Public Health and the Pope's Visit to Philadelphia, 2015

Pope Francis visited Philadelphia for 2 days during September 2015. Preparedness functions managed by the Philadelphia Department of Public Health (PDPH) were similar to those of other mass gatherings but also required accommodation of special security arrangements and the location of public events in central areas of the city. Public health planning involved collaborations with multiple city, state, and federal agencies and neighboring jurisdictions. PDPH preparations encompassed incident command procedures, contingency planning, disease surveillance and prevention, food safety, vector control, BioWatch air sampling, volunteer management for first-aid services, and continuity of operations. These were based on, or informed by, existing emergency plans and prior experiences in responding to public health crises, supporting large public events, managing regional preparedness exercises, engaging Medical Reserve Corps volunteers, and executing routine functions. Although the papal visit concluded without the occurrence of a substantial public health or healthcare emergency, lessons learned have and will continue to improve coordination with partner agencies in planning and executing large-scale events, as well as managing regional disease surveillance procedures and medical volunteer engagement. Another area identified for improvement concerns enhancing the role of local health departments in planning for responses to possible BioWatch alerts.