FAQ
Q. What is Wyoming SPIRE?
A. Wyoming SPIRE is a Statewide Pandemic Influenza Response Exercise.
Q. Why are we having a statewide exercise?
A. The purpose of Wyoming S.P.I.R.E is to exercise public health preparedness, readiness and medical surge capability. Wyoming’s public health and medical personnel and its response partners play a critical role in assuring the best possible levels of health and safety during a public health emergency.
In Wyoming, training and small-scale exercises and drills have been implemented each year but have stopped short of large-scale, multi-agency, functional exercises. Through past exercises and recent assessments, we have identified key preparedness objectives to test through exercises.
This exercise will be a moderate to high stress multi agency exercise designed to assess and evaluate capabilities. It will be focused on exercising plans, policies, procedures, and staffs of the participating organizations.
Q. What is a Functional Exercise?
A. Functional Exercises (FE) are designed to assess and evaluate individual capabilities. It is generally focused on exercising the plans, policies, procedures, and the incident command and unified command staff. Generally, events are projected through an exercise scenario with event updates that drive activity at the management level. The movement of personnel and equipment is simulated.
The objective of the FE is to execute specific plans and procedures and apply established policies, plans, and procedures under crisis conditions, within or by a particular functional team(s).
The Functional Exercise simulates the reality of operations in a functional area by presenting complex and realistic problems requiring rapid and effective responses by trained personnel in a highly stressful environment. Attributes of a Functional Exercise include:
• Evaluating functions.
• Evaluating Emergency Operation Centers (EOC), headquarters, and staff.
• Reinforcing established policies and procedures.
• Measuring the adequacy of resources.
• Examining inter-jurisdictional relationships.
Q. What are the objectives of this exercise?
A. We be exercising these seven (7) areas. However, many participants have established their own sub objectives.
1) National Incident Management System (NIMS), Incident Command System (ICS) and the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)
2) Disease detection and reporting
3) Mass prophylaxis and distribution
4) Medical surge capacity
5) Non-pharmaceutical interventions
6) Communications to include Wyoming Alert and Response Network (WARN) and WebEOC
7) Continuity of Operations (COOP)
Q. How will communications be conducted during the exercise?
A. Exercise communications will use telephones, cell phones, WARN, FAX, WebEOC, Video Conferencing, and Two Way Radios.
Q. How can I prepare for the exercise?
A. There are several ways to prepare for an exercise.
1) Register to participate
2) Be knowledgeable of your organization's emergency plans to include what it would do during a pandemic.
3) Determine if you will be a direct participate in the event or a peripheral participate who is called on by other participates for information, policy clarification, or as a subject matter expert on a particular topic or issue.
4) Know where you need to be during the exercise. At the EOCC, office or available by email or phone.
Q. How will the exercise be graded?
A. The exercise will utilize the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation criteria (HSEEP) which does not “grade” an exercise. This is not a “Pass or Fail” type of an exercise, but it will be used to validate our plans. HSEEP provides for capability based exercises and evaluations. Where each capability, activity and task can be evaluated based on observations and recommendations of participants and evaluators.
Q. Do I have to travel to Cheyenne to participate in Wyoming S.P.I.R.E.?
A. No. You can take part in the exercise from a participating location in your county. Please contact your county’s Public Health Response Coordinator at the county Public Health Nursing Office to find the participating location(s) in your county.
Q. Where do I need to be for the exercise?
A. Participants can take part in the exercise in the following ways.
1) At the local level they can participate from the County Emergency Operations Center, Public Health Operations Center if one exists or the Hospitals Command Post. (Note: Not all counties have each of these, contact your Public Health Response Coordinator to obtain the location in your county)
2) For those participating from the Wyoming Department of Health: Identify the role of your program as well as your own role during the exercise. Some may be peripheral participants conducting business as usual and only called on in a as needed basis by participants from the Emergency Operations Communication Center or Incident Command Staff. Members of Management Council and those who are assigned to the Incident Command Staff will need to be at their assigned locations or ready to join in meetings or conference calls.
Q. What do I need for the exercise?
1) Telephone
2) Charged Cell Phone
3) Applicable phone numbers listed in the “Exercise Phone Book”
4) If issued a radio have both batteries charged and the radio ready for use.
5) Computer with internet access
6) Registered in the Wyoming Alert and Response Network (WARN) based on your organizational plans and role for emergency events. (For more information on roles within WARN contact Sheryl Roub at sheryl.roub@health.wyo.gov or (307) 777-7146 or Paul Card at paul.card@health.wyo.gov or (307) 777-7189.)
Q. How do I set up a WARN account?
A. To register for WARN send email to: warnhelp@state.wy.us
Q. Can I get a copy of the events taking place so I can prepare?
A. A week or so prior to the exercise the Exercise Design Team will distribute an “Exercise Guidebook” to all registered participants. This “Guidebook” will be a valuable resource during the exercise and will provide an overview of the exercise, the scenario and discussion points.
Q. How long will the exercise last?
A. The exercise is to last a total of 2 1/2 days June 24-26. The exercise is to be divided into two or three shorter segments with breaks in-between to simulate the lengthy progression (several weeks to months) of a disease outbreak and provide rest and staging time for the each portion of the exercise.
Q. Can we get a copy of the Exercise Evaluations Guides (EEGs) so we can see how we are being evaluated; therefore being prepared?
A. Some EEGs will be included in the Guidebooks which will be sent out about a week prior to the exercise. These EEGs will not include any sub objectives you may have or wish to be evaluated at the local level. Exercises should never be designed to create a pass or fail situation. Wyoming SPIRE is not a test and it is not a pass or fail type of exercise.
Q. Can we get a copy of the Master Scenario Events List (MSEL) so we can see the time line and know what is going to take place during the exercise; so we can be ready?
A. Some of the MSEL will be included in the Guidebooks which will be sent out about a week prior to the exercise. The Guidebook will not contain the complete MSEL, but it will provide enough information to understand the scenario and key issues that will drive the exercise.
Wyoming SPIRE Exercise Time Line
Monday June 23
- The delivery of exercise messages to build up the exercise and prepare participants for Tues.
- Monday will be a “Thinking Day:” As messages are received participants should take time to think about what their actions would be in response to those messages. Participants should be ready to discuss these actions during the first hour of exercise plan on Tuesday.
Tuesday June 24 9 a.m. to approximately 3 p.m. with debrief
- Participants at the county level will need to be in place and ready prior to 9 a.m.
- Tuesday events will focus on “The first 72” of a pandemic
Wednesday June 25 9 a.m. to approximately 3 p.m. with debrief
- Participants will need to be in place and ready prior to 9 a.m.
- Pandemic in Wyoming
Thursday June 26 8:30 a.m. to approximately 1 p.m. with debrief
- Participants will need to be in place and ready prior to 8:30 a.m.
- Demobilization Phase
- Exercise will end at approximately 10-10:30 followed by a 1-2 hour debrief