meeting minutes of the engineer professional advisory ...€¦ · engineer professional advisory...

EPAC General Meeting Minutes – April 2016 of 13

Meeting Minutes of the Engineer Professional Advisory Committee

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

The Engineer Professional Advisory Committee (EPAC) welcomes your input and participation. Meetings are open to all Public Health Service Engineers and Architects, both Commissioned Officers and Civilians. Next Meeting Date: The next EPAC meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 22, 2016 from 1400-1530 EST. Conference Line Information: Call Line: 1-641-715-3580 Passcode: 341469# Webinar: https://fda.webex.com/fda/j.php?MTID=m0f5896e6ff8e599d63774957ee510bb7 I. CALL TO ORDER

LCDR Piermatteo called the meeting to order at 1400 EST. Attendance was taken and a quorum of EPAC members was present. Section VIII below shows the EPAC meeting attendance this year to date.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

LCDR Piermatteo called for a motion to approve the March EPAC General Meeting minutes. LCDR Kohler put forth the motion. CDR Kesteloot seconded the motion. There was no discussion. The motion carried and the meeting minutes were approved.

III. ANNOUNCEMENTS

A. Office of the Chief Engineer: RADM Randall Gardner ([email protected])

• Thanks to everyone on the committee and the work you do to support the engineering community – Commissioned Corps Officers along with civil servants!

• A few weeks ago, the CPO had the privilege of being at an USA Science and Engineering Fair in the Washington D.C. Area. It was incredible to see the number of people looking into engineering and science professions.

• No leadership meeting this month. • Appreciate the work EPAC Chair is doing on the Committee to advance the work that

the EPAC is doing.


• CPO part of strategic planning workgroup (includes OSG and DCPPR) o Still working on the Doctrine of the Commissioned Corps.

• Appreciate the new Newsletter that just came out. o Emphasis that partnerships are important! We work with others to accomplish

even greater things. • Many events coming up (e.g., COF conference and SAME JETC). These are great

opportunities to present and connect with others in the field of Public Health. • Open floor for questions or comments for the CPO:

o CPO – Leave under Direct Access is a cumbersome process, regarding entering and not taking leave; this is being worked on.

o CPO – Policy restricting civil servants by number of years in service, who wish to convert to the Commissioned Corps, has been rescinded.

B. EPAC Chair: LCDR Kimberly Piermatteo ([email protected])

• Thank you to those officers who volunteered to staff the DC COA/Engineer Category table at the 2016 USA Science and Engineering Festival on April 16th and 17th! Thank you to the DC COA for allowing us to collaborate with them!

• National Park Rx Day was held on Sunday, April 24th. Thank you to those who participated!

• Thank you to LCDR Jennifer Stevenson and LCDR Abbas Bandukwala for assisting me in staffing the Engineer Category table at the 8th annual FDA PHS Awareness day event on Tuesday, April 26th.

• CCWIAB Leadership Panel: Positioning Yourself for Success (Monday, May 2nd; 14:00-15:00 EDT). Webcast Link: http://services.choruscall.com/links/hrsa160502

• 2016 USPHS Scientific and Training Symposium – “Gimme Five: Building a Better Tomorrow through Prevention Today” (May 15th – 20th; Oklahoma City)

• Call for Abstracts and Volunteers – 2016 AMSUS Annual Continuing Education Meeting (November 29th – December 2nd). For more information about abstract submission including the submission portal please go to: http://www.amsusmeetings.org/ce/. Interested in volunteering, email LCDR Cody Thornton ([email protected]).

• Spread the Word: Open Application Window for Engineers (June 1st – 30th) • April 1st Readiness Results – Engineers 93.01%

IV. SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

A. Awards: LCDR Jitendra Virani ([email protected])

• Special Assignment Award (SAA) Nomination for EPAC Members: Award Subcommittee is working on putting SAA nomination package together for year


2016. At this time we are collecting information we need to prepare the nomination package from eligible EPAC Members.

o Who is eligible? Voting members of the EPAC for 3 or more years and have never been nominated for SAA for the time served on the EPAC.

o If you are eligible, please send the following information to the Award Subcommittee Chair, LCDR Jitendra Virani at [email protected] along with a copy of your Appointment Letter which you received from the EPAC when you were appointed as a voting member of the EPAC. When sending your information, please use the following as subject of the email: “Information for Special Assignment Award Nomination for EPAC Members”

Full Name with current rank

PHS ID

Employee ID

Service Years to EPAC (e.g. 2013-2015)

Operation Division (OPDIV) (e.g. FDA, HIS, etc.)

B. Career Development: CDR Jonathan Rash ([email protected]) Reported by CDR Mark Jackson • The workgroup to re-write the Engineer Handbook has re-formed under the

leadership of co-chairs CDRs Rebecca Pollis and Jason Hrdlicka. Anybody interested in assisting with this effort should contact CDR Rash.

• Final revisions to the new CV Template and Guidance Document for Engineer Promotions are still under review – expected to be routed for EPAC approval soon and presented at the USPHS Symposium in May.

• Progress continues on the Agency Panel Round Table presentations. The IHS presentation is complete, and the others (FDA, CDC, EPA, and NPS) are progressing steadily.

• The subcommittee continues to represent the category at OBC and facilitate webinars for all EPAC. If your subcommittee has information it would like to present in a webinar format, please contact CDR Rash to arrange recording and/or broadcasting.

• Meetings are held the 3rd Monday of every month at 1600 EST. The next meeting is scheduled for May 23rd (NOTE: a week later than usual to avoid conflict with USPHS Symposium).

C. Events: CDR Frank Chua ([email protected])

• 2016 COF Symposium – Engineer Category Day (Led by LCDR Diana Wong): o Oklahoma City from May 16-19 with Category Day on May 18th.


o Seeking attendees to volunteer to assist with the following duties: session moderators, photographers, and aide-de-camp. If interested, please contact LCDR Diana Wong at [email protected] by May 1st.

o Mentoring session set for May 16th from 1615 – 1800. Speed mentoring format planned depending on the number of participants. Room location TBD. Attendees interested in participating, please contact CDR Frank Chua at [email protected].

o Order of Engineer ceremony scheduled after Category Day from 1715 - 1745. o LCDR Diana Wong has emailed details for the above events to the attendees on

April 12th. Please contact LCDR Wong if you are attending and did not receive this email.

• 2016 SAME JETC (led by CDR John Kathol): o Phoenix, AZ at the Phoenix Convention Center from May 24 – 26. o PHS All Hands Meeting scheduled on May 25th. The All Hands Meeting is an

opportunity to sit with RADM Gardner as group and discuss things PHS related. o Society Ball Dinner and Awards Gala on May 26th from 2000 – 2400 where

SAME will recognize this years award winners selected by the EPAC. o Self-funding attendees who are SAME members may be able to have the $97

registration fee waived. Please contact CDR Steve Sauer at [email protected] prior to registering.

o Seeking volunteers to staff the engineer booth. Those attendees interested in volunteering please contact CDR John Kathol at [email protected].

• 2016 AMSUS (led by LCDR Shad Shoppert) o National Harbor, MD from Nov 29 – Dec 2. o Call for abstracts. For more information about abstract submission including the

submission portal please go to: http://www.amsusmeetings.org/ce/. o ACTION ITEM: Looking for a volunteer to serve as an alternate to LCDR

Shoppert. Anyone interested in volunteering, please email CDR Chua at [email protected].

• Meetings are held on Fridays at 1000 EST for the general Events Subcommittee and Category Planning Team and 1030 EST for JETC Planning Team. The next meeting is scheduled on April 29th, 2016.

D. Information: LCDR Jim Kohler ([email protected]) • Website Migration: New *Draft* EPAC site is

online: https://dcp.psc.gov/osg/engineer/ o Site is similar to existing http://www.usphsengineers.org/ o ACTION ITEM: Please take time to review pages relevant to your

subcommittee and contact me with any corrections or suggestions.


o Old site running in parallel until new site is final and processes (such as requests for updates) are familiar to everyone.

• Content management: Website is up to date. o ACTION ITEM: Please continue to send any new requests for postings or

revisions to [email protected]. • EPAC Newsletter: Spring Issue was published on April 26. It can be found

here: http://www.usphsengineers.org/index.php/newsletter o ACTION ITEM: Please send article ideas for Fall Issue to

[email protected]. • Combined Category Newsletter:

o Spring/Summer issue expected to be published by mid-May. o ACTION ITEM: Please send articles that may be of interest to a broader

audience beyond engineers to [email protected]. • Social Media:

o USA.gov (the federal government’s “online guide to government information and services”) has started to use Snapchat. Top three reasons: Snapchat has 100 million users per day; government wants

to interface with younger generation; and put a human face to USA.gov. USA.gov will measure the success of this venture by: looking at the number

of people watching a story, where they drop off, and the number of people who send snaps – screen shots of content – to others (to determine how engaging the content is).

• Meetings are held the second Monday of every month at 1400 EST. Please send LCDR Kohler an email ([email protected]) if you would like to attend.

E. Mentoring: LCDR Jennifer Stevenson ([email protected] ) • The EPAC mentoring subcommittee plans to have an updated guidance for IDP

development. The subcommittee will review the document and then plans to provide the document for further comment from EPAC later this summer.

• CDR Frank Chua plans to attend the COF Symposium and represent the EPAC mentoring subcommittee; however, he is looking for volunteers to help him take on this task and eventually take over this responsibility.

• The subcommittee is considering a joint mentoring event at the White Oak Campus, termed “Speed Mentoring,” where officers may come to gain insight from senior officers regarding their PHS career as well as development in their area of interest. The plans for this event will be further discussed at the next mentoring meeting with solid plans being shared in the in June or July.

• Next Meeting is Monday, June 20 at 1500 EDT. If anyone is interested in joining the subcommittee, please contact LCDR Jennifer Stevenson


at [email protected] or CDR Bradley Cunningham at [email protected].

F. Public Health Engineering Practices: CDR Tanya Davis ([email protected]) • Work from two PHEP workgroups are featured this month in the Machinatores Vitae

in the articles, “Getting Your Work Published” and “Access to Engineering Standards at Work.”

• The Publishing Workgroup is drafting the 2nd article in the 3-part series for the Fall 2016 and Spring 2017 editions of Engineering Category Newsletter on Engineers getting Published in peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed journals.

• The Pipe Materials Workgroup is presenting at Category Day at the COF Symposium and will be submitting an article to the Fall edition of SAME’s “The Military Engineer” on specifying pipe materials based on life cycle analysis of the effect on global warming.

• The Engineering Healthy Communities Workgroup is refining a document to offer to the Events Subcommittee this week to use at the PHS booth at the SAME JETC conference next month that showcases some of the work PHS engineers do that support the Surgeon General's National Prevention Strategy.

• PHEP Meetings are typically held the Tuesday before the monthly EPAC meeting at 2pm EST. The next meeting is scheduled for June 21 at 2pm EST.

G. Readiness: LCDR Shane Deckert ([email protected])

• Initiatives Report: o Engineer Assessment Guide Edits currently being made to revised document

o Engineer Category Survey Survey questions made, awaiting approval from EPAC (will be sent this

Friday to voting members for comments) o Develop Strategies to address engineer-wide readiness issues Engineers at 93.01% on April 1st, 2016 readiness query Creating plan for those engineers who are on final readiness non-qualified list

o Update EPAC DPS Website New website format being reviewed with CDR Kohler

o Creating list of Engineering Core Competencies (from RDOG) and Training List created and currently under review by EPAC leadership

o Meetings are typically held the 1st Wednesday of every month at 1400 EST. The next meeting is scheduled for May 4th, 2016.

H. Recruitment and Retention: CAPT David Harvey ([email protected])


• Over 500 people visited the booth at the USA Engineering Fair in Washington D.C. It was a great outreach opportunity! USPHS Engineers are encouraged to get involved with STEM events in the future.

• Subcommittee is looking to create a way to track events that Engineering Officers are involved with.

• 4 Calls to Active Duty (CADs) in April, 8 in May & June (Averaging 4 per month) • 4 additional applicants recently completed their boarding process. • EPAC Connectors working to ensure applicants are not lost within the process and

are kept informed and moving through the process. • Application window for Engineering Category is open June 1-30, 2016.

o Application is initiated through the applicant calling 1-800-279-1605 to begin the process.

o New approach is being piloted via an announcement on the EPAC website with an email address [email protected] that will be answered by the subcommittee members to help applicants that are not receiving answers from DCCPR or receive misinformation. Those interested in helping with this initiative should contact CAPT Harvey.

I. Rules: CDR Kurt Kesteloot ([email protected])

Reported by LCDR Piermatteo • Thank you for those that volunteered to help serve on the Rules subcommittee:

o Last meeting was held April 1, 2016 at 0900 EST The EPAC alternate form has been modified and shared with EPAC.

• EPAC Nominations for 2017 will be announced soon. Please encourage officers and GS employees to consider serving on the EPAC. o ACTION ITEM: The 2017 EPAC Nomination form will be sent out in Late

April or Early May. • Meetings will be held every few months or as needed around 1400 ET. An email will

be sent to confirm the best meeting times for each meeting. The next meeting will be in June or July of 2016.

V. LIAISON REPORTS:

A. JOAG Liaison: LCDR QuynhNhu Nguyen ([email protected])

LCDR Piermatteo indicated LCDR Nguyen was unable to attend today’s meeting and provide her verbal report, but her written report will be included in the meeting minutes. • Updates from interactions with the Office of the Surgeon General (OSG):

o JOAG continues to be part of the Strategic Planning Workgroup, co-chaired by RADM Trent-Adams and RADM Giberson. This Workgoup will develop and implement a USPHS Commissioned Corps Strategic Framework and Doctrine.


o JOAG Voting Members were involved in reviewing and providing feedback that is being incorporated into one specific section of the Doctrine. Once both are finalized and approved, OSG will develop a communication and dissemination plan.

• JOAG continues to be involved in the leadership development framework, which is being led by CAPT Woo, with support of the OSG. o CAPT Woo has met with the DSG and RADM (Ret.) Williams, COF President,

who are both very supportive. COF funded CAPT Woo, CAPT Edwards, and LCDR Trinia Cain, to be part of a “train the trainer” on Servant Leadership through Arbinger Institute.

o CAPT Woo and the team will be looking to roll this leadership training out to the Corps, and are currently engaging in dialogue with junior officers to hear how to build the best Commissioned Corps possible.

• JOAG at the 2016 Symposium o JOAG has received confirmation that the Deputy Surgeon General, along with

several (if not all) CPOs will be stopping by the next JOAG General Member Meeting, which will be in-person at the 2016 USPHS Scientific & Training Symposium on May 17, 2016 from 1245-1400 CDT.

o All junior officers attending the Symposium are asked to join the meeting. JOAG is hoping to obtain a conference room with teleconference capabilities, so that officers can also join the meeting remotely.

• Newly Proposed JOAG Award – Vice Admiral C. Everett Koop Junior Officer Award o The Awards Committee has developed an award honoring the legacy of Vice

Admiral C. Everett Koop by recognizing the caliber of role model that he was, and still is, for junior officers.

o This proposed new award, called the Vice Admiral C. Everett Koop Junior Officer Award, will recognize a junior officer who has exhibited direct contributions and leadership in advocating for, changing, improving, strengthening, informing, developing and/or implementing health-related policy and/or healthcare reform at the local, state, regional, or international level.

o We have reached out to VADM Koop's widow, for permission to use the Koop name. We are awaiting her comment. This remains a high priority for JOAG to move forward in this operational year.

B. SAME Liaison: LCDR Leo Gumapas ([email protected])

• The Military Engineer: o September – October Issue on Asset Management Due on June 20, 2016 Asset Management for maintaining facilities and infrastructure Any issues with deferred maintenance and cost savings


o Summer 2016 Vietnam Issue 2,000 word article that is Due May 16, 2016 According to PHS EPAC website, RADM Albert H. Stevenson, 4th Chief

Engineer, served in Vietnam Any details on what his role in Vietnam? If there is any archive I could

peruse, then I can put together an article for review. • Joint Engineering Training Conference (JETC):

o CDR Kathol and CDR Steven Sauer have worked hard diligently to assemble the Public Heath Track tentatively scheduled on May 24th

o Joint Engineering Training Conference from May 24-26, 2016 in Phoenix, AZ • SAME Liaison Officer

o JETC Executive Agenda has been prepared as of April 23, 2016 o Discussed the concept of Industry CEO day and the focus is Acquisition Planning o Encourage officer to relay their concerns through Service Chief to discuss during

SAME Engineer Chief Panel which is scheduled to occur on May 26, 2016 o PHS officers to relay issues or concerns regarding Acquisition Planning

to [email protected] by May 6, 2016 so they can be relayed to RADM Gardner.

C. COA Liaison: CAPT James Simpson ([email protected]) • No written or verbal report was submitted or presented

D. Commissioned Corps Women’s Issues Advisory Board (CCWIAB): LCDR Tara

Bizjak ([email protected]) • CCWIAB Leadership Panel: Positioning Yourself for Success (Monday, May 2nd;

14:00-15:00 EDT). Webcast Link: http://services.choruscall.com/links/hrsa160502 o Will be available on the CCWIAB website as a recorded webinar. o The previous two webinars are also on the webinar.

• Great Plains deployments are longer: 30, 60 and 90 days. Policy is being reviewed to see how this will impact Officers.

• Marriage Guide Development Guide is being drafted. • Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

VI. OLD BUSINESS

A. Report Out EPAC Voting Requests:

• Request #1: To permit the CPO and EPAC Chair to distribute Engineer coins to new Engineer officers at OBC events. o Voting Member Results: 12 Yes, 1 No o Request #1 passes


• Request #2: To use EPAC funds for an ice breaker session at the 2016 COF Symposium Category Day. o Voting Member Results: 13 Yes, 0 No o Request #2 passes

B. 2016 EPAC Member Directory • EPAC Voting Members, Alternates, Non-Voting Members in Leadership Roles,

Liaisons and Other Ex-Officio Members listed in the directory are asked to verify their information is correct and submit any updates or edits by Wednesday, May 5, 2016 to LCDR Piermatteo.

VII. NEW BUSINESS

A. Request for EPAC Vote: New Alternate Form which will amend the December 2015

approved Bylaws (LCDR Piermatteo on behalf of CDR Kesteloot) • EPAC Chair called for a motion to approve the new form. CDR Chua made the

motion; Dr. Jim Harris seconded the motion. No discussion ensued. The motion passed.

• EPAC Chair called for a motion to amend the EPAC By-Laws to include the changes to the new form. LCDR Kohler made the motion. LCDR Bingley seconded. No discussion ensued. The EPAC Chair called for a voice vote and the motion was approved.

B. CCWIAB Presentation – Expectant Parent’s Guide (CDR Bizjak) (See Attachment) • Pregnancy Checklist • Postpartum Checklist • Fathers • Adoptive Parents • Infertility • CCWIAB Website: https://dcp.psc.gov/osg/ccwiab/ccwiabresources.aspx

C. New EPAC Member Introduction (CDR Frank Chua)

• CDR Frank Chua, PE, BCEE is a Project Manager with the Division of Facilities Management, Indian Health Service (IHS), Tucson Area. He is responsible for providing professional design, project management, and construction management services for projects in support of federal direct service healthcare facilities in the IHS Tucson Area. Prior to his current duty station, CDR Chua served as a Supervisory Environmental Engineer in Opelousas, Louisiana with the Sanitation Facilities Construction (SFC) Branch, Indian Health Service Nashville Area. There he provided professional engineering, project management, and construction management services for the SFC Program addressing sanitation deficiencies for


eight tribes across five states. CDR Chua is a Board Certified Environmental Engineer and is a registered professional engineer in California and Louisiana. Prior to commissioning, CDR Chua spent 11 years in the private sector with an environmental engineering consulting firm focused in the design of advanced wastewater reclamation facilities maximizing in water reuse. On the EPAC, CDR Chua is the Events Subcommittee Chair and is also a member of the Deployment Preparedness, Mentoring, and Career Development subcommittees.

VIII. CPO Q&A SESSION / OPEN DISCUSSION A. Conducted earlier in the call during CPO’s announcements.

IX. GOOD OF THE WHOLE

A. Upcoming Events

• COF Symposium (Category Day) – May 17-19, 2016 • SAME JETC Conference – May 24-26, 2016 • EPAC Voting Member Mid-Year Meeting – June 15, 2016 @1400 ET • EPAC General EPAC Meeting – June 22, 2016 @ 1400 ET

X. ADJOURNMENT LCDR Kohler put forth the motion to adjourn the meeting. LCDR Russell seconded the motion. The motion carried and the meeting was adjourned by LCDR Piermatteo at 1511 EST.


XI. 2016 EPAC VOTING MEMBER and LIAISON ATTENDANCE

XII. ATTACHMENTS A. New EPAC Alternate Appointment Form B. CCWIAB Presentation – Expectant Parent’s Guide


AUTHORIZATION

I have recorded the above EPAC meeting minutes: _______________________________________ ________________ LCDR Chris Fehrman Date EPAC, Executive Secretary I have read the above minutes, which accurately describe this meeting, and on behalf of the EPAC approve their distribution:

_______________________________________ ________________ LCDR Kimberly Piermatteo Date EPAC, Chair I authorize distribution of these minutes:

_______________________________________ ________________ RADM Randall Gardner, P.E. Date Chief Engineer, USPHS

05-17-2016

Public Health Service DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Memorandum

Date:

From:

Subject:

To:

Designation of Alternate

Chair, Engineer Professional Advisory Committee (EPAC)

I am appointing the following individual to serve as my Alternate to the EPAC for a term of three years.

Name (Rank/GS): Agency:

Address:

Phone:Facsimile:

E-mail Address:

________________________________________ EPAC Member

CONCURRENCE:

________________________________________ Alternate

________________________________________ Alternate’s Supervisor

01/31/2016

Click to fill-in information

Click to fill-in informationClick to fill-in information

Click to fill-in information

Click to fill-in informationClick to fill-in informationClick to fill-in information

Presented By: The Commissioned Corps Women’s Issues Advisory Board (CCWIAB)

Introduction Developed by the Commissioned Corps Women’s Issues

Advisory Board (CCWIAB) An unofficial guide designed to assist expectant parents in

the USPHS in navigating and understanding the various policies and resources relevant to pregnancy, postpartum, and parenthood

Pregnancy Checklist Establish care with a healthcare provider in accordance

with TRICARE procedures Check your basic readiness status Consider applying for a time-limited waiver Purchase a maternity uniform Prepare for maternity leave

Postpartum Checklist Enroll your child into DEERS Enroll your child in TRICARE Add child to dependency certification Consider other insurance options, including life and

dental insurance Add to application Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA)

forms if necessary Prepare for your return to duty

Fathers Paternity leave is non-chargeable leave not to exceed 10

consecutive days. Must be taken consecutively and within 45 days after the

birth of the child May be used in conjunction with annual leave

It is authorized for married Corps officers on active duty. Reference: Leave of Absence; General (CC361.01) –

Effective 16 February 2012

Adoptive Parents Officers are authorized up to 21 days of non-chargeable

leave. Corps officers may be eligible for reimbursement of

adoption costs up to $2,000/child.

Infertility Officers and dependents who experience infertility have

limited options through TRICARE. Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) Institute of

Washington (Walter Reed NMMC, Bethesda, MD) offers IVF and cryopreservation of embryos for active duty/spouse at significantly reduced costs ($4,800-$7,000/cycle).

CCWIAB Website For a complete copy of the USPHS Resource Guide for

Expectant Parents, including helpful references and resources, please visit the CCWIAB website at: https://dcp.psc.gov/osg/ccwiab/ccwiabresources.aspx

meeting minutes of the engineer professional advisory ...€¦ · engineer professional advisory...

Documents