That largest exercise in Arizona history wrapped up last weekend, but now the work begins. Vigilant Guard featured a pseudo tropical storm, flooding and a nuclear bomb blast in downtown Phoenix. Arizona cities, counties, state and federal agencies participated in the exercise – testing emergency and evacuation plans, as well plans to transport and prioritize patients. 5,000 participants were working in health care – all 15 county health departments, tribes, 82 hospitals – to name a few. 50 folks from ADHS worked at the Health Emergency Operations Center and the State Emergency Operations Center. Thanks to all of you who participated and continue working to make sure any gaps we found will be fixed for the future!
Posts Tagged ‘2011 Arizona Vigilant Guard Exercise’
Vigilant Guard Epilog
November 16th, 2011Our Biggest Exercise Ever
October 3rd, 2011We’re partnering with the AZ Division of Emergency Management to conduct the biggest preparedness exercise ever to be held in Arizona. It’s called the 2011 Arizona ”Vigilant Guard” Exercise. It’ll involve around 5,000 folks from various backgrounds including emergency management, public health, health care, law enforcement, fire, military, and the private sector. The exercise will be based on a flooding event and an improvised nuclear device. As you can imagine, this scenario will truly test our ability to respond to a catastrophic event. The exercise will take place on Nov. 3–6. Hospitals, clinics, and most public health will just be participating on Nov. 4.
Because this is an operational exercise, our Health Emergency Operation Center will be fully activated here at ADHS. Hospitals, clinics, local health departments, and other response agencies will also activate their emergency operation centers. Key areas for us to test will be medical surge management, shelter-in-place guidelines, communications, and the creation of registries for exposed persons. I’ll be posting more information over the coming weeks to keep y’all up to speed on what to expect and how to prepare.
