Bioterrorist Attack on Food
The goal of the exercise is to examine the policies required to respond effectively to the scenario, identifying policies that need clarification or development. The exercise is not Incident Command System (ICS)-based because it emphasizes policy issues rather than operational procedures; however, as participants work through the scenario they will likely identify missing knowledge or understanding relevant to their specific ICS.
The exercise is a revised version of an earlier tabletop called "Hands-on Training for Public Health Emergencies."
This article, by Carl Osaki, in Northwest Public Health, Spring 2001, discusses the tabletop exercise.
Intended Audience
Anyone who would be responding to a public health emergency, including hospital administrators and clinicians; public health administrators, nurses, laboratory directors, and environmental health staff; school district administrators; and first responders—emergency medical services, fire safety, law enforcement, and emergency medical technicians.
Estimated Time to Complete
The exercise is designed to be completed in a four-hour session. However, facilitators can conduct it as a one-day exercise by expanding the discussion and debriefing periods.
Issues Participants will Explore
- How do medical care providers decide when to contact the health officials?
- How do medical care personnel determine who to contact?
- How is the Health Department contacted? (After hours/Non-business day)
- What additional information does the health department need?
- How does the medical care facility address its capacity needs?
- At what point would you engage personnel from non-public health agencies? Who would you include?
- To whom do the medical care providers report their information, particularly if key health department staff cannot be contacted?
- How is information shared between agencies?
- How do agencies respond to news media inquiries?
Funding
Support for this project was provided under a cooperative agreement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) through the Association of Schools of Public Health (ASPH).
