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Case study

Practical insights for regional multi-sectoral exercise planning: The Greater Toronto experience

Claudia Cocco and Moira Hennebury
Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, 15 (1), 17-29 (2021)
https://doi.org/10.69554/HZYY9759

Abstract

Exercise GTA Unified was a functional, multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional, health-sector focused mass casualty preparedness exercise conducted in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) on 28th November, 2019. With over 1,000 unique paper-based and electronic injects and 34 participating agencies, including 22 separate hospital sites, Exercise GTA Unified is likely the largest health-sector focused mass casualty preparedness exercise ever conducted in Canada. The exercise design approach supported a successful, objective-based functional exercise, with elements of marked realism for participants. The exercise offered a unique opportunity to collect data for future analysis and the insights gained will have a transformative impact on interagency engagement and cooperation for emergency response planning. Furthermore, the approach adopted for the exercise is affordable, reproducible, scalable and transferrable to sectors beyond the health system. This paper provides a detailed review of the key planning and design components adopted in the development and implementation of the exercise, as well as practical insights for the design and conduct of multi-agency, cross-jurisdictional functional exercises.

Keywords: mass casualty incident; health system; exercise design; surge capacity; regional emergency planning; operations-based exercise; functional exercise

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Author's Biography

Claudia Cocco is the Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Emergency Preparedness Co-Lead for hospitals in the Toronto Central Local Health Integration Network. With extensive experience in exercise design, surge management and continuity of operations planning, she coordinates communication and collaboration with health system partners for best practice and knowledge transfer opportunities to mitigate, prepare for, respond to and recover from planned and unplanned emergencies/events. Prior to entering the field of emergency preparedness, Claudia worked as a registered nurse, caring for some of Ontario’s most vulnerable populations.

Moira Hennebury is an emergency preparedness specialist at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Ontario Health (Toronto Region). Moira holds a bachelor’s degree in environmental studies in international development from the University of Waterloo and a master’s degree in disaster and emergency management from York University.

Citation

Cocco, Claudia and Hennebury, Moira (2021, September 1). Practical insights for regional multi-sectoral exercise planning: The Greater Toronto experience. In the Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning, Volume 15, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.69554/HZYY9759.

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cover image, Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning
Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning
Volume 15 / Issue 1
© Henry Stewart
Publications LLP

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