There are 7 types of exercises. Exercises are either discussion
based, or operations-based. Discussions-based exercises
familiarize participants with current plans, policies, agreements
and procedures, or may be used to develop new plans, policies,
agreements, and procedures. Discussion-based Exercises include
the following:
Seminar: A seminar is an informal discussion,
designed to orient participants to new or updated plans,
policies, or procedures (e.g., a seminar to review a new
Evacuation Standard Operating Procedure).
Workshop: A workshop resembles a
seminar, but is employed to build specific products, such as a
draft plan or policy (e.g., a Training and Exercise Plan
Workshop is used to develop a Multi-year Training and Exercise
Plan).
Tabletop Exercise (TTX): A tabletop exercise
involves key personnel discussing simulated scenarios in an
informal setting. TTXs can be used to assess plans, policies,
and procedures.
Games: A game is a simulation of operations
that often involves two or more teams, usually in a competitive
environment, using rules, data, and procedure designed to
depict an actual or assumed real-life situation.
Operations-based Exercises validate plans, policies, agreements
and procedures, clarify roles and responsibilities, and identify
resource gaps in an operational environment.Operations-based
exercises include the following:
Drill: A drill is a coordinated, supervised
activity usually employed to test a single, specific operation
or function within a single entity (e.g., a fire department
conducts a decontamination drill).
Functional Exercise (FE): A functional
exercise examines and/or validates the coordination, command,
and control between various multi-agency coordination centers
(e.g., emergency operation center, joint field office, etc.). A
functional exercise does not involve any “boots on the ground”
(i.e., first responders or emergency officials responding to an
incident in real time).
Full-Scale Exercises (FSE): A full-scale
exercise is a multi-agency, multi-jurisdictional,
multi-discipline exercise involving functional (e.g., joint
field office, emergency operation centers, etc.) and “boots on
the ground” response (e.g., firefighters decontaminating mock
victims).
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) offers a
structured, proactive approach for different government
departments, agencies, non-governmental organizations, and
businesses to collaborate effectively.
It aims to prevent, protect against, respond to, recover from,
and mitigate the impact of incidents, no matter their cause,
size, location, or complexity. The goal is to minimize loss of
life, property damage, and harm to the environment.
NIMS works alongside the National Response Framework (NRF). While
NIMS provides the blueprint for incident management, the NRF
establishes the framework and processes for national-level
incident management policies.
CHA’s NIMS Compliance Objectives tool was developed to
assist hospitals with National Incident Management System (NIMS)
implementation. The compliance objectives are mandated, however
the examples to achieve compliance are only suggestions.
Hospitals may have other means for demonstrating compliance:
The California Statewide Medical and Health Exercise Program
(SMHE), utilizing HSEEP
and aligning with PHEP and
HPP grant requirements, offers customizable exercise
templates for jurisdictions, organizations, and facilities.
Updated annually, the program provide objectives, scenarios, and
focus regions for participation in the yearly exercise.
Facilitated by CDPHi and the California Emergency Medical Service
Authority, SWMHE aligns with state-level engagement and grant
requirements, though local jurisdictions have the option to
conduct their own exercises.
The SWMHE is proposed to resume in April 2025 and annually
thereafter, aligning with the new five-year project period
starting July 1, 2024.
You can find more information and access exercise materials on
the SWMHE
Website.
Mandated Training on the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System for Hospitals and Health Care Systems
The Hospital Preparedness Program requires hospitals that receive grant funding to train their leadership in the National Incident Management System and the Incident Command System. This training is required for hospital emergency program managers and for personnel who are likely to assume an incident command position as described in the hospital’s Emergency Management Plan.
To help hospitals comply with this mandate, CHA offers this free web course to California hospitals, with grant funds obtained from California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA).
Developed by Kaiser Permanente’s Healthcare Continuity Management Department, this course is approved by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services as an equivalent Federal Emergency Management Agency course.
This course provides the training required to comply with the NIMS Implementation Activities for Hospitals and the grant activities including:
ICS 100: Basics of ICS
ICS 200: Applying ICS to Health Care Organizations
IS 700: Introduction to NIMS
This course is required for:
Emergency Preparedness Committee Members
Emergency Program Managers
Any personnel who are likely to assume an incident command position described in the hospital’s Emergency Management Plan
Any personnel that would assume a leadership role in emergency preparedness, incident response or the Hospital Command Center (Hospital Emergency Operations Center).
The IS-800 course is available through FEMA’s website. The course
introduces participants to the concepts and principles of the
National Response Framework.
At the end of this course, participants will be able to describe:
The purpose of the National Response Framework.
The response doctrine established by the National Response
Framework.
The roles and responsibilities of entities as specified in
the National Response Framework.
The actions that support national response.
The response organizations used for multiagency coordination.
This tool was was developed by the CHA Hospital
Preparedness Program to assist hospitals in development,
implementation and evaluation of their exercises.
Individual exercises are part of an Exercise and Evaluation Cycle
under the hospital’s Emergency Management Program. These
exercises may be isolated within the hospital, or part of a
larger community, or even statewide, exercise such as the
California Statewide Medical Health Exercise. It is the
intent of the checklist to provide an overview, guidance and
resources for hospitals which allows a more coordinated effort
and can be tailored to the facility.
Hospitals are required to conduct drills and exercises for
accreditation and/or grant requirement(s).
Examples of these requirements include:
The HPP grant may require hospital participation in the
annual Statewide Medical Health Exercise.
The National Incident Management System Compliance for
Healthcare Objective 7 states that NIMS concepts and
principles are promoted into all organization-related training
and exercises.
The Joint Commission in EM03.01.03 requires two emergency
response exercises (at least one to include an escalating event
where the local community is unable to support the event),
and at least one to include participation in a community-wide
exercise.
ShakeOut is an annual earthquake drill and preparedness activity
that promotes earthquake preparedness and safety. Originating in
Southern California in 2008, ShakeOut has since expanded to other
regions and countries around the world.
ShakeOut drills are designed to raise awareness about earthquake
risks and encourage individuals, organizations, and communities
to take proactive measures to reduce their vulnerability to
earthquakes and their potential impact.
ShakeOut events typically occur on a specific day each year,
usually in October, with participants ranging from schools and
businesses to government agencies and households.