I’m preparing CDC for public health emergencies
Renee Brown-Bryant, CDC Health Communications Specialist Former CDC Foundation Program Officer
CDC’s Marcus Emergency Operations Center
The state-of-the-art CDC Marcus Emergency Operations Center became fully operational in March 2003 and has been in continuous use since then. The process of getting the Center equipped was accelerated by a $3.9 million commitment from The Home Depot Co-Founder and Chair Emeritus Bernard Marcus and the 15 companies that responded to his appeal to donate or provide discounted equipment. The 7,000-square-foot windowless bunker is prepared for any emergency, from a disease outbreak to a bioterrorism attack.
Spending a day on the CDC rooftop isn’t exactly Renee Brown-Bryant’s idea of fun, given her fear of heights. But that’s where she found herself one day last spring, when she was escorting a vendor who was installing antennas for CDC’s Marcus Emergency Operations Center (EOC).
“I was working with Dave Clark of CDC, who was tasked with coordinating communications equipment and antennas,” recalls Brown-Bryant, who was “on loan” to the CDC Foundation during the EOC start-up. “Dave was in a meeting, so he asked me if I could accompany the vendor. When he saw me on the roof later that day, he remembered that I’m afraid of heights. I laughed about it and said, ‘Our plan is coming together - who cares about heights!’”
Indeed, for months, Brown-Bryant - and many CDC Foundation employees - lived and breathed every detail associated with equipping the EOC. She helped determine equipment priorities, negotiated pricing with vendors, purchased equipment, coordinated deals with corporate donors and accompanied vendors on site. Collectively, CDC Foundation staff spent over 800 hours working behind the scenes to help get the center up and running.
“It took incredible teamwork,” says Brown-Bryant. “I took over for Barbara Meeks, who was working as a contractor for the Foundation. She got the ball rolling and dealt with many of the up-front issues. Others like the finance group at the Foundation were also fabulous. Every vendor and payment entailed something different, and they worked with us every minute.”
Jeff Cook, EOC operations officer at CDC, views the CDC Foundation as an essential partner. “We could never have built the EOC so quickly,” he says. “The equipment that we were able to purchase and install in six months probably would have taken up to two years just to select, order and receive had we gone through standard government procurement procedures.”
Reflecting on the CDC Foundation’s role in creating the world-class operations center, Brown-Bryant says, “We wanted CDC folks to do what they do best, and let us worry about stretching the money. We tried to take care of the details, be mindful of our donors and also be mindful of the important work CDC does every day.”