GWINNETT COPING WITH COVID-19

GNRHD conducting COVID-19 drive thru testing at the Infinite Energy Center PHOTO CREDIT GRNHD

Locals 50+ Leading the Charge Against COVID-19 Pandemic in Gwinnett

Meet The Leaders

Dr. C. Douglas Johnson, professor of leadership and management at Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), and the Center for Teaching Excellence Faculty Affiliate for Experiential Learning.

Betsey and Paul Allen, founders and managing partners of Hope Springs Distillery, a small boutique distillery in Old Town Lilburn.

Dr. Kelli McCain, principal in the Gwinnett County Public School system at Partee Elementary School in Snellville.

Andy Darnell, Marketing Director at Howard Brothers Outdoor Power and Hardware Store in Duluth.

Bruce Kennedy, owner of the Universal Joint restaurant in Lawrenceville.

Nick Masino, President & CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett, one of the largest suburban Chambers of Commerce in the nation, located in Duluth.

John Davis, Public Works Superintendent for the City of Norcross.

Charlotte Nash, chairman of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners and is empowered by local ordinance to issue executive orders during emergencies and disasters.

Dr. Audrey Arona, CEO and District Health Director for Gwinnett, Newton and Rockdale County Health Departments (GNRHD).

How is this Covid-19 pandemic affecting the way your organization operates?

“COVID-19 has made public health part of everyday conversation in our community and we’re participating in the conversation!”

- Dr. Audrey Arona

“We recognize that companies join the Chamber primarily for networking opportunities, so within days, we pivoted our online offerings from simply educational to include virtual networking opportunities. In our first week of quarantine, we held multiple virtual networking meetings daily.”

- Nick Masino

“Gwinnett County has continued to provide essential services without missing a step. This resulted from good emergency planning done in advance and quick action by our County Administrator, Glenn Stephens. He recognized the potential serious nature of the threat early on and organized an internal task force that worked across departmental boundaries to drive the shift of the organization’ operations to meet the new challenges.”

- Chairman Charlotte Nash

“The Covid-19 pandemic has forced the City to make significant interventions in its operation to ensure the safety of our employees, residents and contractors. The City continues to operate on the front line fulfilling its commitment to maintain its infrastructure.”

- John Davis

Betsey Allen filling hand sanitizer at Hope Springs Distillery PHOTO CREDIT GWINNETT DAILY POST

“We went from a full service restaurant and bar to a grocery store/market overnight. Early into the pandemic, I was in the grocery store with my wife thinking I was touching everything too much and I noticed the store was out of staples like ground beef, cheese and toilet paper. I figured with our supply chain, people would not have to subject themselves to that experience”

- Bruce Kennedy

We modified the stores with panels for the cashiers, touchless keypads and installed 6 feet apart line spacing. We limited the number of parties entering the store and hand sanitizer in necessary locations across the store.”

- Andy Darnell

“The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly affected the way we do business in the local school and within the district. Everything from the way we provide instruction to how we provide meals for our students has changed dramatically. We have to rely more on the parents to make sure that students are logged on and ready for learning each day. Additionally, we have had to find resources and be creative in order to make learning fun, engaging and hands on when appropriate.”

- Dr. Kelli McCain

“While change has been ongoing and part of our vocabulary, online or digital learning was almost taboo as we pride ourselves on offering a private school education at a public school cost where students were afforded small classrooms and face-to-face interactions directly with their professors. COVID-19 has turned that model on its head as what once was rarely discussed or offered in a hybrid format on a limited basis has become our reality.” -Dr. C. Douglas Johnson

How has your organization evolved during the pandemic?

“We determined that there was a need to make hand sanitizer. After some sourcing difficulties for ingredients and the packaging, we started production early in April... We feel we have done the best we can to support our community, in that we donated it to the Lilburn Police Department and sold it to the community rather than taking orders for large quantities. We are now in a position to sell larger quantities, as we are seeing orders from churches that are preparing for re-opening.”

– Betsey and Paul Allen

“Gwinnett County Public Schools did an exceptional job making adjustments to support the staff, students, parents, and the community. The district communicated the updates from the district office to staff through multiple channels – email, robo call, website, local school principals.”

- Dr. Kelli McCain

“The City has implemented social distancing, hand sanitizing, employees are required to wear masks, staff are working staggered shifts, others are working from home. City building and parks are closed to the public. Buildings and offices are disinfected every night.”

- John Davis

“First and foremost, we had to shift most of our office-based workforce to a remote workforce and we had to do it quickly. We are using social media more to inform people about County services, information, and events. While adapting our public spaces to accommodate social distancing may be a temporary change, we have made changes to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 at County facilities and to provide additional protection for both the public and employees during interaction.”

- Chairman Charlotte Nash

“When the COVID-19 pandemic hit the United States, and specifically the state of Georgia, the Gwinnett Chamber immediately pivoted from what we knew as our normal programming for members to a new, virtual world of programming. Following the stay at home order, our staff began to work remotely as necessary with infrastructure that was already in place. Since our team was prepared and ready to switch gears, our focus was our 2,400 members.”

- Nick Masino

“GNRHD has expanded the epidemiology division extensively since the onset of the pandemic. Every single positive COVID-19 patient is investigated and educated about isolation and disease control strategies, including identifying and enrolling close contacts in contact tracing and quarantine measures.”

- Dr. Audrey Arona

Nick Masino, President CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce PHOTO CREDIT GWINNETT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

John Davis, City of Norcross Public Works Superintendent PHOTO CREDIT CITY OF NORCROSS

Dr. Audrey Arona, Director of the GRN Health Departments PHOTO CREDIT EAST2WEST CREATIVE

GNRHD conducting COVID-19 drive thru testing at the Infinite Energy Center PHOTO CREDIT GRNHD

How have you supported your community/employees/members/ constituents during the Covid-19 situation?

“We are most proud of, during this entire situation, our community’s participation in the Universal Joint Lawrenceville ‘Feed the Heroes’ project. Individuals and community groups could donate to purchase lunches for the workers at Northside Hospital Gwinnett. We delivered 2500 meals over eight weeks, and the hospital staff were extremely grateful during this stressful and busy time.”

- Bruce Kennedy

“Early in the pandemic, GNRHD worked closely with key community partners like the school systems and colleges, hospitals, EMAs, City and County officials, first responders, churches, volunteer organizations and others to coordinate joint planning and response efforts. Early in the pandemic, the Health Department initiated and continues to conduct weekly community partner conference calls, daily calls with local emergency management agencies, virtual meetings and conference calls with the Chambers of Commerce and other city councils, county commissioners and state/local government entities, all in an effort to provide education and guidance for state and local decision-making officials.”

- Dr. Audrey Arona

“We turned our attention to providing information and resources regarding doing business during COVID-19 (SBA loans, PPP loans, unemployment information, etc.). Partnership Gwinnett, the Gwinnett Chamber’s economic development arm, was instrumental in assisting its industries to shift their business models to include producing Personal Protection Equipment. During the confusion of the first few months of our stay at home order, the Gwinnett Chamber and Partnership Gwinnett made connections for anyone trying to be designated as an essential business as well as opening a 24/7 call center to field questions from our members and the general public. “

- Nick Masino

“We have looked for ways to support the local community. For example, some of the IT students were using the 3-D printer to make masks and other PPE for those on the frontlines. Our nursing students went through some expedited training such that they too could join the front lines and assist with the pandemic.”

- Dr. C. Douglas Johnson

“In March, just prior to Governor Kemp issuing a series of orders to uniformly ensure a safe and healthy Georgia, I issued a series of similar executive orders for Gwinnett County. This action was coordinated with Gwinnett’s 16 cities to ensure that we all had similar orders; this coordinated effort demonstrates the importance of cooperative relationships among the 16 cities in Gwinnett and the County. We closed GJAC and several other buildings for three days to do a deep clean of the facilities and to implement social distancing measures. We postponed the March and April public hearings but implemented new procedures so that we were able to conduct the May public hearing.”

- Chairman Charlotte Nash

“We supported the community by staying OPEN and being a resource for their projects (lots of paint and yard projects). Our employees make up a diverse demographic of high schoolers to retirees. We gave them the flexibility to manage their work schedule based on their needs for class and concerns for their health.”

- Andy Darnell

“The district organized meal delivery to support students and families who may have experienced food insecurities by offering breakfast and lunch for children 18 and under. At our local school, we supported families with limited/no technology by loaning out computers to help support learning at home. We provided approximately 75 students with laptops and information regarding low to no cost internet service.”

- Dr. Kelli McCain

Dr. Kelli McCain, Principal at Partee Elementary School PHOTO CREDIT EAST2WEST CREATIVE

How prepared was your organization/department pre-pandemic?

“Our president, Dr. Jann Joseph, and the University System of Georgia have made safety of the various stakeholders (students, faculty, and staff) a priority and making data-driven decisions that will minimize any disruption in our operations. For us, the Center for Teaching Excellence was actively involved in providing training for those who were not aware of or comfortable with the technological tools and platforms that were available.”

- Dr. C. Douglas Johnson

“Gwinnett has had a robust emergency planning process for decades, and we have staff dedicated to this effort. In coordination with agencies and organizations across the community, the County adopted and has regularly updated an extensive plan for emergencies. The protocols contained in the plan have been utilized in the current situation to ensure sharing of accurate information and coordinated action across the community on critical issues such as sourcing personal protective equipment (PPE).”

- Chairman Charlotte Nash

“For years GNRHD’s emergency preparedness division has planned for a pandemic, like COVID-19 . In preparation for emergency public health events, GNRHD had stockpiled thousands of personal protective equipment items, such as N95 masks, procedural masks, gowns, gloves and face shields. GNRHD had previously purchased portable ventilators that we supplied to our hospitals, helping greatly in the early phases of COVID-19 in anticipation of potential ventilator shortages. And, over the years, plans for drive-through mass vaccination and drug dissemination events were developed and exercised, which were easily adapted for our COVID-19 mass testing sites.”

- Dr. Audrey Arona

“GCPS was prepared for digital learning as we already had a digital platform that has been in use for several years. The platform is used daily in the classroom and for digital learning days during inclement weather times. ”

- Dr. Kelli McCain

What are the takeaways and best practices you will continue to implement moving forward in your organization?

“The work that had been done in creating an emergency plan for the County and practicing it across the years was immeasurably helpful as we faced COVID-19 impacts. The lessons learned and issues faced during the pandemic will be incorporated into the emergency plan to strengthen it for the future. Specifically operational items, we likely will continue to utilize virtual platforms for internal meetings and offer remote options for some external meetings, as well as further exploration of remote workforce opportunities. We also are actively preparing for potential future needs through steps such as acquiring additional inventory of essential supplies like PPE and sanitizing/cleaning supplies.”

- Chairman Charlotte Nash

“While we move forward, this pandemic helped us understand that our virtual offerings should be expanded in the future – particularly when it comes to public policy. We were pleasantly surprised by the reception of our virtual meetings and plan to continue by offering hybrid in-person/virtual meetings well into the summer and perhaps beyond. It’s also given us the opportunity to reevaluate our office space usage. We have converted one room into a permanent studio for broadcasting virtual meetings and webinars.”

- Nick Masino

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An A-Z marketing & design agency run by some pretty cool people. We're as elegant and professional as we are quirky and fun, and we live by the motto "we create". Also publishers of The DiG (see @diggwinnett). “We learned how to communicate with customers better through text/email and via online platforms while customers sheltered in place. We want to be service oriented and solving problems with knowledgeable employees in the store, even if we have to do it over social media”

- Andy Darnell

“While we had a platform for delivering instruction and student learning, we had to make adjustments in how we delivered new content to the students. Additionally, we had to realize that the parents were not familiar with the cClass platform so we had to clearly communicate the instructions to the parents.”

- Dr. Kelli McCain

“Beyond COVID-19, we will continue planning for our response in any emergency relating to the health and safety of our community. As with every response, our staff compiles after-action reports and improvement plans, so we can better prepare for the next event. As GNRHD sees new challenges, our teams focus on innovative solutions and creative ideas to improve our processes and ability to deliver services to our community members.”

- Dr. Audrey Arona

“I think the streamlined communication and an ongoing focus on employee well-being will remain as best practices... I think there will also be more willingness to consider how to integrate digital/remote learning in our course offering as we look at ways to foster student success and engagement.”

- Dr. C. Douglas Johnson

Chairman Charlotte Nash, Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners PHOTO CREDIT EAST2WEST CREATIVE

Studio for filming for live online events. PHOTO CREDIT GWINNETT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

County employees cleaning podium during the May Board of Commissioners Rezoning Meeting PHOTO CREDIT PHIL SKINNER