LOS ANGELES, Jan. 27, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- E Team, Inc., the proven, market-leading provider of collaborative software for crisis management, announced that five separate E Team crisis management systems interoperated to help manage law enforcement activities, provide real-time communications, and serve as a platform to collaborate and coordinate public health activities and information sharing between local, regional, and national agencies at George W. Bush's second presidential inauguration on January 20, 2005.
In this model deployment that supported both law enforcement and public health efforts, E Team solutions were activated in Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) at the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), The George Washington University Medical Center, the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to share information and coordinate multi-agency law enforcement and public health response during the four-day period surrounding the event.
"To manage the personnel on the ground, on rooftops and in the air, MPD's E Team-enabled Joint Operations Command Center was connected to 15 E Team-based command centers deployed throughout the National Capital Region (NCR). Using E Team, real-time information was pushed to Joint Regional Information Exchange System (JRIES) and Law Enforcement Online (LEO) users, providing a critical link to organizations that used those systems," said Lt. Erich Miller, Metropolitan Police Department. "As the main source for the gathering and disbursement of security information to more than 6,000 state, federal, and local officers, E Team enabled MPD to deliver a collaborative, effective response to maximize security for the presidential inauguration."
This E Team deployment was significant on two fronts. Firstly, the highly versatile E Team software supported five different organizations with multiple methodologies and requirements -- one in law enforcement incident management and the others in health incident management -- in both the U.S. federal government and private sector. The second point of significance is that each of the five emergency operations centers (law enforcement and public health) was connected to allow the individual EOCs to share information in real time. E Team's data sharing capabilities enable users to securely and selectively share information with other systems and provide document and access control options. Shared documents are automatically updated across all participating systems so all users continue to receive the most updated information.
Due to the event's scope and size, the inauguration was designated as a National Special Security Event (NSSE) by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the designation was extended to the swearing-in ceremony, the inaugural parade, the official reviewing stand on Pennsylvania Avenue, and the inaugural balls. E Team, which has been deployed and activated for five NSSEs in the last eight months, ensured the robust security and collaborative capabilities required by such events.
Critical Functionality for Law Enforcement
E Team supports the specific incident management needs of law enforcement agencies at all levels, enabling user control, security, reliability of all information, internal preparedness, situational awareness, and effective response capabilities. Functions of particular value in law enforcement include incident tracking, intelligence reporting and investigations, force protection capabilities, infrastructure monitoring (including hospitals, shelters, road closures, and transit systems), resource and asset management capabilities for human and capital assets, and situation reporting for agencies and jurisdictions.
"Since all activities during the activation were recorded in E Team, the solution provided us with a quick and effective way to submit information for reimbursement immediately after the event according to NIMS guidelines," continued Miller. "Using E Team, MPD was able to immediately report the incidents, planning, and action associated with the activation." MPD has used the E Team solution in their EOC since 2002.
Interoperability, Real-Time Communication Provide Efficiencies for Public Health
E Team also meets the incident management needs of public health agencies and hospitals on a local, regional, and national level. Providing support for both the National Incident Management System (NIMS) and Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS), E Team maximizes public health emergency preparedness and response by offering highly efficient information sharing and communication capabilities, action planning, organizational charts and staffing tools, interactive Job Action Sheets, medical incident and emergency room event tracking, critical asset and inventory tracking, infrastructure and hospital reporting (allowing users to record, track, and coordinate the use and assignment of beds, hospital staff, and other critical components of the hospital and emergency room), and notification and alerting about threats, emergencies, required response, or new information in the system. E Team also serves as an easily accessible central repository for hospital and agency response plans, procedures, documents, and directories.
"This interoperability demonstration has huge implications for hospital emergency preparedness and response," said Dr. Christina Catlett, medical director of the Center for Emergency Preparedness at The George Washington University Medical Center. "Actions that were previously done inefficiently by telephone or fax, such as surveillance reporting to the Department of Health, situational updates from police/fire/EMS, communication with other hospital command centers, and resource requesting from assets such as the Strategic National Stockpile, can now be done electronically in real time."
The Center for Emergency Preparedness leads the emergency preparedness and response efforts of The George Washington University Medical Center, drawing on the combined assets and expertise of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, the School of Public Health and Health Services, George Washington University Hospital, and George Washington University.
"As the first presidential inauguration to be held since 9/11, the 2005 Bush inauguration has had the heaviest security ever, and required the highest level of readiness by law enforcement and public health personnel to monitor, analyze, and respond to incidents in real time," said Matt Walton, vice chairman and founder of E Team. "Under these circumstances, sharing information between agencies is critical, and by using E Team, law enforcement and public health personnel gain two important advantages that allow them to have an edge in emergency response -- the ability to view a common operational picture and to share information quickly and effectively among all organizations."
About E Team
Founded in 1998, E Team is a leading provider of crisis management software, serving public agencies of all levels and sizes, private entities, and non-profit organizations. E Team's collaborative software offers comprehensive functionality for the critical tasks of crisis management, enabling users to better prepare for, respond to, and recover from large-scale emergencies and everyday incidents. It is used in a wide variety of applications, including emergency management, homeland security, public health, business continuity, disaster preparedness and recovery, event management, and training and exercises. Proven time and again in real-world situations including Hurricanes Charley, Frances, and Ivan; the 2004 G8 Summit; Republican and Democratic National Conventions; and New York City's response to 9/11, E Team's browser-based software links the key players in a response, allowing effective multi-agency, multi-group collaboration. E Team maintains strategic relationships with leading technology and service providers, including IBM, CACI International, ESRI, Microsoft, Oracle, Unisys, Boeing, and TELUS Geomatics, and has worked with SAIC on a variety of projects. For more information visit www.eteam.com.