Enhancing Healthcare Preparedness: Lessons from a Tabletop Exercise on Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI)

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Disease Preparedness
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Tabletop exercises are vital for evaluating healthcare preparedness and response plans.
• The New York City Health + Hospitals System-Wide Special Pathogens Program conducted a multidisciplinary exercise in 2023.
• The exercise focused on escalating scenarios of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess patient screening, infection control, risk communication, and public health stakeholder involvement for HPAI/H5N1.
• To identify areas for improvement in healthcare facilities' response to infectious disease outbreaks.
• To gather insights on tools and resources supporting healthcare professionals in managing HPAI/H5N1.

Main Methods:

• An innovative, multidisciplinary tabletop exercise was designed with escalating HPAI/H5N1 scenarios, from single case to community transmission.
• Participants included clinical staff, infection prevention and control experts, emergency management, and public health stakeholders.
• Discussions focused on escalation triggers, infection prevention strategies, and communication pathways.

Main Results:

• The exercise revealed a need for refined patient screening criteria and robust infection prevention protocols.
• Clear communication strategies and enhanced collaboration with public health authorities were identified as critical.
• Improvements in triage, isolation protocols, staff education, and syndromic surveillance were highlighted.

Conclusions:

• Proactive planning and multidisciplinary collaboration are essential for strengthening healthcare system resilience.
• Integrating biosafety measures is crucial for effectively managing HPAI/H5N1.
• The exercise provided valuable lessons for enhancing preparedness against novel infectious disease threats.