Excellence in Environmental Health Super Bowl 50

Transcription

1 Excellence in Environmental Health Super Bowl 50 County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health Jim Blamey, Director Environmental Health Department Michael Balliet, Director Consumer Protection Division Page 1 of 15

2 INTRODUCTION On February 7, 2016 Super Bowl 50 took place in Santa Clara, California. The event was deemed the largest Super Bowl in the fifty year history of the internationally known event. Attendees of the Super Bowl and the events surrounding the game were estimated at over 1 million people. Any event of this magnitude draws concerns for the health and safety of the general public from both foodborne illnesses and site safety and security. The County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health (DEH) goal was to minimize the chance of a foodborne related outbreak. Additionally, DEH played a critical role in the emergency and disaster preparedness planning for the event. DEH performed outreach to food facilities and potential vendors through mail, social media, handouts and site visits. OVERVIEW County of Santa Clara Department of Environmental Health The County of Santa Clara is the 14 th largest county, by population, in the United States. It covers 1,304 square miles and its population is currently 1.9 million people. The Department has a total staff of approximately 180 people, of which approximately 100 are Environmental Health Specialists. A total of 30 staff from the Consumer Protection Division (Management, Program Seniors and District Specialists) provided assistance during Super Bowl weekend. The entire Department provided the necessary support in preparation for Super Bowl 50 it was truly a team effort! In addition, DEH reached out to other Bay Area counties to coordinate communications, activities, permitting; and establish resource reserves in the event a critical need arose. Super Bowl 50 took place on Sunday, February 7, 2016 at the Levi s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, Santa Clara County. The Department permitted 35 separate events that weekend and performed 191 inspections on Super Bowl Sunday (permanent food facilities, mobile food facilities, and temporary events). The Department received no environmental foodborne illness reports related to SB50 events. Levi s Stadium The Levi s Stadium is one of the newest football stadiums in the country, opening in 2014, and home to the San Francisco 49ers. The stadium seats approximately 70,000 people and has over 150 permitted food facilities that serve everything from hamburgers to gourmet meals. The stadium prides itself on local sustainability for their food and beverage program. Approximately 78% of the suppliers are within 150 miles of the stadium and 85% of the suppliers are located within California. The stadium has numerous public and private events throughout the year with SB50 being the largest event hosted. DEH was present during SB50 and performed inspections of fixed facilities and temporary events. These included mostly critical hazard inspections of 120 fixed facilities/mobiles and 71 temporary events all in one day with an inspection team of 21 Registered Environmental Health Specialists. Education and Outreach Page 2 of 15

3 The Department began working on SB50 programs in May It included developing a coordination team and creating the outreach materials for the public and permitted facilities. The following methods were utilized by the team: a. Created a Survey to Provide Feedback (SurveyMonkey) i. ed approximately 1,800 fixed food facilities and other stakeholders who are current newsletter subscribers in order to better assess the needs of the operators AND posted the survey on our website and signatures for most department staff. b. Created a Super Bowl 50 Webpage complete with a Food Safety Playbook i. Advertised on Department (DEH), Agency (CEPA) and County websites ii. SB50 website included Food Safety Playbook, FAQ s, Illness Reporting Requirements, Permit requirements, Community Outreach flyer, Food Safety handouts, survey and several other resources. c. Created a Postcard i. Mailed over 8,000 post cards to food facilities in Santa Clara County four months prior to game day; and again to local businesses 1 month before game day ii. Specialists hand delivered the postcard one month prior to Super Bowl during routine inspections iii. Distributed to all local City Planning Departments within Santa Clara County d. Utilized Social Media i. Posted several announcements and links on our Facebook page for the County of Santa Clara Consumer and Environmental Protection Agency; Public Health and County social media sites ii. Twitter feed through County of Santa Clara Department of Public Health e. Utilized Media i. Press releases (the week before and week of Super Bowl 50) 1. Worked in coordination with the countywide Public Information Officer and Public Health Department ii. ABC News interview on prior violations at Levi s Stadium f. Internal Procedures i. signature (included survey link, website) for most department staff ii. Posted announcements on the Department s lobby television monitor and handouts at the front desk. g. Conducted onsite visits to establishments that would likely be impacted by Super Bowl events such as private universities, junior colleges, large event venues, convention centers, fairgrounds, hotels and amusement parks. This included locations where events were already planned. Creation of Department of Environmental Health Super Bowl Planning Committee The Department utilized a tiger team approach consisting of six members from all levels of staff and management to drive the decision making and planning efforts. The team had a significant amount of diversity that provided perspective from all levels of the organization. In addition, the small size expedited the decision making process by discussing issues and making recommendations to management. The team worked in coordination with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to assist field specialist in identifying suitable alternatives that focused on risk based assessments to ensure safe food handling practices during the big game. The team was critical in disseminating information to Department staff and creating the inspection policies and procedures for game day. Page 3 of 15

4 Collaboration with County of Santa Clara Public Health Department DEH collaborated closely with our Public Health Department (PHD) to set up an emergency preparedness plan and operation. PHD took the lead role in the coordination of numerous County Departments and stakeholders from Healthcare, Mental Health, Risk Communications, Medical Countermeasures, and Surveillance & Outbreak Response. PHD participated in official SB50 meetings and reported back to the County committee. The committee hosted routine tabletop exercises to facilitate group discussions and acted as the central communication point for the Departmental Operations Center communication. DEH also worked with Mental Health Services to provide Stress Management Training to all affected staff prior to SB50 and to identify techniques to manage the workload increase. Collaboration with the City of Santa Clara DEH also collaborated with the City of Santa Clara which included the Building and Planning Departments; Fire Department; City Manager s Office, and the private caterer for the NFL Tailgate party. The collaboration involved several meetings to open communication amongst all entities, ensure all entities understand the Department s role in permitting the various events, and our goal to ensure food safety as the top priority. The meetings included presentations to several City staff on permit requirements for temporary events and general food safety information. Collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) DEH worked with the USDA to establish a joint effort to ensure compliance of USDA inspected/deh permitted facilities that supply Levi s Stadium. The goal was to ensure all suppliers were in compliance with appropriate food safety laws and regulations. It ultimately resulted in a recall of a supplier and effectively removed non compliant food from service prior to game day. Collaboration with United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) DEH partnered with the FDA to design, implement, and teach multiple training events: a. FDA Mass Mayhem Tabletop Exercise i. Case scenarios focusing on multi jurisdiction collaboration in the event of a widespread foodborne emergency/disaster involving contaminated foods ii. Agencies involved: DEH, PHD, FDA, USDA, CDPH, Department of Health and Human Services; b. FDA Risk Based Inspections at Temporary Events i. Detailed case scenarios focusing on major violations and possible suitable alternatives at temporary events with a focus on food safety; ii. All DEH staff were trained on these scenarios and apply these criteria today. The collaboration was extremely beneficial as it established open communication and interaction between multiple jurisdictions. In addition the FDA training was incorporated into DEH policies and Page 4 of 15

5 procedures as an ongoing effective tool for inspection of food facilities. The FDA s experience, input, and assistance was critical to a successful event. Collaboration with California Department of Public Health (CDPH) DEH also partnered with CDPH to provide information on wholesale facilities supplying DEH permitted facilities at Levi s Stadium. DEH worked with CDPH to ensure food safety compliance at local suppliers. CPDH also participated in the Mass Mayhem exercise and provided valuable input on the State processes for responding to a large foodborne illness outbreak. Collaboration with Levi s Stadium DEH worked continuously with staff from the Levi s Stadium to establish open communication and expectations for game day events leading up to SB50, including various permitting requirements. A central point of contact assisted with: 1. Secured perimeter access 2. Pre game and game day credentials 3. Stadium parking and transportation 4. Staff security during inspections 5. Evacuation routes and emergency procedures on game day Formation of DEH Department Operations Center (DOC) DEH established its DOC and communications center to link staff in the field to all resources at DEH and the Countywide Emergency Operations Center (EOC). The central location, which was activated for two weeks (one week before and one week after game day), was used to: a. Facilitate daily briefings b. Map and plan inspection strategies c. Report/communicate field activities, issues, and updates to DOC support d. Monitor food borne illness trends throughout the County and direct targeted inspections to any potential hot spots e. Monitor areas via websites (CalCop, WebEOC, 511 traffic) with the most updated information near and around Levi s stadium f. Monitored the live traffic cams set up by the City of Santa Clara g. Established critical emergency evacuation strategy and travel routes h. House equipment and supplies needed for game day (thermometers, clipboards, inspection forms, etc.) The DOC was an important link to all of the operations involving DEH and provided a mechanism for proper communications among the teams. Utilized Intervention Strategies DEH utilized several intervention strategies which included a continual presence of outreach and educational activities; increased presence at Levi s Stadium throughout the year; and constant Page 5 of 15

6 coordination with numerous stakeholders. DEH continued monitoring for events advertising food service and would respond to those events to determine if permits were required. DEH performed risk factor inspections of the temporary foodservice compound at Levi s Stadium. Specialists operated in pre established teams in order to maximize efficiency, streamline communication and maximize safety. The teams were each assigned various zones and performed inspections in each of their assigned zones. CONCLUSION The Super Bowl 50 event was extremely successful and DEH Environmental Health Specialists were present to monitor food safety for an event that impacted thousands of people, that had historical significance to all, and that was a media sensation dubbed the largest Super Bowl ever! Environmental Health Programs are very typically the unsung heroes because our offensive actions result in reduced outbreaks and events that essentially the public never sees. In many instances the old adage no news is good news is many times the reality for Environmental Health successes. During SB50 several DEH staff reportedly received positive feedback from football fans who thanked them for helping to keep the food safe. DEH had a goal to receive zero foodborne illness related reports linked to Super Bowl festivities. DEH monitored all foodborne illness reports for up to two weeks following the event and we are proud to report that we received zero foodborne illness reports related to SB50 events. The planning efforts that led to our successful effort were also critical in training specialists to perform risk based inspections. This effort continues as the work that was done during SB50 is still used by specialists to this day. It created a more consistent and effective approach to ensuring food safety during large events. Lastly, the effort was truly a collaboration of numerous local, state and federal agencies and departments, all of whom had a role to play in ensuring the SB50 event was a success. The relationships, training, and collaboration had lasting impacts for all parties and highlighted the continued need to work together in the environmental health field. Had a major foodborne illness event taken place, the entire environmental health profession would have been front and center on national news but we were prepared. Super Bowl 50 was the most watched program in television history (per Nielsen s Fast Total Audience Estimates) as an estimated 167 million people watched Super Bowl 50! Any failure in the food supply system would have had disastrous consequences for the approximately 1 million people engaging in SB50 festivities. Page 6 of 15

7 Super Bowl 50 DEH Website Page 7 of 15

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12 Super Bowl 50 Postcard Mailer Page 12 of 15

13 Super Bowl 50 DEH Inspection Team Page 13 of 15

14 Department of Environmental Health Operations Center (DOC) Page 14 of 15

15 Outside Levi s Stadium Page 15 of 15