Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the leading American public health institute and is at the forefront of preparing for disease outbreaks or health-related disasters. Part of the Department of Health and Human Services, it coordinates with other health organizations, public and private. Its reputation makes it a world leader during health crises.
The CDC focuses on chronic and emerging diseases, disabilities, birth defects, workplace hazards, environmental health threats, and terrorism/contingency preparedness. It supports local and state health and law enforcement organizations to save lives and control emergencies. The CDC excels at providing scientific, medical and logistic expertise.
BUDGET: Approximately $7 billion in 2015.
The CDC Operative at a Glance
POWERS OF ARREST? No, but can quarantine suspected health risks.
EXPECTED TO CARRY A WEAPON? No
ACCESS TO FUNDS? Limited (no more than Incidental Expenses in most cases).
OPERATIONAL BUDGET/RESTRICTED ITEMS? Using the Bureaucracy skill, the Agent can access specialized or rare technical and scientific and detection equipment, as well as high-grade chemical/biological protective suits. This is equivalent to a Standard expense.
The Organization
The CDC is headquartered outside Atlanta, Georgia. CDC offices and affiliated institutes specialize in different aspects of public health. One of the most high-profile is the Office of Infections Disease, which houses the National Center for Emerging Zoonotic Infectious Diseases.
Key CDC Offices
»» Infectious Diseases
National Center of Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases
»» Public Health Preparedness and Response
Emergency Operations Center
»» Public Health Scientific Services
Center for Surveillance, Epidemiology and Laboratory Services
Operatives
The CDC employs about 15,000 people: scientists, medical engineers, entomologists, epidemiologists, biologists, physicians, veterinarians, behavioral scientists, nurses, toxicologists, chemists, computer scientists, and statisticians. CDC employees analyze and contain infectious diseases, food-borne pathogens, chemical contaminations, and other wide scale health risks.
Authority and Mandate
The CDC’s authority extends to nearly all health and safety issues within the United States. It leads the development of disease control standards for the United States (and the world) in regards to health, safety, and disease management. The CDC combats emerging diseases and other health risks and plans and reacts to bioterrorism. From toxic spills to Ebola outbreaks, CDC personnel take the lead.
The CDC may detain and medically examine anyone suspected of having certain contagious diseases. This authority applies to individuals arriving from foreign countries. It also applies to individuals traveling from one state to another or in the event of “inadequate local control.”
If a situation is dangerous enough, senior CDC employees work with local authorities to quarantine an area. This is rare and incurs considerable high-level scrutiny. Most quarantine measures are imposed on a small scale, typically involving small numbers of airline or cruise ship passengers who have infectious diseases such as tuberculosis or cholera.
The Select Agents and Toxins Program (within the Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response) gives the CDC the mandate to travel across the United States and abroad to investigate, evaluate, and report on the storage of rare or dangerous viruses, bacteria, and chemicals. CDC personnel from this program have the ability to suspend certain funding streams if necessary to secure cooperation. Most foreign health organizations value their association with the CDC and are eager to comply with the Select Program.
Field Operations
CDC personnel are expected to be flexible and creative. In the case of a dangerous event like a chemical spill or virulent outbreak, CDC personnel travel with personal protection equipment. Portable laboratories and specialized research gear are also common in field deployments.
Equipment and support staff are mostly located in Atlanta and Washington, D.C., so wait times for equipment can be days. It is common for CDC personnel sent into the field to work with a local health agency or hospital while waiting for more specialized equipment.
CDC personnel are rarely first responders. Local health officials usually make first contact with a threat and report it to the feds. Even if the CDC learns of a potential threat, its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) must typically wait for a request by a local organization or another federal agency before deploying personnel.
Deployments may be on an individual basis when a specific skill set is needed, or as part of a large team for a large-scale response.
Areas of Friction
CDC personnel are hired because of their technical expertise or specialized skills. The CDC has a reputation as a repository for technically brilliant but socially difficult personnel. Additionally, the CDC’s cooperation with other agencies and organizations is usually on a case-by-case basis, so other federal agencies do not develop a significant history of working with CDC personnel. Many joint deployments require a time-consuming period of familiarization and confidence-building. This is especially acute with state and local organizations who may have never encountered the CDC. Local police are the least likely to easily accept the CDC’s authority if the threat is less than a full-blown catastrophe.
Playing the CDC
You are a researcher at heart, even if you come from a medical background. You are curious and enjoy the practical side of science. You joined the CDC because it gives you the opportunity to be on the cutting edge of research. The CDC budget for research equipment and tech is substantial. Because of the CDC’s national security role, you can get approval for just about anything that pertains to your field. If you work in the pathogens, you have the opportunity to handle the rare and dangerous stuff. You know that anthrax outbreaks are a lot more common than most people think; you have been on site and seen the effects. You travel all over the world, tracking and combating outbreaks.
In an emergency you take a go-bag and board a flight to the center of the trouble. Your job is to get into the thick of the emergency and help authorities make the right decisions. On all things science-related, you are the authority. Even when you have no technical background, people still will look to you for what to do next. You need to be resourceful and commanding when issues come your way.
DG Note
USEFUL. Good at saving lives. And if a CDC doc says the vic has chikungunya, who's going to argue? Great for getting locals to help while keeping their distance. Just don't let the story become a headline.
Suggested Professions
Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response
The CDC’s lead office in disaster preparedness. It provides funding and technical assistance to states and local governments to build and strengthen public health capabilities.
PROFESSION: Physician, Program Manager, or Scientist.
SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Accounting, Bureaucracy, Persuasion, Science (Biology, Microbiology, Environmental, or another suitable specialization).
EQUIPMENT: Control of a programming budget (see PROGRAM MANAGERS on page 90).
Emergency Operations Center
The crisis-response section of the Office of Public Health Preparedess and Response. Its experts can respond to an emergency in hours while formulating a broad strategy.
PROFESSION: Physician, Program Manager, or Scientist.
SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Accounting, Bureaucracy, Persuasion, Science (Biology, Microbiology, Environmental, or another suitable specialization).
EQUIPMENT: An extensive professional library;diagnostic laboratory equipment; medical and/or health equipment (much of it portable or hardened for travel), including racal suits and PPE.
Office of Public Health Scientific Services
This office researches, analyzes, and facilitates science standards to reduce the risk posed by diseases worldwide.
PROFESSION: Engineer, Media Specialist, Physician, or Scientist.
SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: Bureaucracy, Forensics, Medicine, Science (Epidemiology or other suitable specialization).
EQUIPMENT: An extensive professional library; diagnostic laboratory equipment.
Public Health Service Commissioned Corps (PHSCC)
A U.S. uniformed service that employs commissioned officers who hold ranks and wear uniforms similar to the Navy’s. Its experts provide public health services to the Coast Guard and to many poor and tribal areas. Hundreds are assigned to the CDC, including many in rapid deployment forces that can respond to a crisis in as little as 12 hours.
PROFESSION: Nurse, Physician, or Scientist.
SUGGESTED BONUS SKILLS: First Aid, Pharmacy, Psychotherapy, Surgery.
EQUIPMENT: An extensive professional library; diagnostic laboratory equipment; medical and/or health equipment (much of it portable or hardened for travel), including racal suits and PPE.
This message was last edited by the GM at 23:05, Sun 21 Apr 2019.