NYC Healthcare PREPARES

Trainings, Drills & Exercises: Hospital and Primary Care Centers Tabletop Toolkit

The healthcare system’s ability to respond to the extraordinary demands following a bioterrorist attack would depend, to a large extent, on the system's pre-event preparedness planning for such events. One critical preparedness activity is the use of healthcare facility- based drills to train staff on their roles and responsibilities in responding to a bioterrorism attack and to identify and address current gaps in emergency preparedness plans.

NYC DOHMH developed the Hospital and Primary Care Centers Tabletop Toolkit during 2004-2005 to aid hospitals in conducting these exercises. These materials were tested in 10 hospitals and 5 primary care centers in New York City and served as an important resource for staff training and a method to evaluate facility preparedness involving five biological agents. The Toolkit contents can be modified to account for the distinct geographic, patient, resource, and staffing challenges faced by individual hospitals and primary care centers. The kit also includes instructions on planning, conducting and evaluating a hospital tabletop exercise.

Current scenarios include five biological scenarios, with one modified for a primary care clinic. Future scenarios planned include a pediatric explosive scenario and a surge capacity scenario.

This toolkit may be downloaded as an entire PDF document or as individual sections, many of which may be modified.

Hospital and Primary Care Center Tabletop Toolkit (entire document, pdf)

Toolkit Table of Contents (pdf)

Letter from the Commission of NYC DOHMH (pdf)

Acknowledgments (pdf)

Chapter 1: Introduction to the Toolkit: Bioevent Tabletop Exercises in Healthcare Settings (pdf)

•   Considerations Before Planning Begins
•   How to Use This Toolkit
•   How to Modify this Toolkit

Chapter 2: Planning the Exercise (pdf)

•   Planning Committee
•   Planning Committee Position Descriptions
•   Tabletop Exercise Position Descriptions
•   Tabletop Exercises Defined
•   Breakout Group Format
•   Single Group Format
•   Simulated Activation of the EOC
•   Hot Wash
•   Exercise Evaluation
•   Schedule and Conduct of Planning Meetings
•   Choosing a Scenario

Chapter 3: Conducting the Exercise (pdf)

•   Coordinating the Exercise v
•   Running the Exercise
•   Conducting the Hot Wash
•   After-Action Report

Chapter 4: Evaluating the Exercise and Its Impact (pdf)

•   Purpose of Evaluation
•   Conducting the Evaluation
•   After-Exercise Survey
•   Debriefing Session
•   Long-Term Impact Assessment
•   Dissemination of Evaluation Findings

Chapter 5: Scenarios

•   Scenario One – Plague
•   Scenario Two – SARS
•   Scenario Three – Anthrax
•   Scenario Four – Smallpox
•   Scenario Five – Pandemic Influenza
•   Scenario Six – Primary Care Center – Pandemic Influenza

Appendices

• • Appendix A – Definitions (pdf)
• • Appendix B – Acronyms (pdf)
• • Appendix 1a – Breakout Group Assignment List for Three Groups (pdf)
• • Appendix 1b – Breakout Group Assignment List for Four Groups (pdf)
• • Appendix 1c – HEICS Breakout Group Assignment List (pdf)
• • Appendix 2 – TT Exercise Invitee List (pdf)
• • Appendix 3 – Sample Agenda (doc)
• • Appendix 4 – Tabletop Exercise Planning Checklist and Timeline (pdf)
• • Appendix 5 – Generic Hospital Moderator/Facilitator Question Database (pdf)
• • Appendix 6 – Sample Post-Exercise Survey (doc)
• • Appendix 7 – Debriefing Session: Guidelines and Questionnaire (pdf)
• • Appendix 8 – Long-Term Impact Assessment (pdf)
• • Appendix 9 – Primary Care Center Generic Pandemic Influenza Question Database (doc)
• • Appendix 10 – Sample Certificate of Completion (doc)
• • Appendix 11 – Sample Physical Layouts (ppt)
• • Appendix 12 – References (pdf)