inmates during an outbreak, while at the same time making every effort to provide a safe and secure environment to all persons who may be confined within a contaminated area or facility.

DEFINITIONS

Communicable Diseases: An illness caused by a specific infectious agent or its toxic products that arises through transmission of an agent or its products from an infected person, animal or inanimate source to a susceptible host; either directly or indirectly through an intermediate plant or animal host, vector or the inanimate environment. A single case of disease long absent from a population may require immediate investigation. (Control of Communicable Diseases Manual 18th Edition.)

Contagious/ Quarantinable Diseases: Cholera; Diphtheria; infectious Tuberculosis; Plague; Smallpox; Yellow Fever; and Viral Hemorrhagic Fevers (Lassa, Marburg, Ebola, Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). May include viral influenza during a pandemic or other novel and highly infectious diseases. (presidential executive order 13295, and 25-1-650, C.R.S)

Epidemic: Cases of an illness or condition, communicable or non-communicable, caused by bioterrorism, pandemic influenza, or novel and highly fatal infectious agents or biological toxins. (24-32-2103, C.R.S.) Local, Regional or Statewide event.

Pandemic: An epidemic occurring over a very wide area (several countries or continents) and usually affecting a large population. (CDC) Statewide, National Region, National or larger event.

Pandemic Influenza: A widespread epidemic of influenza caused by a highly virulent strain of the influenza virus (24-32-2103, C.R.S.)

Isolation: Isolation refers to the separation of persons who have a specific infectious disease form those who are healthy, and the restriction of their movement to stop the spread of disease. (CDC)
Quarantine: Quarantine refers to the separation and restriction of movement of persons who, while not yet ill, have been exposed to an infectious agent and therefore may become infectious. (CDC)
Health Authority: Inmate Medical Service Provider, Denver Health Authority, State Health Department, CDC or other recognized entity.
Patient: Any person identified as being infected or possibly infected until cleared by medical staff.

COMMUNICATION AND EDUCATION:

• When an epidemic or pandemic has been confirmed in the Denver metro area by a health authority, consultation will be made with the Director of Corrections or designee, the departments’ medical provider or other health authority to determine what additional medical screening processes may need to be implemented in an effort to identify persons being processed into our custody who display signs or symptoms consistent with the declared epidemic or pandemic.
• The departments health care provider will meet with the department’s command staff, the appointed incident commander, and other’s identified by the Director of Corrections, or designee to determine a proposed course of action for the evaluation, diagnosis and treatment of both inmates and personnel, creation of informational material for staff and inmates that includes basic information about the contagion, transmission routes, precautions to limit transmission, signs and symptoms to look for (self screening) and other information as may be appropriate. Appropriate personal protective equipment will be identified, procures and issued as necessary and appropriate to staff and inmates.
• Educational material should be read in briefings for staff and posted in inmate housing areas in English and Spanish for inmates.
• During cold and Flu season, staff should be encouraged to obtain flu shots or take advantage or other means shown to reduce the livelihood of infection from seasonal cold/flu.

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FACILITY ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE AREAS:

The medical unit is the primary isolation and quarantine area within our facilities. If the population of patients that needs to be isolated or quarantined exceeds the capacity of the facilities medical, the following actions may be considered:

• Infected or possibly infected inmates will be confined to their cells if in a cell block.
• One or more pods in building 22 at the COJL may be converted to a quarantine and isolation housing area, this building has a separate air handling system apart from the main jail.
• An alternative to building 22, would be to open the tent, gym or both.
• Housing areas with a large number of symptomatic inmates will be closed off to new book-ins and used for isolation and quarantine.
• Female inmates who are infected will originally be kept in building 4, if building 4 is at capacity 21 E dorm will be emptied out and utilized as a back up.
• If pre defined areas are nearing capacity a meeting will be held between the department’s health care provider, command staff, maintenance supervisor, and other s as necessary and identified by the Director of Corrections or designee or Incident Commander to determine additional isolation/quarantine areas.

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ISOLATION AND QUARANTINE

• Arrangements will be made to house infected and possibly infected persons in the infirmary, CCMF or other appropriate health care facility.
• If possible, inmates who are transferred into isolation or quarantine housing should be housed alone. When this is not possible, persons who are confirmed as being infected (isolation) will be housed together first, followed by housing those suspected of being infected or exposed (quarantine). Inmates classified in either category who are housed together will be issued face masks to prevent further transmission.
• Once an inmate is medically cleared, they may be transferred out of the quarantine/isolation housing. The inmate will be required to clean the cell they were housed in unless they have a cell mate who will continue to occupy the cell. Cleaning will involve wiping of all surfaces, including mattress according to the COJL mattress cleaning directive.
• The medical provider has the authority to restrict inmate work or any other activity that may put the institution at risk.

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VISITATION

Depending upon the scope of the event, visitation, including video visitation may be restricted to maintain social distancing. If video visitation does take place, the phone and screen of each booth used must be decontaminated utilizing antibacterial wipes to prevent possible spread of the contagion. Decisions on visitation will be made by the IC, Director of Corrections, or designee based on recommendations of the Appointed Health Authority.

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