Minutes of the Meeting of the

Engineer Professional Advisory Committee

Thursday, March 22, 2001

The Engineer Professional Advisory Committee (EPAC) welcomes your input and participation. Meetings are open to all PHS Engineers and Architects. Those who are not able to attend in person may attend via conference call.

CALL TO ORDER

CAPT Kevin Chadwick, EPAC Chairperson, called the meeting to order at 1:04 p.m. EST at the IHS Twinbrook Metro Plaza OEH Conference Room, Rockville, Maryland. The January 25, 2001, meeting minutes were approved. The next meeting will be held Thursday, April 26, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. EDT at the IHS Twinbrook Metro Plaza Building Executive Conference Room in Rockville, Maryland.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Office of the Chief Engineer: RADM Williams reported the following announcements:

1. CPO-PAC Chairs Meeting: The following are highlights from the Chief Professional Officer Professional Advisory Committee Chairs meeting held this morning.

Surgeon General Satcher was present and had the following comments:

Continuing priorities:

· Limiting disparity in public health.

· Balancing the community based approach.

· Looking at global health issues.

Secretary Thompson has shown a strong interest in the Commissioned Corps and has already met with RADM Moritsugu, RADM Lawrence and the Surgeon General. Regularly scheduled briefings will continue.

As a follow up to Engineer’s Week, the Surgeon General was honored with an honorary Public Health Service Engineer award and the Deputy Surgeon General, RADM Moritsugu, was presented an engineer’s slide rule.

RADMs Moritsugu and Lawrence are seeking qualified nominees to serve as science advisor to the Secretary Thompson. CAPT Lambert, CDC, who will be followed by RADM Wyatt, NIH, currently holds the six to eight week term position. Nominee qualifications include knowledge of the overarching public health issues, expertise in a specific field and daily uniform wear. Nominees should be submitted to RADM Williams.

At the COA Conference, the Surgeon General will pay a brief visit to each category’s luncheon.

No further action is planned for the engineer category device. The position paper drafted by the EPAC should be submitted to the OCE and RADM Couig for future reference. See Old Business.

Continue to encourage all CO’s to respond to the Uniform Survey. The response period will last four to six more weeks.

RADM Moritsugu has asked all agencies to submit what they are specifically doing for recruitment and retention. The submission is requested in time for next month’s CPO-PAC meeting. See New Business.

RADM Davidson shared that common recruitment and retention requests from the Architect/Engineer category span videos, flyers, a commissioned corps website link, improving inter-relationships between agencies, a unified approach from civil service and commissioned corps, and continuing the Basic Officer Training course.

DCP is planning a recruiting/retention workshop in mid-July. See DCP Liaison Report.

DCP is asking the Surgeon General how far to proceed in creating new opportunities for commissioned corps personnel

DCP is seeking submissions for the CC Bulletin. In response to this request, the OCE will summarize Engineer’s Week.

2. NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year: CAPT Raul Surampalli, EPA, was selected as the NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year.

3. Engineer Leadership Development Seminar: There are currently 53 registrants for the March 26-29, 2001 seminar in San Antonio, Texas. On-site registration is available.

4. John Villforth Leadership Award: Nominations are being accepted until March 26. RADM Villforth will present the award at the COA Conference.

5. SAME Awards/Conference: Three new PHS awards for engineers and architects will be presented at their annual conference under three distinctions: Hollis Medal (Senior A/E), Green Medal (Junior A/E), Cummings Plaque (A/E Units or Teams). They recognize excellence in engineering consonant with SAME goals of preparing the country for any event. The conference will be held May 29-June 1, 2001 at Opryland, Nashville, TN.

6. SAME Golden Eagle Award: This past weekend, LT Scharen, CAPT Barror and RADM Williams attended this moving ceremony which honored past military engineers.

7. COA Conference: The conference will be held May 28-30, 2001 at the Marriott Wardman Park in Washington, D.C. RADM Williams will present the Ian K. Burgess (young engineer), John Villforth Leadership and Engineer Literary awards on May 30.

EPAC Chair: CAPT Chadwick reported the following:

Thank you to the individuals who participated and arranged engineer’s week activities.

Congratulations to CAPT Surampalli, Mr. Brian Kong, LCDR Michael Coene as NSPE Federal Engineer agency nominees and CAPT Surampalli’s selection as NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year.

All EPAC members are encouraged to submit or look for local agency resources to submit articles for the OCE newsletter, the CC Bulletin and other similar productions.

EPAC members must submit alternate forms to the EPAC Chairperson.

Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) Liaison: CDR Ganaway reported the following:

· A field recruitment program is being initiated. Previous programs, such as the associate recruiter system, are being reviewed to retain the positive aspects and reduce the unnecessary. Anybody interested in this budding program should contact CDR Ganaway via e-mail. Correspondence is forthcoming to share expectations, requirements and training (workshop) information.

· A recruiters’ training workshop is scheduled for July 16-17, 2001 to be hosted by DCP in Washington, D.C. CDR Ganaway and LT Nassar can be contacted for information.

· A recent flag briefing covered reorganization efforts. A positive recruiting note shared at the briefing was that the application rate was running 18% above normal.

· The application process is close to being 100% on-line at the website, dcp.psc.gov.

· The current number of active-duty engineers is 423.

· Prior to processing separation papers, officers are required to speak with a DCP representative. With this step, DCP has found that many officers are unaware of all the opportunities available to them.

Commissioned Officers Association (COA) Liaison: CAPT Casamento reported the following in CDR Poneleit’s absence:

All commissioned officer’s are encouraged to visit COA’s website, www.coausphs.org. Access to the members link requires a membership ID # that can be found on your “Frontline” label or on your membership card.

At the end of the COA Conference, an assembly meeting will be held on Friday, June 1 from 7:30-9:30 a.m.

The new resolution policy has changed the proposal process to open submission of proposals. They will be acted on within six weeks and forwarded semi-annually to the OSG.

Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Liaison: LT Scharen reported the following:

· The Golden Eagle Award dinner was a great success with both military and non-military engineers present.

· A number of SAME committee chairs are now taking nominations. The Education and Military Affairs Committees are in need of a number of committee members.

· Manuscripts can and should be submitted for the SAME monthly magazine, “The Military Engineer”.

· Further SAME information can be found on their website, www.same.org.

Junior Engineer Report: LT Boyd reported the following:

The Junior Officer Ad Hoc Advisory Group (JOAHAG) has met twice since the last EPAC meeting.

Additional JOAHAG vacancies for voting members have been identified including positions for one engineer, one physician and two dentists. An announcement will be out shortly. The JOAHAG will request that appropriate category PACs and the CPOs make the selection for JOAHAG positions.

Job Vacancies: Known vacancies are now posted or linked on the PHS Engineers web site (www.usphsengineers.org).

OLD BUSINESS

Engineer Category Device: EPAC’s Career Development Subcommittee drafted a position paper on this issue. The paper will be routed to all EPAC members for comment and the final draft will be sent to the OCE for future reference.

National Park Service Staffing: CAPT Taylor and CDR Ganaway will meet with the Department of Interior next week. The Career Development Subcommittee will formulate a draft statement on general pursuit of outside engineering positions by DCP.

NEW BUSINESS

Recruiting/Retention Submission to the Deputy Surgeon General: In response to RADM Moritsugu’s request for each category’s specific recruiting and retention items, the Recruiting and Retention Subcommittee will forward this statement to the EPAC Chairperson by April 19.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Awards: CDR West reported the following.

A. New Members of the Awards Subcommittee

Welcome to LT Mathew Martinson. LT Martinson, IHS, is an Acting District Engineer serving in Bremerton, WA. Thanks to LT Martinson for volunteering to serve on the Awards Subcommittee.

B. USPHS Engineering Literary Awards

The second round of scoring for the 7^th annual USPHS Engineering Literary awards is complete. A memorandum recommending winning papers has been sent to the Chief Engineer. Plaques for primary authors and certificates for secondary authors will be presented at the COA Public Health Professional Conference during the Engineers Luncheon on May 30, 2001.

C. Ian K. Burgess Outstanding 2001 Young PHS Engineer Award

The nominations for the Ian K. Burgess Outstanding Young PHS Engineer for 2001 are currently being evaluated by the Awards Subcommittee. The judging will be complete by COB March 23^rd and a recommendation made to the Office of the Chief Engineer by March 27^th. The award(s) will be presented at the COA Public Health Professional Conference during the Engineers Luncheon on May 30, 2001.

D. SAME Awards

1. A call for nominations for the SAME USPHS Engineering Achievement Awards has been sent out via the OCE’s weekly e-mail for the past five weeks, and is posted on the web page. To date, two nominations have been received. The deadline for nominations is March 30^th.

2. The designs of the two medals and plaque have been sent to SAME. The die and casting manufacturing process started this week. Award winners will be honored at the annual Honors Banquet during the SAME National Conference, May 29-31, 2001 in Nashville, TN.

3. An article announcing the new PHS awards has been submitted to SAME to be considered for publication in SAME’s newsletter or magazine.

E. Engineer Leadership Award

1. A call for nominations for the John C. Villforth Leadership Award has been sent out via the OCE’s weekly e-mail for the past five weeks, and is posted on the web page. Nominations are due March 26th.

2. Nominations (cover sheet and narrative) can be faxed to LT Nate Tatum at 404-639-0653. Please send an e-mail to LT Tatum at nct7@cdc.gov notifying him of your faxed nomination. Follow the fax with a hard copy of the faxed material along with any additional supporting documentation to LT Tatum by COB March 26^th. The winning individual or group will be honored at the COA Public Health Professional Conference during the Engineers Luncheon on May 30, 2001.

3. An article announcing the Villforth Leadership Award was included in COA’s February issue of “Frontline”.

Contact CDR West for information on the next meeting.

2. Building Design & Construction: CDR Martinez reported the following.

The Building and Design Subcommittee met on March 20, 2001 for a brief

meeting to complete discussions on the Health Building Initiative document

and the proposed meeting agenda. In comments from informal reviews, it was

suggested that the focus of the meeting be directed on the reasons/basis for

the initiative as opposed to focusing different building environments as

proposed. A large list of invitees has been compiled with the selection and

invitation to eventually come from the Surgeon Generals office. Due to

scheduling conflicts within the office of the SG, the meeting date has been

moved back to June.

The Healthy Building Initiative is on the agenda for the Engineering Symposium of the COA/PHS meeting in Washington, D.C. on May 30.

The response to Surgeon General David Satcher's direction to the PHS

Engineer Professional Advisory Committee has been drafted and sent to RADM

Robert Williams. It consists of an internal PHS implementation plan built

around existing architectural/engineering expertise healthcare, laboratory

and office facilities and enhanced collaboration among the PHS agencies. It

also consists of a proposal for a Surgeon General's workshop which addresses

research, technology transfer, standards, and education issues. These

documents now need review by the full EPAC, and should be submitted to the

Office of the Surgeon General soon.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 at 1 p.m. EDT. Contact CDR Martinez for information.

3. Career Development: Ms. Hayes reported the following.

A. Engineer and Architect Leadership Development Seminar

Everything is prepared for the seminar. Participants will receive continuing education units for attending the seminar. Thanks to IHS and Dan Heintzman for helping us with this process. We have over 50 participants pre-registered and are anticipating a great seminar in San Antonio next week. Thanks to all of you who have worked so hard to make the seminar a reality.

B. Engineering Category Day at the 2001 COA Conference

Our agenda is now set for the category day, it promises to be a good program once again this year. Category Day is May 30, 2001 and will include a luncheon and presentation of the Ike Burgess Young Engineer of the Year Award and the Engineering Literary Awards by RADM Williams. In addition, the new Villforth Leadership Award will also be presented. A copy of the agenda for the day will be available in the next Chief Engineer's Newsletter and on the website, or you may contact me and I'll send you a copy.

C. Category Specific Device

As you heard earlier from RADM Williams, this item has been tabled by the CPOs for now. However, the Career Development Subcommittee has put together a position paper on this issue for EPAC consideration. Once it is approved by the EPAC it can be shared with the CPOs and PAC Chairs for their future consideration. CAPT Chadwick will distribute the position paper. Please send me your comments.

The next meeting is Thursday, April 12 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Contact Ms. Hayes for information.

4. Emergency Preparedness: CAPT Rodenbeck reported the following.

The Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee met on February and March 1, 2001.

A. CCRF Training Documents

The subcommittee is close to finalizing the training documents for CCRF engineers. The subcommittee previously determined that PHS Engineers should have a basic understanding of the following areas:

· Water/Waste Water/Solid Waste Management

· Hospital Facilities

· Biomedical Devices

· Communication Equipment

· Hazardous Materials

This material would provide basic ("101" level) information for engineers who are not experts within that area. Note: Basic understanding does not imply that a PHS engineer will or should be able to provide technical support in all of these areas. The subcommittee will submit the training documents to the EPAC for approval.

The Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee will be working with the Information Subcommittee to see if it is possible to have the training material on the PHS Engineer web page.

B. New Member of the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee

LCDR Daniel Beck, Office of Emergency Preparedness (OEP), will be joining the

subcommittee as the CCRF liaison between the EPAC and OEP.

The next meeting of the Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee will be on April 5, 2001, from 3:00-4:30 PM EDT. Anyone that wishes to participate in the conference call should contact CAPT Sven E. Rodenbeck at (404) 639-0648 or Srodenbeck@cdc.gov.

5. Information: CAPT Sullenger reported the following.

A. Commissioned Corps Bulletin

1. Each subcommittee chair will be contacted each Quarter for an article.

2. A possible topic list is being generated.

B. Picture Book

1. Submit all completed work headed to the Historian through LT Tatum.

2. LT Tatum is scanning negatives, pictures and digital images.

3. CDR Trinh understands that the Historian is setting up a library of images.

C. Website

1. LCDR Coene is still doing all of the posting. This policy will be revised.

2 .LCDR Coene reported the following statistics from the website:

Total Hits – 24,000; Users – 987 and 333 repeaters; The most popular page is the vacancy page.

3. E-mail attachments with the OCE Announcements will be linked to the website.

D. Data Base

1. LCDR Coene and CAPT Sullenger will develop a method so that the database will generate current EPAC, alternate, and subcommittee lists.

E. Engineer's Booth

1. Set up date is February 20, 2002.

2. Take down date is February 26, 2002.

3. CDR Trinh will coordinate with Atlanta.

4. The Information Subcommittee will be responsible for this activity henceforth.

The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 17 from 1:00-2:00 p.m. EST. Contact CAPT Sullenger for further information.

6. Mentoring: Mr. Williams reported the following.

A. The PHS Engineer & Architect Mentoring Program continues to grow. We would like to extend our welcome to our newest team from FDA.

B. The subcommittee has decided to adopt a procedural change in that mentoring team advisors will no longer necessarily be EPAC members, but may be willing, unmatched applicants to the Mentoring Program. This change is being implemented to ensure the commitment of all participants, including the team advisors, to the Program.

C. The Mentoring Subcommittee has finalized the session on the subject of mentoring taking place next week at the Engineering Leadership Development Seminar. The subcommittee wants to express its appreciation to the Career Development Subcommittee for being permitted to address this topic at the seminar.

D. The subcommittee is soliciting input for the first revision to the PHS Engineer & Architect Mentoring Program Handbook. Any comments on the content of the Handbook, or other suggestions for inclusion, are welcomed and can be forwarded to Mitch Williams via e-mail at

william7@niehs.nih.gov.

E. As always, the subcommittee would like for all EPAC members to encourage engineers and architects at their agencies to participate in this mentoring program. In an effort to point out some of the possible benefits of participation, research articles recently forwarded by the Chief Engineer showed that compared to those that did not have mentors, those in the business world that were mentored have:

· Higher income levels

· Higher promotion rates

· Greater career success and satisfaction

· Greater career mobility

· More satisfaction with pay and benefits

· Greater organizational policy influence and resource power within the organization

Architects or engineers in your agencies that are interested in any of these outcomes are encouraged to make application to the mentoring program.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 10 commencing at 11:00 a.m. EDT.

7. Recruiting and Retention: LCDR Helgeson, Chairperson of the Recruiting and Retention Subcommittee, reported the following.

Previous meetings were held on February 6 and March 6.

A. R/R Mission Statement

To stabilize the decline, then increase the number and diversity of engineers in the USPHS.

B. Keys to Mission Success

1. Coordinate with and assist DCP to recruit and place engineer officers and COSTEPS.

2. Motivate and assist individual engineers (CO & CS) to recruit.

3. Promote recruitment initiatives that can also act as retention initiatives for Jr. Engineers.

4. Develop or update standard, off-the-shelf recruitment material & promote their availability.

C. R/R 2001 Initiatives

1. Update, print and promote the "Engineers Career Opportunities Booklet".

2. Develop recruitment articles for every OCE Newsletter.

3. Update agency engineering recruitment contacts list. Incorporate the list into the update of "Engineering in the U.S. Public Health Service - An Overview” and Engineer Applicant Contact Sheet (for DCP).

4. Update "U.S. Public Health Service Engineering Programs, Choose a Challenging Career in the U.S. PHS Commissioned Corps specifically with pay information.

5. Review long-term training opportunities for retention and recruitment of engineers. Document the need and submit a proposal to reinvigorate, if appropriate.

6. Incorporate all engineering recruitment materials into a recruitment kit (CD, glossy brochures, recruiter instructions, marketing toys, etc.)

7. Research other marketing, advertisement or media opportunities to recruit individuals and promote our vacancies.

8. Each subcommittee member will do at least one recruitment presentation/visit at the university/job fair of their choice.

The Recruiting PowerPoint presentation is being converted to a “movie” format by LCDR Coene. Background music suggestions are solicited.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 3 from 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. PDT.

8. Rules: LCDR Coene reported the following.

No meetings have occurred in 2001.

Action Items for Next Meeting

1. Finalize recorded By-law changes that have not been acted upon.

2. Change OPDIV to Agency throughout EPAC documents.

3. Review JOAHAG request to have CPO-PAC make final voting member selection.

The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 17 beginning at 12:00 p.m. EDT.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at approximately 3:03 p.m. EST.

EPAC MEETING PARTICIPATION:

Participants: (Members in bold, with alternates attending matched by number to the members absent):

Mr. Michael Adjodha (FDA), LT Sean Boyd (FDA, ex-officio), CAPT Kevin Chadwick (IHS), LCDR Michael Coene (FDA), CAPT Jose Cuzme (IHS), LCDR Patrick Craney (IHS, ex-officio), CDR Marylouise Ganaway (DCP, ex-officio), Ms. Lisa Hayes (ATSDR), LCDR Scott Helgeson (IHS), CAPT Crispin Kinney (IHS, ex-officio), Mr. Brian Kong (NIH), CDR Louis Lightner (HRSA), LT Jennifer Martin (CDC), CDR Kenneth Martinez (CDC), CDR Ronald L. Mickelsen (CDC), LCDR Denman Ondelacy (IHS), CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (ATSDR), LT Hilda Scharen (OEP, ex-officio), CAPT Gene Sullenger (FDA), LT Nathan Tatum (ATSDR, ex-officio), Mr. Matthew Vietmeier (CDC), CDR Maurice West (ATSDR), Mr. F. Mitchell Williams (NIH), RADM Robert Williams (ATSDR, ex-officio).