Pandemic Awareness and Preparedness

Pandemic awareness and preparedness was the focus of the first joint meeting of the Business Recovery Managers Association (BRMA) and the Bay Area Response Coalition (BARC FIRST) on July 27, 2006 at Visa in San Mateo County, California.  The speakers and topics included local and international experts in medical, risk and business continuity planning. 

At the morning session, Dr. Scott Morrow, health officer and medical director, San Mateo County Health Services Agency, outlined principles for community and business planning during a pandemic influenza outbreak, and Karen Dye, business continuity program manager, Sun Microsystems, described a corporate approach to multi-national pandemic planning. At the afternoon session, Fiona Raymond-Cox, a business continuity practitioner in Hong Kong during the SARS outbreak in 2003, discussed pandemics from a SARS perspective.   

The hosting organization for this members-only event, Visa International, explained its corporate pandemic planning in a joint presentation by Liz Granger and Regina Phelps.  Liz Granger is Visa International's enterprise resiliency director and Regina Phelps is an internationally recognized expert in the field of emergency management and contingency planning.  

A panel discussion and question and answer session with the speakers followed the presentations.

Attendance was limited to BARC and BRMA members and pre-registration was required due to security protocols.  Information regarding BARC and BRMA membership is below. 

BRMA is Northern California's largest business recovery association, whose members are recovery professionals in the private and public sectors. Membership information is available at www.BRMA.com and interested parties are invited to join BRMA prior to or during this event. 

BARC FIRST focuses on disaster preparedness and response for the financial infrastructure in the San Francisco Bay Area. Members are representatives from the financial sector, non-financial infrastructure and support institutions within the private sector, and agencies within the public sector. Those wishing to join can contact either Steven.Johnson@UBOC.com or Barry.Cardoza@UBOC.com.