Minutes of the Meeting of the

Engineer Professional Advisory Committee

Thursday, September 27, 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 1:05 p.m. EDT at the IHS Twinbrook Metro Plaza Executive Conference Room, Rockville, Maryland. The July 26, 2001, meeting minutes were approved. The next meeting will be held Thursday, November 15, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. EST at the FDA Winchester Engineering and Analytical Center (WEAC), 109 Holton St., Winchester, Massachusetts.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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

A. 11 September Response (See Special Presentation at the end of minutes)

The USPHS is and will continue to respond as necessary. The current efforts include an EPAC member, CAPT Kenneth Martinez, NIOSH, performing sampling of the rescue workers. In addition, the HHS, the EPA and the Dep’t. of Labor are involved with the environmental sampling program.

B. OCE Visit to Anchorage Area

1. Field Visits – A tour including the villages of Kotlik, St. Michaels and Unalakleet bore witness to the arctic engineering utilization by the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC).

2. National Park Service – Three (3) commissioned corps engineers are detailed to the NPS and assist in environmental assessment, construction and planning.

3. Alaska Native Medical Center – CAPT Robert L. Wilson demonstrated the state-of-the-art automated facilities management encompassing all building activities.

4. SAME Pacific Regional Meeting – CAPT Tom Coolidge conducted the “Meet the Chief” presentation after RADM Williams returned to Atlanta.

5. A special thanks to all, especially CDR Mark Stafford, who organized the trip.

C. Associate Recruiter Program (ARP) (See Recruiting and Retention report)

1. Engineer Category Leaders – LCDR Scott Helgeson and LCDR Nathan Tatum.

2. DCP will provide the recruiting materials with each category determining how best to utilize them.

3. RADM Williams and RADM Michael Davidson are meeting today to cover a recruiter support database and website. These tools would report and assist field activities.

4. The engineering category is a strong advocate of the ARP. The program has been successful before and the need is evident with 30% of active-duty engineer’s retirement-eligible.

D. EPAC Chair-Elect and 2002 Nominees (See New Business, Rules report)

The Rules Subcommittee will be reaching out soon to possible Chair-Elect nominees.

E. USPHS Song

The lyrics deadline has been extended to October 31. Please submit them to LCDR Tatum. Accompanying music will be added after the lyrics are finalized.

F. NSPE Federal Engineer of the Year (See Awards report)

Secretary Tommy Thompson will submit the PHS nominee to the NSPE this year. The nomination deadline is October 9. The award will be presented in January at the National Press Club. Award of the PHS and Agency Engineer’s of the Year will continue as previously conducted in February (see Awards report).

G. COA Executive Director Departure

A farewell party will be held for Mike Lord on October 10 at 6:00 p.m. The reception is at the Bethesda, MD Marriott and please R.S.V.P. the COA. All commissioned corps are invited with attire being uniform-of-the-day or civilian.

EPAC Chair: CAPT Kevin Chadwick reported the following.

A. October/November EPAC Meeting

This combined meeting has been scheduled for Thursday, November 15 at the FDA WEAC near Boston, MA. The activities planned include a host site tour beginning at 8:00 a.m. and lunch at the center followed by the EPAC meeting from 1:00-3:00 p.m. A local WEAC contact (R.S.V.P.) will be distributed by CAPT Chadwick via e-mail to EPAC members.

Division of Commissioned Personnel (DCP) Liaison: LCDR Ronald Keats reported the following.

A. DCP Liaison Change

LCDR Keats has replaced CDR Marylouise Ganaway, who is transferring to INS.

B. Engineer Category Update

Active Duty Engineers – 412
Applicants – Current listing of 22 with four (4) in September.

LCDR Keats was referenced to the vacancy database (see Job Vacancies) and LCDR Helgeson to identify personnel needs to facilitate a quick match between a new applicant and a possible position.

Commissioned Officers Association (COA) Liaison: CAPT Chadwick reported the following for CDR Kathy Poneleit.

A. COA Executive Director

The COA is actively seeking an Executive Director with Mike Lord’s departure effective October 12, 2001.

Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) Liaison: There was no report.

Junior Engineer Report: There was no report.

Job Vacancies: Known vacancies are now posted or linked on the PHS Engineers website (www.usphsengineers.org). The weekly OCE statements from LCDR Tatum via e-mail are another resource.

A. EPA “E Z Hire”, LCDR Meredith Bond

A new web based job listing is being implemented at the EPA website, www.epa.gov. However, until the listing is fully reliable, please reference the USA JOBS at www.opm.gov to ensure a complete listing.

OLD BUSINESS - A/E Leadership Development Seminar Ad hoc Subcommittee, CAPT Chadwick

A subcommittee has been formed with LT Jennifer Martin as the chair. The committee members are listed on the attachment below.

The first meeting of the Leadership Development Seminar Ad hoc Subcommittee has been scheduled for Thursday, October 4 at 1:00 p.m. EDT. Contact LT Martin or a committee member if you wish to participate.

NEW BUSINESS – Nominations for 2002 Chair-Elect and New Members, CAPT Chadwick

A. EPAC Chair-Elect

There are no nominees for 2002 Chair-Elect at this time. A list of duties from the by-laws, Article II, Section 2, follows:

“The primary duty of the Chairperson-Elect is to acquaint themselves with the ongoing business of the EPAC and the duties of the Chairperson to ensure a smooth transition when the Chairperson-Elect assumes the office of Chairperson. The Chairperson-Elect will assist the Chairperson in the execution of EPAC business as described in Section 1 of this Article. These duties include: representing the Chairperson at the EPAC or EPAC related meetings in their absence; actively participating with the Chairperson in fulfilling the EPAC mission; custody of the EPAC's Charter and Bylaws and all other records and documents of the EPAC; maintaining the EPAC membership list comprised of mailing addresses, telephone numbers, facsimile numbers and E-Mail addresses; maintaining formal copies of the EPAC meeting minutes; and coordinating speakers and agenda for the EPAC meetings. The Chairperson-Elect also serves as the Chairperson of the EPAC Rules Subcommittee and is responsible for amending and updating the EPAC Charter and Bylaws; managing Rules Subcommittee meetings and minutes; and providing monthly subcommittee reports for the EPAC minutes.”

Nominees should contact CDR Michael Coene before the next meeting so an election can be called at that meeting. If no nominees are forthcoming, the Rules Subcommittee will be contacting EPAC members directly.

A. New EPAC Members

The Rules Subcommittee will form the panel of openings by division for 2002 EPAC members and forward that to the EPAC Chairperson. The EPAC Chairperson, working with the Chair of the Rules Subcommittee, will develop a schedule to conclude this process while meeting timeframes for forwarding nominees to the Surgeon General. EPAC members will be contacted via e-mail with the openings, a schedule and subsequent actions necessary for this process. LCDR Tatum, on behalf of the OCE, will handle notices of nonselection for new member nominees.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

1. Awards: CDR Maurice West reported the following.

A. Handbooks and Awards Calendar

Handbook revisions are still ongoing.
The awards calendar will be up on the website in a few weeks. The yearly award’s schedule will be a part of LCDR Tatum’s weekly OCE e-mail.

B. PHS & Agency Engineer of the Year

The awards will continue to be presented during the E-Week engineer’s luncheon. The nomination deadline is October 31. Nominations should be submitted to CAPT Sven Rodenbeck, Ms. Lisa Hayes or LCDR Tatum. The nominees are not limited to those nominated for the NSPE award.

C. EPAC Recognitions

1. A formal EPAC proposal is anticipated for the November meeting. Ideas and suggestions are welcomed on any of the following proposals or additional ones:

a. Draft Letters and Certificate of Appreciation for EPAC duties.

b. A procedural guideline for a commissioned corps award nomination owing to meritorious EPAC duties.

c. Certificates of Recognition for obtaining professional licensure.

2. Building Design & Construction: There was no report.

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

A. Engineer’s Handbook

The subcommittee expects to have a draft for most of the revisions by our next conference call. Ms. Hayes sent an e-mail to the subcommittee chairs asking for suggestions on possible new sections without any feedback to date. CAPT Chadwick volunteered to send a similar e-mail to the full EPAC.

B. COA Meeting – Category Day

The planning has begun for the Category Day agenda for the next COA Conference, April 21-25, 2002, Atlanta, GA. The overall conference theme has not yet been set, so the subcommittee has not decided on a theme for Category Day either. We did decide that as a subcommittee and PAC that we want to recruit papers from as many PHS agencies as possible. The OCE is investigating an afternoon tour during category day. If anyone has any ideas, please contact Ms. Hayes. Also, if you or a colleague is interested in presenting a paper, please contact Ms. Hayes.

The next career development subcommittee call will be Thursday, October 11 at 3:00 p.m. EDT. Contact Ms. Hayes for call information.

4. Emergency Preparedness: CAPT Rodenbeck reported the following.

The Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee met on September 6, 2001. The items discussed include the following highlights:

CCRF training/informational handouts for participating engineers.

Submission for EPAC review of the Medical Devices and Health Care Facilities Training Material.
Wallet Contact Card - A card with key telephone numbers for technical experts concerning environmental health issues.

The next Emergency Preparedness Subcommittee conference call will be October 4, 3:00-4:30 p.m. EDT. Please contact CAPT Rodenbeck to obtain the conference call bridge and code numbers.

5. Information: CDR Coene for CAPT Gene Sullenger reported the following.

A. USPHS Engineer’s Website (www.usphsengineers.org)

1. Recent updates include recruiting information and additional links.

2. The platform was changed to Windows 2000 from NT.

3. Submit items for posting to CAPT Sullenger or CDR Coene.

6. Mentoring: Mr. Mitch Williams reported the following.

A. Mentoring Team Advisors

Most of the numerous team applications resulting from the leadership seminar have been completed, but some have not due to a lack of advisors. The request for mentoring team advisors is repeated. Please contact Mr. Williams at william7@niehs.nih.gov or Mr. Blair at wb97c@nih.gov if you are interested.

B. Mentoring Handbook

The revised version should be submitted in the next few weeks.

The next meeting of the Mentoring Subcommittee is scheduled for Tuesday, October 9, at 11:00 am EDT.

7. Recruiting and Retention: LCDR Helgeson reported the following.

A. R/R Meeting Notes, August 7

New member: LCDR Meredith Bond, EPA.
The Career Opportunities Booklet will be transferred to the OCE through Ms. Hayes. The submittal includes a hardcopy and CD file in MS Publisher format.
A Long-Term Training Ad hoc Subcommittee has been formed with the Career Development Subcommittee. LCDR Denman Ondelacy, IHS will serve as chair. The chair is soliciting volunteers to join LT Mat Martinson and LT Steve Martin.
A recruitment area to the www.usphsengineers.org website has been added. An updated "Inventory of Recruitment Materials" and a "Calendar of Recruitment Events" has been posted. LCDR Chucri Kardous is working with CDR Coene to improve the content. Anyone planning any recruitment events is encouraged to contact LCDR Helgeson so the trip can be posted.
The next R/R meeting will be Tuesday, October 2, from 12:00-1:00 p.m. PDT.

B. DCP Recruitment Conference, July 16-17.

Engineer attendance: RADM Williams, LCDR Helgeson and LCDR Carol Rogers, IHS. The total attendance was approximately 60.
Meeting Objectives:

a. Discuss recruitment and retention issues facing the Commissioned Corps.

b. Coordinate segmented Commissioned Corps recruitment efforts within various programs to achieve a similar goal.

c. Develop methods to resolve Commissioned Corps recruitment and retention issues.

Deputy Surgeon General, RADM Kenneth Moritsugu message from Secretary Thompson -- "We need to be one department".
Recruitment Goal: 7000 officers by 2005.
Very interactive and lively “marketing to agency” presentation by LCDR Keats, “The Commissioned Corps Officer - What’s in it for You?” LCDR Keats can present to your agency and it will be available on the website in the future.
Applicant processing time is being reduced to 30-45 days. A Fast Track is available at 15 days.
The Associate Recruiter Program (ARP) is back (see below). LCDR Tatum and LCDR Helgeson have been designated as the engineer category reps to DCP to help formulate, coordinate and implement the program for the category.

C. ARP Specific Information

The first conference call for ARP reps was held on September 17.
Associate Recruiters will be awarded the Associate Recruiter Badge, suitable for daily wear on the uniform.
Additional unit and honor awards will be available. Specific criteria have been developed.
The application process will be implemented with annual certification required to remain in good standing.
LCDR Helgeson will be the primary Point of Contact (POC) for all IHS Engineers who volunteer for the program. LCDR Tatum will be the POC for all other engineers.
The ARP Material is still in draft form at this time. We expect full program implementation by year’s end.
The next ARP Representative Conference Call is Wednesday, October 10.

8. Rules: CDR Coene reported the following.

A. EPAC Nominations - 2002 Chair-Elect and New Members (See New Business)

Nominations for the 2002 Chair-Elect are ongoing. Nominations should be forwarded to CDR Coene at msc@cdrh.fda.gov or CAPT Chadwick.

SPECIAL PRESENTATION – LCDR Daniel Beck, OEP

The following summarizes the efforts made by the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

CCRF has deployed roughly 150 officers with ten (10) of those being engineers. The engineers involvement have centered on three activities: EOC or LNO, accompanying D-Mat or Medical Teams as a preventive officer, and involvement with post-mortem identification.

Approximately 750 HHS assets are supporting the disasters including CCRF, National Disaster Medical System, CDC and NIOSH.

Support activities should continue into the future and you are encouraged to check the website, oep.osophs.dhhs.gov/ccrf/. Moreover, CCRF members should be prepared to depart at any time and possibly with little advance notice.

OEP can be reached at the emergency operations center, 1-800-872-6367 ext. 2. The most effective way to contact CCRF is e-mail, ccrf@osophs.dhhs.gov.

ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 2:19 p.m. EDT.

EPAC MEETING PARTICIPATION:

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

Mr. Michael Adjodha (FDA), LCDR Meredith Bond (EPA), CAPT Kevin Chadwick (IHS), CDR Michael Coene (FDA), LCDR Patrick Craney (IHS, ex-officio), Ms. Lisa Hayes (ATSDR), LCDR Scott Helgeson (IHS), LCDR Ronald Keats (DCP, ex-officio), CAPT Crispin Kinney (IHS, ex-officio), Mr. Brian Kong (NIH), CDR Louis Lightner (HRSA), LT Jennifer Martin (CDC), CAPT Sven Rodenbeck (ATSDR), LCDR Nathan Tatum (ATSDR, ex-officio), CDR Maurice West (ATSDR), Mr. F. Mitchell Williams (NIH), RADM Robert Williams (ATSDR, ex-officio).

Members Absent:

LT Sean Boyd (FDA, ex-officio), CAPT Jose Cuzme (IHS), CDR Jo Ann Griffith (EPA, ex-officio), Mr. Kyung Kim (NIH), CAPT Kenneth Martinez (CDC), CAPT Ronald L. Mickelsen (CDC), LCDR Denman Ondelacy (IHS), CDR Kathy Poneleit (FDA), LCDR Hilda Scharen (OEP, ex-officio), CAPT Gene Sullenger (FDA), Mr. Matthew Vietmeier (CDC).

GUESTS:

CDR Marylouise Ganaway, DCP

LCDR Daniel Beck, OEP

LT Mathew Martinson, IHS