Shelter-in-Place Community-Based Exercise: A HazMat Incident
2020 Operation Shelter-in-Place: A HazMat Incident
A Community-Based Exercise for Healthcare Facilities
(Shelter-In-Place means seeking immediate shelter inside a building when outside air quality is threatened or compromised by a chemical hazard, sheltering in place keeps you inside an area offering more protection.)
The Northeast Florida Healthcare Coalition and Northeast Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee for Hazardous Materials is hosting a community-based exercise on Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 10am to assist healthcare facilities in meeting CMS training and testing requirements. Other organizations in the community are also encouraged to participate.
Training and Exercise Overview
The Northeast Florida Healthcare Coalition (HCC) and Northeast Florida Local Emergency Planning Committee for Hazardous Materials (LEPC) have partnered to implement a pilot training and exercise program. The goal of this pilot program is to enhance shelter-inplace capabilities of healthcare facilities and community organizations for a hazardous materials incident.
Healthcare facilities and other organizations that are interested in participating in this community-based exercise are required to fulfill the following requirements to receive a Letter of Participation from the healthcare coalition.
I. Prepare – (Required)
a. Attend a LEPC Sponsored Shelter-in-Place Training (2-hours)
b. Multiple offerings available throughout the region in Jan/Feb of 2020
i. Reference the attached Training Flyer for registration information
c. Only facilities that have attended a training can participate in the Exercise
II. Implement Training – Take the lessons learned in the LEPC sponsored shelter-in-place training and conduct an internal training at your healthcare facility or organization in preparation for the community-based exercise.
III. Conduct Exercise – On Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 10am, registered healthcare facilities and other organizations will take part in the exercise. The scenario will simulate a hazardous materials threat and subsequent need to implement shelter-in-place protocols.
On Tuesday, February 25, 2020 at 10am, you will:
- Receive an alert from the healthcare coalition with the scenario and instructions for conducting the exercise.
- Facilities will be responsible for implementing their internal shelter-in-place protocols.
- Document the shelter-in-place exercise by obtaining a sign in sheet of participants. If appropriate, take photos during the exercise.
IV. Evaluate Exercise – When the shelter-in-place exercise is complete, take a moment to review actions that worked well and actions that need improvement with exercise players.
a. Following the exercise, complete the following steps by March 13, 2020.
i. Complete an online participant evaluation survey.
ii. Submit exercise participant sign-in-sheets to eanderson@nefrc.org
iii. Submit any photos that you would like us to include in the afteraction report (optional) to eanderson@nefrc.org
Documentation Provided – By Friday, April 3, 2020, your organization will receive an After-Action Report and Letter of Participation. These documents may be used for meeting CMS training and testing requirements.
For more information:
Exercise overview: http://www.neflhcc.org/SIP_Training_and_Exercise_Flyer.pdf
Eric Anderson, Coalition Coordinator
Email: eanderson@nefrc.org
Phone: (904) 279-0880 ext. 178
Tyler Nolen, LEPC Coordinator
Email: tnolen@nefrc.org
Phone: (904) 279-0880 ext. 108