sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
Tabletop Exercises for Pandemic Influenza Preparedness in Local Public Health Agencies
A global pandemic influenza outbreak represents one of the most catastrophic threats to the U.S. public health system. In the 20th century, three major pandemics were caused by the emergence of several new influenza A virus subtypes that resulted in over 600,000 deaths in the United States (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005). New influenza A virus subtypes, similar to the ones that caused the pandemics of the 20th century, are likely to emerge in the 21st century as well. Medical advances and public health preparedness efforts have improved the nation?s abilities to respond to a pandemic influenza emergency even as dramatic increases in global travel and the demand for poultry have made the United States more vulnerable to such threats.
In preparing for such a threat, public health agencies must work closely with a number of partners, including emergency management agencies, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and, most important, healthcare agencies and providers. Despite the importance of these relationships, many public health agencies have been unable to find ways to facilitate their growth and development, which has led to a number of important gaps in the ability of these partners to respond to a pandemic influenza emergency in a coordinated way.
In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness contracted with the RAND Corporation to develop and pilot-test a tabletop exercise that tested the relationships between local public health agencies and their local healthcare delivery and governmental partners in response to a pandemic flu emergency. This report represents the final exercise we developed from that project.
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/tr319.html
A global pandemic influenza outbreak represents one of the most catastrophic threats to the U.S. public health system. In the 20th century, three major pandemics were caused by the emergence of several new influenza A virus subtypes that resulted in over 600,000 deaths in the United States (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005). New influenza A virus subtypes, similar to the ones that caused the pandemics of the 20th century, are likely to emerge in the 21st century as well. Medical advances and public health preparedness efforts have improved the nation?s abilities to respond to a pandemic influenza emergency even as dramatic increases in global travel and the demand for poultry have made the United States more vulnerable to such threats.
In preparing for such a threat, public health agencies must work closely with a number of partners, including emergency management agencies, law enforcement agencies, elected officials, and, most important, healthcare agencies and providers. Despite the importance of these relationships, many public health agencies have been unable to find ways to facilitate their growth and development, which has led to a number of important gaps in the ability of these partners to respond to a pandemic influenza emergency in a coordinated way.
In 2004, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness contracted with the RAND Corporation to develop and pilot-test a tabletop exercise that tested the relationships between local public health agencies and their local healthcare delivery and governmental partners in response to a pandemic flu emergency. This report represents the final exercise we developed from that project.
http://pandemicflu.gov/plan/states/tr319.html