News Releases

Emergency Operations Plans Tested During Simulated Event

To test local emergency operation plans and meet the Hospital Preparedness Program grant requirements, The Center for Health Affairs’ emergency preparedness team annually collaborates with member hospitals to create a simulated event that could potentially occur in the Northeast Ohio area.

This year’s simulated event, Northeast Ohio Heroes, took place in Cleveland July 20 through 23. It was planned and coordinated in conjunction with the Cleveland Federal Coordination Center’s activation for the National Disaster Medical System response and Cleveland Cities Readiness Initiative which provided an opportunity for hospitals to exercise alongside more than 65 agencies from local, regional, state and federal jurisdictions.

The scenario was built off a general threat of a terrorist group releasing a biological agent with associated prophylaxis effective if administered within 72 hours of exposure. Simultaneously, a tornado hit downtown Detroit overwhelming the state’s resources, which activated Cleveland to receive patients.

Some of the simulated event’s objectives were to test:

• Emergency operation plans, incident management and interagency workflow
• Internal and external information sharing
• Medical surgical and influx patient management
• Closed points of dispensing activation

“The biggest resource hospitals and the other organizations have during an emergency event is their staff,” said Andrea Bishop, BSN, emergency preparedness manager, The Center for Health Affairs. “Our simulated event provides a stress free environment for hospitals and other organizations to implement their emergency operation plans, which in turn educates and helps prepare their staff.”

For more information on this simulated event or The Center for Health Affairs’ emergency preparedness team and efforts, please contact Andrea Bishop via email or at 216.255.3662.