New York City Health Department and Health Care Partners Conduct Emergency Exercise to Stay Prepared for Future Public Health Emergencies
Exercise Tested New York City’s Ability to Effectively Respond to a Surge of Patients During a Citywide Attack
NYC acute care hospitals prepared staff, shared resources, and coordinated with each other as well as City and State partners to care for approximately 1,500 patients – a surge that exceeds total hospital bed capacity by 10 percent.
April 10, 2025 — To prepare the city’s vast health care system for future public health emergencies, the New York City Health Department, health care networks, independent hospitals, Greater New York Hospital Association, New York City Fire Department, New York City Emergency Management, and the New York State Department of Health conducted a week long exercise that tested the health care system’s ability to provide effective care to patients in the event of an emergency that demands care that exceeds available capacity as a result of a citywide attack. This exercise, like much of the city’s emergency preparedness work, is a key component of the city’s efforts to be ready for any public health emergency.
The exercise simulated a coordinated attack that occurred simultaneously across the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, causing mass casualties and a surge of patients with burn and trauma-related injuries to hospital emergency departments. Participating hospitals had to contend with multiple simulated challenges, including a surge of approximately 1,500 patients, which exceeded their total bed capacity by 10 percent. This required health care facilities to coordinate across the system by sharing information and addressing patient transfer and load-balancing needs.
“At the NYC Health Department, we stay ready. This includes preparing and testing our emergency response regularly to answer the call, whatever the challenge, and whenever it arrives,” said Acting Health Commissioner Dr. Michelle Morse. “Our efforts prepare the city to protect New Yorkers’ lives. The Health Department, health care system partners, and other public agencies are committed to continuous testing and enhancement of our systems to support our city and one another to respond to citywide emergencies.”
“Preparedness is a team effort, and exercises like this are how we stay ready to meet the moment—no matter the emergency,” said NYC Emergency Management First Deputy Commissioner Christina Farrell. “Lives depend on how well we plan, how quickly we act, and how effectively we coordinate. NYC Emergency Management plays a critical role in making that coordination possible, and our Health and Medical team's efforts in this exercise reflects the kind of work we do 24/7 to keep New Yorkers safe. I commend all the agencies involved for their commitment to protecting our city and to strengthening our collective response through planning, practice, and partnership.”
“Being prepared for whatever comes at us is critical to ensuring public safety, and protecting our first responders,” said New York City Fire Department Commissioner Robert S. Tucker. “Unfortunately, mass casualty events occur with some regularity, and drilling for worst case scenarios is essential to making sure we are ready. We appreciate this opportunity to run through these simulated scenarios, and thank our partners in government for helping ensure our members are ready for anything."
“New York City hospitals are no strangers to operating during disasters, whether they are weather-related or public health emergencies,” said Greater New York Hospital Association President Kenneth E. Raske. “The COVID-19 pandemic is the most recent example of our hospitals demonstrating their ability and commitment to care for all patients under extremely difficult circumstances. These exercises reinforce the importance of preparedness to the continuum of care during emergencies, and we thank the NYC Health Department for their vision and leadership.”
The exercise tested the ability of health care facilities to:
- Work together as the NYC Health Care Coalition – a collaboration of health care and non-health care organizations — to notify all coalition members of the incident and facilitate information sharing between members;
- Follow established processes for convening and coordinating with City government partners and acute care hospitals;
- Assess and meet critical personnel and resource needs to manage patient surge; and,
- Reduce patient morbidity and mortality through appropriate inter-facility patient transfers and coordination of patient care resources.
Led by the NYC Health Department, this exercise included participants from all eight NYC hospital networks, all 12 independent hospitals, Greater New York Hospital Association, the Fire Department of New York, NYC Emergency Management, and the New York State Department of Health.
This medical response surge exercise is an annual emergency exercise funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response through the Hospital Preparedness Program, which supports local public health and health care systems to develop essential capabilities to respond to emergencies.
The NYC Health Care Coalition is a collaboration of health care and non-health care partners that prepare the city’s health care system for emergencies. Members of the coalition include health care providers, provider associations, government and non-government planning partners, emergency response agencies, community-based organizations, and organizations from the private sector. For more information on the NYC Health Care Coalition, visit their website.
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MEDIA CONTACT: PressOffice@health.nyc.gov