Article: Tabletop exercise to prepare institutions of higher education for an outbreak of COVID-19

Aaron M. Wendelboe, PhD; Amanda Miller, JD, CRM; Douglas Drevets, MD; Linda Salinas, MD; E. J. Miller; Dalton Jackson; Ann Chou, PhD; Jill Raines, JD; Public Health Working Group

doi:10.5055/jem.2020.0463

Authors

Aaron M. Wendelboe, PhD
Amanda Miller, JD, CRM
Douglas Drevets, MD
Linda Salinas, MD
E. J. Miller
Dalton Jackson
Ann Chou, PhD
Jill Raines, JD
Public Health Working Group

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5055/jem.2020.0463

Keywords:

COVI-19, pandemic, public health, emergency

Abstract

Preparing for public health emergencies is an ongoing process and involves a variety of approaches and tools. Tabletop exercises are one of the tools designed to simulate the emergence of a public health emergency and address some or all of the phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery.1 They typically are designed to include participation of stakeholders from diverse and complementary backgrounds, including command, operations, logistics, planning, and finance.2 Effective tabletop exercises provide a plausible scenario that require cooperation and communication from these functional areas. Tabletops also require forward thinking and planning in a variety of scenarios. When a public health emergency occurs, decision makers may be overwhelmed with decisions that need their immediate attention. Tabletop exercises can provide a framework to help decision makers anticipate future challenges, which may provide the mental model encompassing knowledge and insights that inform both current and future decisions.

Author Biographies

Aaron M. Wendelboe, PhD

Hudson College of Public Health, Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Amanda Miller, JD, CRM

Enterprise Risk Management, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Douglas Drevets, MD

College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Linda Salinas, MD

College of Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

E. J. Miller

Enterprise Risk Management, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Dalton Jackson

Campus Police Department, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Ann Chou, PhD

College of Medicine, Department of Family andP reventive Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Jill Raines, JD

Office of the Senior Vice President and Provost, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Public Health Working Group

Slate Boyer, Jessica Beetch, Jennifer Dilley, Adam Hassoun, John G. Heller, Blakeley Pearson, and Andrew Schaff

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