Pandemic Flu Tabletop Exercise (TTX) [insert date of exercise] Public Health – Seattle & King County [insert your agency logo]

Agenda  Exercise Guidelines  Introductions  Exercise Overview  Exercise Play  Debrief

Exercise Guidelines  Low-stress, no-fault environment  Varying viewpoints are expected  Respond to the scenario using your knowledge of current plans and capabilities  Decisions are not precedent setting  [Optional: Problem-solving efforts should be the focus]

Introductions  Participants: [CBO/FBO staff] can be specific for a large organization such as administrators or IT  Evaluator: [Insert individual’s name] Optional, you can invite a representative from another location to observe and provide feedback  Facilitator: [Insert Individual’s name]

Exercise Overview  [Insert Exercise Requirement/The Why]  [X minutes/hour] exercise  [Insert Name] Response Plan  4 Modules:  Personal Preparedness/Readiness  Communication  Performing Critical Functions  Continuity of Business Operations

Business Continuity Critical Functions Personal Preparedness & Communications

Objectives *Staff*  Understand your personal level of preparedness at home, vehicle and with your family/friends/pets  Understand your role, responsibilities and the organizational chart during a pandemic flu  Know how you will conduct notifications and the communications procedures in an emergency  Identify the primary services and critical functions of your agency in a pandemic flu scenario  Understand the continuity of operations for your agency

Objectives *Executive*  Understand your (and your staff’s) personal level of preparedness at home, vehicle and with your family/friends/pets  Understand your role (and your staff’s), responsibilities and the organizational chart in a pandemic flu  Know how you will conduct notifications and the communications procedures in an emergency  Identify the primary services and critical functions of your agency in a pandemic flu scenario  Understand the continuity of operations for your agency

START EXERCISE

Scenario

 It is late March and there are many suspected cases of a new strain of Influenza in King County  Nationally, there are several areas of widespread activity  Antivirals do not appear to be effective and a vaccine is not yet available

Scenario  CDC has declared this to be a Category 5 pandemic  Many local businesses are reporting up to 40% absenteeism, with some shutting down completely  It is estimated that 20% of the local population has become ill

Module 1 Personal Preparedness

Module 1 Personal Preparedness *Staff*  What are you most concerned about if you are in this emergency right now?  How will you limit your exposure?  Do you have alternate transportation if you utilize public transit?  If you need (or want) to be isolated, do you have enough food for 72 hours?  Do you have masks, gloves, cleaning items available?  Do you have child care? Alternate options?

Module 1 Personal Preparedness *Executive*  Are there agency policies, plans and/or engagement activities that support staff personal preparedness?  Do you know if your staff has supplies needed for a voluntary isolation for 72 hours?  Do have any training and education around communicable disease preparedness?  Do you have supplies available for staff in your agency location?

Module 2 Communications

Module 2 Communications *Staff* Internal Communications  Who would you communicate with if you are experiencing symptoms of the flu? When? How?  How will you know if your site will be open if there is a pandemic flu?  Do you know how decisions are made in your agency? External Communications  Who are your stakeholders?  What notifications are made?

Module 2 Communications *Executive* Internal Communications  What information and sources are being used to make decisions?  Is there a policy and procedure on how staff will be notified if the agency is closed?  Who is responsible for ensuring this task is completed?  What is the process if the staff member can not be reached?

Module 3 Critical Functions

Module 3 Critical Functions *Executive*  What are your critical services?  What are your secondary services?  What are your non-critical services?  Based on this scenario with 40% absenteeism, what resources are available and what critical services can you provide? Which will not be provided?  How will organizational leadership make these decisions?

Module 3 Critical Functions *Staff*  Do you know your agencies critical services?  What is your role in supporting these critical services?  Do you know your agencies non-critical services?

Module 3 Critical Functions *Executive* External Communications  For the services that are not being continued, are there resources where you can refer clients?  What are the elements of the message you are communicating to your clients?  Who has final approval of the message?  How will you communicate this message out to clients?  How will you deliver critical information to the people you serve in the languages they understand?

Module 4 Continuity of Operations

Business Continuity Plan - documented procedures that guide organizations to respond, recover, resume, and restore critical functions following disruption Module 4 Continuity of Operations

Module 4 Continuity of Operations *Staff*  Do you have a business continuity plan?  Who is the decision maker if the director is not available?  Do you have an alternative work location identified?

Module 4 Continuity of Operations *Executive*  What does the organizational structure look like in normal operations? How will that change when only critical functions are offered?  What are your position specific responsibilities?

 What are the triggers for activating the business continuity plan?  Who has the authority to activate the plan?  Who is responsible for the recovery effort?  What are the triggers for returning to normal operations? Module 4 Continuity of Operations *Executive*

Module 4 Continuity of Operations *Staff & Executive* Staff Concerns  Are staff cross trained?  Are there prearranged agreements to have contractors?  Are functions distributed between multiple sites?  What staff are needed to carry out the function?  What special skills and expertise do they require?  What is the minimum number of staff required?

Module 4 Continuity of Operations *Staff & Executive* Building Requirements  Do facility’s procedures need to be modified?  What specialized equipment and/or tools are required?  Are staff able to work from home? At alternate work locations?

Optional: [Insert] Local Example  Any examples from the 2009 H1N1 incident and how it impacted your operations? Staffing? Lessons learned?

END EXERCISE

Debrief  Questions  Lessons Learned  Improvement Plan