Communicable Disease Preparedness and Business Response

TRACK: Management and Administration in OEM

Stephanie Estala, DNP, RN, FNP-BC, Chevron Corporation, Houston, TX
Olubukunola Fagade, MBBS, Chevron Nigeria Limited, San Ramon, CA
Stephen A. Frangos, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Chevron Services Company, Houston, TX
Scott C. Levy, MD, MPH, FACOEM, Chevron Corporation, Singapore
Femi Pitan, MD, MPH, MBA, FRCPCH, FRSPH, Chervron Nigeria Limited, Lagos, Nigeria

The 2014 Ebola outbreak presented significant business continuity risks for a global oil and gas company with operations in Nigeria. The onshore and offshore operations in Nigeria were presented with several challenges. To support operations, there was a need to maintain the mobility of international business travelers in and out of Nigeria. There was also the potential for symptomatic employees to present to a worksite clinic within or outside of the affected countries. The risks were managed through the implementation of a comprehensive response in Nigeria and in the United States. Business interruption was avoided and measures were put in place to protect the workforce. The presentation will discuss how the response was developed and implemented. The core elements of the response included risk evaluation, scenario planning, screening at onshore and offshore locations, medical evacuation, establishing clinical protocols, and clinical setting processes for pre and post- travel education and screening. This was further supported by travel advisories and restrictions, staff training, and workforce Ebola awareness efforts. Ebola awareness efforts were extended to families, communities and business stakeholders. Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) is a viral respiratory disease caused by a coronavirus (MERS‐CoV); it was first identified in Saudi Arabia in 2012. MERS is communicable via close contact with infected patients. The first imported case of MERS to South Korea was confirmed in May 2015. Weeks after the MERS outbreak started, the Korean authority began to disclose the relevant information to the public. Although the outbreak was isolated to a defined geographic location, the anxiety experienced by a global workforce was compounded by the incomplete public record, similarity of the MERS virus to Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the potential to result in the morbidity and mortality of our employees as well as major disruption in the global community and business sectors as a whole. Our company developed a multipronged approach to protect the workforce and inform the business. Through our efforts we were able to maintain situational awareness of the evolving event and ensured that safe business operations were maintained. This presentation provides relevant industry-specific data that supports the business value of health and medical programs.