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What experience do you have with personnel management functions (i.e., hiring, training, assigning work, and completing performance evaluations)?
- Over a decade now beginning in the early 2000s as an EMS Captain conducting training and employee performance evaluations.
- As the Chief of two divisions:
- I have requisitioned positions,
- interviewed and hired for them,
- trained the employee,
- developed and assigned work plans.
- Demonstration of progressive responsibility throughout my career.
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What experience do you have with directing the management and operation of Emergency Management, Emergency Medical Services, Communications Center and 911?
- Emergency Management:
- Two decades of participation in EM activities
- Many real-world and exercise EOC activations at multiple responsibility levels
- Developed thorough understanding of the EM processes through planning and cooperative activities
- EMS:
- Paramedic for over 20 years
- Progressive responsibility throughout my career to the level of chief
- Record of excellence and achievement
- 911/Communications:
- Direct operational link to 911 throughout my career
- Cooperative operational and administrative management
- Highly experienced in the administrative/management functions common to all
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What experience to you have with directing the development and implementation of disaster emergency plans and emergency medical service plans?
- Administrated the ER and EMS COOP plan in response to Hurricane Ivan as an EMS Captain in 2004,
- Developed the division's first disaster ER and COOP plans in 2005 as chief of Beach Safety,
- Both plans were implemented in that year in response to Hurricane Dennis.
- Both implemented again in 2008 for Hurricane Gustav.
- Updated the Okaloosa EMS emergency disaster and COOP plans as part of the annual CEMP review and update in 2014.
- Maintain the response district and coverage plans for normal ops and disasters
- Developing the DER & COOP for the ECHCC as a matter of strategic planning.
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What experience do you have in recommending, implementing and administering the department's budgets?
- I have recommended, implemented, and administered budgets in the department since 2004:
- The two most recent EMS budgets were approximately $8.3 and 8.6 million,
- Beach safety budgets ranged from $495 thousand to $700K.
- Directly oversee expenditures, procurement of materials and equipment,
- Monitor revenue as direct influencer of ad valorem support,
- Recommended the FY16 budgets for beach safety and EMS in 2015,
- Administrate the EMS Award Grant from the FDOH as well as other state and federal grants through the budget processes
- I direct the measurement and analysis of operational performance measures and recommend and implement process changes as a function of PBB
- ECHCC:
- Direct the development and administration of the organization's annual budget,
- Project shared project and base revenues for the region ranging from $7 to $11 million,
- Direct the development of policies governing the distribution of ASPR funding to regional hospitals.
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What experience do you have managing operational accounts, revenues and expenditures through coordination with the County Finance Office?
- Worked directly with the finance office in the management of operational accounts for over a decade:
- Coordinate directly with the budget manager with regard to expenditures and ongoing account expenditure analysis,
- Work with the billing contractor several times a year to develop revenue projections for budgeting,
- Have made several adjustments in the past two years based on the analysis resulting in substantial increases in collected revenue
- FY16 cash is more than doubled from FY15.
- Coordinate directly with purchasing and accounts payable on procurement activities,
- Work directly with grants and contracts in the administration of grant revenues and expenditures related to contracts, leases and other agreements.
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What experience do you have informing the Board of County Commissioners (BCC) on department business?
- I am very comfortable before the Board and with its parliamentary processes.
- I have "walked the halls" to explain the implications of policy under consideration.
- I have addressed the Board, TDC, and CAO on multiple issues over the years - from answering technical questions related to performance to bringing employees before the board for recognition.
- I have drafted every agenda request brought before the board regarding the business of the divisions I managed.
- I view every board meeting I do not attend in person online.
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What is your experience with managing and monitoring billing service activity of the Emergency Medical Services Division?
- I administrate the EMS Billing contract:
- Medicare and Medicaid are billed under the contract terms; however:
- Requires specific attention and oversight due to the detailed documentation regarding medical necessity, physician certification, and timely filing rules.
- Experienced in developing and directing internal documentation processes:
- Directed the development of a clinical documentation improvement program resulting in compliance rates over 95% with ICD9 coding rules and CMS filing criteria,
- Resulted in measurably higher collection rates in 2015.
- Experienced in providing oversight to the billing and collections companies in special billing situations for hospitals related to Medicare / Medicaid reimbursement.
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What experience do you have seeking funding resources and managing procurement and monitoring of all state and federal grants for the department?
- Recommend and administer the distribution of Healthcare Preparedness Program grants to healthcare organizations within the 10 counties of Florida Region 1.
- Administrate the State EMS award grant annually.
- Applied for multiple state and federal grants over the years with good success.
- Collaborated with fire department partners on federal regional grants for equipment.
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What experience do you have with oversight of beach activities, declaring states of emergency and ordering the posting of Double Red Flags?
- Chief of Okaloosa Beach Safety from 2005 to 2013.
- I am very comfortable overseeing the activities of the division.
- Recommended State of Emergency declaration and posting of Double Red Flags and coordinated response from lifeguards, law enforcement, fire, and EMS.
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What experience do you have with establishing and maintaining communications with volunteers, health care, community service, response agencies and other resource groups? Conducts emergency preparedness and services education programs?
- Beach Safety:
- Developed the OCBS school education program – Buddy the Dolphin; learn to swim programs, community CPR program, and the “you’re the lifeguard at home” drowning prevention program.
- On the BAS and Health Care Curriculum Development Committees for Pensacola State College and Northwest Florida State College.
- EMS:
- Work directly with the Okaloosa Health Department in multiple cooperative activities
- Provide medical training and response oversight to volunteer fire departments
- Cooperate in the ALS FD Partnership agreement
- Voting member of the OCFRO
- Active membership in local hospital Stroke and Cardiac committees
- ECHCC:
- Directed emergency preparedness and agency education programs
- I sign, implement and administrate the Health Care Coalition contract between the Florida Department of Health and the Coalition.
- I direct the analysis of hazards and preparedness gaps and approve and facilitate the preparedness and response training and exercises for health organizations throughout Region 1.
- Florida HCC Taskforce:
- Development of healthcare coalition priorities, Strategic planning, State-wide development and coordination of the Multi-Year Exercise Training Plan for HCCs throughout Florida.
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What experience do you have in evaluating policy effectiveness and emergency response and providing recommendations to the BCC and County Manager for modifications and improvements?
- Two specific examples:
- Recommended to the board a change to the beach safety response plan to include the addition of a main tower on the pier.
- Recommended an addition of a year-round ambulance in Destin to improve response times and close and potential response gaps that may develop.
- Both cases have been yielded very helpful in improving emergency response.
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What experience do you have managing disaster operations at field sites?
- I managed the department's beach safety response to the Deep Water Horizon incident in 2010.
- Hurricane Ivan - 2004
- Hurricane Dennis - 2005
- Hurricane Katrina - 2005
- TD 10 - 2007
- Hurricane Gustav - 2008
- Deepwater Horrizon - 2010
- Dorcas Floods - 2011
- Multiple exercises locally, regionally, and state wide.
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What experience do you have with oversight of the County's animal control contract?
- Substantial experience in contract management
- Okaloosa has contracted with PAWS for animal services for almost two decades.
- The most recent contract with PAWS(10/14-10/15) was entered into in May 2014.
- The agreed on cost for animal control services was $480 thousand annually ($120k quarterly).
- An RFP for animal control services was issued in September.
- A solution is expected by January.
- The board extended the contract from 10/15 - 12/15 for $120k
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What is your experience with performance management?
- I co-authored and edited the department's last formal strategic plan in 2009.
- Strategic objectives/performance for each division
- In 2010 we moved to performance-based budgeting where the performance measures are stated with the line items in the budget document.
- I've constructed PBB for each year in the beach and EMS divisions since 2010.
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What experience do you have with multiple agency coordination and agreements?
- Coordinated with local hospitals through the Lifenet system
- Local ALS fire departments through the ALS Fire Engine Partnership Agreements
- Surrounding counties and military response agencies in mutual aid agreements,
- Air-medical transport with Air Methods
- Eglin Beach Lifeguard Assistance
- Destin Beach Safety Mutual Aid
- Medical Director Contract
- Baker Act Contract
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16. What challenges or trends are currently affecting EMS
- The reimbursement landscape in the future is uncertain
- Complexity of Medicare/Medicaid
- Integrated mobile healthcare
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What challenges or trends are currently affecting Beach Safety
- Funding uncertainty
- Measurable increase beach populations
- Aging equipment and observation points
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What challenges or trends are currently affecting Emergency Management?
- Terrorism Preparedness
- Whole community approach to bio, tech, and natural threats
- Transportation
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19. How do you motivate your employees to perform?
- What I have found effective is allowing for participation:
- I set goals and objectives
- I allow subordinates to develop strategies
- I enable them to implement plans and simply provide monitoring and guidance
- I encourage ownership in ideas, processes and ultimately products, then I recognize achievements
- I try to include as many intrinsic motivators as operationally and financially possible:
- Opportunities for achievement
- Recognition for any achievements
- Professional development opportunities
- Annual awards
- Special recognitions and letters of commendation
- Assignments to special teams or projects
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What mistakes have you made and how have you learned from them?
- 2011 – Dead fish on the beach
- 2015 – I allowed the death of an employee’s father to go unrecognized
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What are your strengths?
- Foundational strengths:
- I am honest and loyal
- I am deliberate and decisive.
- I know how to motivate people to perform and I work well with others.
- I am good at building relationships
- I am committed to achievement and excellence.
- Professional strengths:
- I have a lifetime and a wide range of experience in this industry.
- I understand the job and the greater implications of my actions on the community
- I am emotionally intelligent
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What are your weaknesses?
- I would like to engage more with employees.
- I have in the past gotten lost in the work plan and have neglected to stop and engage with those carrying the plan out.
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What are your obligations to the Board and the County Administrator?
- My obligation to the Board and CA is two-fold:
- First is to ensure they do not have to attempt to solve complex problems based on misleadingly simple criteria.
- Second, by virtue of good management of expertise, resources, and time, is to capture and maintain the public’s trust in the Department’s ability to protect their health, safety and welfare.
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What makes you better than any of the other candidates?
- I have the right character for this job:
- I am a good relationship builder
- I am emotionally intelligent
- People trust me
- I have the right education for the job:
- Florida paramedic
- Advanced degree in public mgt
- I have the right experience for the job:
- Over 20 years in the industry
- Over a decade of division mgmt. experience
- I am invested in this community and org
- Okaloosa County has invested in me
- No other candidates have my intimate knowledge of this department
- I have direct knowledge or experience of every requirement in the job description
- For these reasons, I know I will succeed if given the opportunity.
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25. Why have you applied for this job?
- We all have events in our personal and professional lives, some fulfilling and others filled with disappointment, which ultimately prepares us for our purpose.
- I believe service in the protection of this community is my purpose, and I want to fulfill it to the extent of my potential.
- I get tremendous professional and personal satisfaction in performing my public safety duties
- I can do more for more people at progressive levels
- I believe my life's experiences have prepared me for this moment - the next level
- I have no doubt that I am at the place in my career where I can do the job you are considering me for very well.
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