SITUATION:
Coordinated Consulting Services (CCS) was hired by Santa Cruz County Health Services (SCCHS) in 2024 to conduct a two-day, Whole Community Emergency Preparedness and Response Training and Tabletop Exercise. The focus of this event was to bring partners together to discuss roles and responsibilities of SCCHS and other community and healthcare system partners during a response to an emerging infectious disease.
NEED:
SCCHS wanted to provide both training and exercise components for internal staff, Fire/EMS, and local health partners as they pertain to an emerging infectious disease outbreak, all while fostering an environment for networking and relationship building. The training was to cover a wide array of topics and plans, including lessons learned from the COVID-19 Pandemic and the SCCHS Public Health Jurisdictional Risk Assessment (PH JRA).
SOLUTION:
CCS conducted a full-day training followed by a half-day discussion-based tabletop exercise. This provided a venue for facility, organization, and jurisdictional-level discussions among diverse SCCHS sectors. Varying sectors included public health, emergency management, emergency medical services (EMS), healthcare facilities, schools, and other community partners.
Discussions explored multiple topics relating to emerging disease identification, the roles and responsibilities of public health and public health partners, and community preparedness and planning for disease mitigation strategies.
OUTCOME:
Data gathered during the exercise was used to assess strengths and areas for improvement in public health response capabilities, including Community Preparedness, Emergency Operations Coordination, Public Health Surveillance and Epidemiological Investigation, and Information Sharing. A comprehensive After-Action Report / Improvement Plan (AAR/IP) was presented to SCCHS to assist in future planning efforts.
As a result, the community and its planning partners have a better understanding of SCCHS’s plans and their own agency’s roles and responsibilities in public health emergencies. This training and exercise are part of the ongoing preparedness initiative for Santa Cruz County Health Services.
