Enhancing Public Health Preparedness through the HHS Postal Exercise Series

CNA is currently supporting the Training, Exercises and Lessons Learned (TELL) division within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Specifically, CNA is supporting TELL with the design, development, conduct, and evaluation of a full-scale exercise in Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN and tabletop exercises in Boston, MA; Louisville, KY; Philadelphia, PA; and San Diego, CA. The exercises will test or review each jurisdiction’s Postal Plan, which describes the process for the U.S. Postal Service to deliver prophylaxis to their residents in response to a public health emergency.

We are applying the Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program’s approach to each exercise. Then, to tailor the exercise design to each jurisdiction’s needs, we coordinate regularly with the federal, state, and local planners from agencies such as HHS; the U.S. Postal Service; and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; as well as with local/state public health departments, law enforcement agencies, and emergency management agencies.

CNA successfully supported the conduct of the first tabletop exercise in Louisville, and we are in the process of developing its after-action report. In addition, we successfully conducted the Minneapolis/St. Paul full-scale exercise in early May 2012, and we are in the process of analyzing the data to develop the after-action report.

For additional information on the National Postal Model and this exercise series, please refer to HHS’ website.