COVID-19 Update: Thank you from the COVID-19 Response Team
Dear Colleagues,
In this season of gratitude, thank you for going above and beyond to protect our community. Never have teams and individuals from across the Smithsonian pulled together so effectively, all to support our pandemic response. From our swift closure through our phased reopening, we have truly learned what it means to be One Smithsonian.
Our team is grateful to those who worked tirelessly to care for our facilities, collections, and grounds; who developed ways to keep us safe on site; who took on responsibilities beyond their job descriptions; who built the infrastructure to enable us to work remotely; who kept the Smithsonian accessible through virtual platforms; and who piloted ways to welcome the public back safely. The list is long and impressive. We are indebted to you for your contributions and want to acknowledge those who have been instrumental in our pandemic response.
First and foremost, we could not have moved forward without the essential workers. Day and night, at our buildings on the National Mall, our zoo and research facilities across the U.S., and in Panama, they ensure that our collections and properties are cared for and well protected.
The Office of Safety, Health, and Environmental Management (OSHEM) share their skills and knowledge to keep us safe. Their Occupational Health Services professionals worked ceaselessly to conduct contact tracing while still staffing health clinics and providing flu vaccinations. OSHEM staff supported our transition to telework through ergonomics information and developed COVID-19 safety training. Along with staff from the Office of Facilities Management and Reliability (OFMR) and unit safety coordinators, OHSEM staff serve as part of the Safety Working Group which continuously evaluates safety measures and improvements in our buildings.
From the first day of our response, the Office of Protection Services (OPS) has continued to report to every Smithsonian facility. As museums and gardens began to slowly reopen, they were on the front lines working with the public. During the pandemic, they helped safeguard employees and those who participated in this summer’s marches and events near our facilities.
The Office of Emergency Management (OEM) built the framework for our pandemic response. Because of their foresight and planning, we had strong communication lines and awareness among all the Smithsonian units. The Emergency Operations Group, organized by OEM, and their weekly meetings shaped and organized our path forward and aided our daily operations in our facilities.
OFMR worked around the clock to maintain and ready our buildings and systems. They took on enhanced cleaning responsibilities and kicked off the important work of the Logistics Cell, which is responsible for procuring, tracking, and distributing PPE, CPE, and other COVID-related supplies.
The Logistics Cell, aided by the Office of Business Administration and Technical Services (OBATS), ensured every unit has the supplies to keep employees safe. OBATS also helped oversee CARES Act funding, managed COVID-related expenditures, and built and maintains the COVID-19 Response and Reopening Website.
The Office of Communications and External Affairs (OCEA) offered support and know-how to help us reach the entire Smithsonian staff and communicate with the media and public with consistent and professional messaging. The Office of the Chief Information Officer moved mountains to make telework and the related tools possible while also developing resources that clearly communicate Smithsonian’s health and safety guidelines.
Throughout the pandemic, new tools and resources were deployed to assist staff in adapting to their new schedules, responsibilities, and wellbeing. The Office of Human Resources (OHR) worked closely with the Response Team to ensure new programs and options were clearly communicated and broadly available. OHR also provided valuable information on new and existing flexibilities to better help our staff juggle their personal and work responsibilities. They expanded the services available through the Employee Assistance Program to give our employees the resources they need, when they need them, and to manage the extreme stress brought on by the pandemic.
The Reopening Task force creatively found safe ways to open our doors to the visitors. They worked collaboratively with all the right people, from OPS to the Office of Visitor Services, and Smithsonian Exhibits to OCEA to ensure the units had what they needed to greet visitors once again. Because of their efforts, and by working with the units directly, we could joyously, confidently reopen in a way that was safe for our staff and the public. Thank you to the units that agreed to be first to reopen so that all other museums and facilities could learn from their experiences.
The New Normal Team encouraged us to think about the future. Their report has introduced us to how we can evolve. The survey they conducted with the Smithsonian Organization and Audience Research allowed all employees to have a voice in that future.
We would also like to thank the Smithsonian’s COVID-19 Response Team, our family for the last 10 months. This team is made up of individuals from across the Institution. Most of them had never worked together before, but they quickly become a true team, always willing to help each other and the Smithsonian. They brought skills and insight from their day jobs that helped us respond in a way that honors Smithsonian’s mission and keeps staff safe. This small team has worked non-stop since March, always keeping the needs of the community in mind.
Finally, we would like to thank every single one of you for the safety habits you adopted to keep yourself and your colleagues protected, the willingness to change the way you work, and the creative solutions you found to keep us moving. We are in your debt. Thank you and Happy Holidays!
Sincerely,
Doug Hall, Smithsonian Coordinating Officer
Rich Wright, Deputy Coordinating Officer
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Posted: 22 December 2020
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