Department of Emergency Management recognized for COVID-19 pandemic response efforts

The Miami-Dade County Department of Emergency Management (DEM) was recognized by Juan Antonio Gonzalez, the outgoing U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, for providing the highest quality of professional attention and service during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his letter, U.S. Attorney Gonzalez acknowledged the value of the information provided by the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) to partners and recognized the hard work of Aimee Hernandez and Dan Scarborough, two key players of the dedicated DEM staff who have been serving Miami-Dade since 2012. Their expertise played an instrumental role to better understanding the threat and, ultimately, to meet the requirements and guidelines for the gradual reopening of our County and the U.S. 

A U.S. Army veteran who was initially hired as the Regional Domestic Security Task Force (RDSTF) Emergency Management planner for Region 7, Hernandez was subsequently promoted to Emergency Management coordinator in 2014.

“It is a great honor to be recognized by the state,” said Hernandez. “Our work is a team effort. Working alongside the rest of the DEM team proved that a unified front is imperative to developing the initiatives necessary for pushing the many great resources and services the County has to offer, which our residents can benefit from, in times of need.”

Dan Scarborough has held the role of Emergency Management planner for the last six years. He and the entire DEM staff have worked tirelessly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to overcome many challenges. On March 15, 2020, the Miami-Dade County EOC was activated to support healthcare, public safety and municipal partners in all emergency preparedness efforts and response operations related to the pandemic by facilitating the sharing of information, the identification, coordination, and the allocation of needed resources, all while establishing a County staging area for the receipt and distribution of resources. The EOC was also engaged in assisting the Florida Department of Health in Miami-Dade with coordinating the distribution of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and medical supplies to hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, County COVID-19 testing sites, County departments, and municipal partners for COVID-19 operations, as well as documenting and tracking all expenses relating to activities during the pandemic response.

“This recognition strengthens our commitment to continue to serve in providing valuable services to our community during difficult times,” said Scarborough. “I am extremely grateful to everyone who worked throughout the pandemic and I represent the incredible work that our hardworking colleagues perform daily as public servants.”

Driven by objective data, the EOC has also developed approximately 700 COVID-19 Situation Reports for distribution to municipalities, County departments and partner agencies with the purpose of building situational awareness and providing information to guide decision-making. These reports contain a summary of the current situation and actions taken, along Mayor Levine Cava’s Executive Orders, updates from the Florida Department of Health and U.S. Center of Disease Control (CDC), current COVID-19 positivity rate and cases in Miami-Dade, hospital status reports, testing and vaccination locations.

Throughout their careers at DEM, Hernandez and Scarborough have been tasked with overseeing various emergency management projects and programs. Hernandez’s current duties include the management of Interoperability Communication systems, including the alert messaging, the WebEOC crisis information management system and other technological platforms.

Scarborough’s many assignments include working with partners to enhance, test and implement emergency operations plans, such as the Miami-Dade County Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan’s ESF 4 (Firefighting) Annex, ESF 9 (Search and Rescue) Annex, ESF 16 (Law Enforcement) Annex, the Terrorism Response Plan, and the Cyber-Incident Response Plan. Additionally, he has taken over the handling of the County’s Radiological Emergency Preparedness (REP) program.

Congratulations to Aimee Hernandez and Dan Scarborough on this great accomplishment.