Caceres Atlanta Transcript
Title
Caceres Atlanta Transcript
Transcription
Q: I know that your experience with Ebola continues as deputy IM, etcetera. Maybe we should transition into that.
CACERES: Sure, so that was a great experience, too, because I felt like I had seen the Ebola response from the ground level, in the ring countries, so not the immediate countries that--of course, that would have been an entirely different experience. I really think that people that went there were doing heroic things, and kudos to those folks who were there in the midst of all of that. I didn't have the experience of the Ebola countries themselves, and I also didn't have the experience of the EOC central operations.
So I was asked to volunteer for that. And I thought, at that point, when I volunteered, I thought I would be doing it--taking time away from FETP. But at the time, I was also in transition, or was about to find out that I was going to move out of FETP and into this new position. And so I asked my supervisor in the new position, whether I could honor that commitment. And they were all for it because the EOC just happens to be in the center where my new position is, so it was again, a nice segue.
And really, the deputy IM position, at that point, I felt like I was helpful, but really, I was back-up. I would do things that were needed, and I enjoyed working with Barb [Barbara J.] Marston and Oliver [W. Morgan] and seeing the interactions that they had with Tom [Thomas R.] Frieden, with the folks on the [National] Security Council. We'd have those security-cleared meetings in the top-secret room, and give those briefings. I think I gained much more than I actually contributed there. But I was grateful for that experience.
That was at the time when the countdowns were occurring, the initial countdowns. On the day that you'd have that twenty-one-day period or forty-two-day period, we would get another case, or another--and that was kind of frustrating. I think we were all in an atmosphere where we didn't want to talk about countdowns because of the jinx.
CACERES: Sure, so that was a great experience, too, because I felt like I had seen the Ebola response from the ground level, in the ring countries, so not the immediate countries that--of course, that would have been an entirely different experience. I really think that people that went there were doing heroic things, and kudos to those folks who were there in the midst of all of that. I didn't have the experience of the Ebola countries themselves, and I also didn't have the experience of the EOC central operations.
So I was asked to volunteer for that. And I thought, at that point, when I volunteered, I thought I would be doing it--taking time away from FETP. But at the time, I was also in transition, or was about to find out that I was going to move out of FETP and into this new position. And so I asked my supervisor in the new position, whether I could honor that commitment. And they were all for it because the EOC just happens to be in the center where my new position is, so it was again, a nice segue.
And really, the deputy IM position, at that point, I felt like I was helpful, but really, I was back-up. I would do things that were needed, and I enjoyed working with Barb [Barbara J.] Marston and Oliver [W. Morgan] and seeing the interactions that they had with Tom [Thomas R.] Frieden, with the folks on the [National] Security Council. We'd have those security-cleared meetings in the top-secret room, and give those briefings. I think I gained much more than I actually contributed there. But I was grateful for that experience.
That was at the time when the countdowns were occurring, the initial countdowns. On the day that you'd have that twenty-one-day period or forty-two-day period, we would get another case, or another--and that was kind of frustrating. I think we were all in an atmosphere where we didn't want to talk about countdowns because of the jinx.
Citation
“Caceres Atlanta Transcript,” CDC Museum Digital Exhibits, accessed September 13, 2024, http://cdcmuseum.org/items/show/756.