Recorded presentation

Ruth A. Vogel, RN, CPH¹, Christa Singleton, MD MPH¹, Peter Beilenson, MD, MPH², Daniel Barnett, MD MPH¹, and Dawn M LaForce, MPH². (1) Office of Public Health Preparedness and Response, Baltimore City Health Departmet, 210 Guilford Avenue, Third Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202, 410-396-4387, christa.singleton@baltimorecity.gov, (2) Health Department, Baltimore City Department of Health, 210 Guilford Ave., 3rd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202

Following September 11, 2001, local health departments emerged to fill an important new leadership role within the nation’s emergency response infrastructure. Recognizing the need to improve regional collaboration to help define and support this new role, the Baltimore City Health Department (BCHD) initiated plans to implement Harbor B.A.S.E. (Biological Attack Simulated Exercise), a full-scale, regional bioterrorism exercise conducted in July 2003. Harbor B.A.S.E. was designed to help the Baltimore Metropolitan Region achieve three goals: 1) establish emergency communication systems and protocols to ensure systems are effective, timely, and adequate; 2) improve integration of emergency response plans to maximize resource utilization; and 3) improve cross-jurisdictional support and collaboration. Eighty planning experts and more than 1200 participants representing a variety of agencies and institutions (healthcare, state and local government, academia, community-based organizations, private agencies and institutions) committed ten months of preparation for the event. The exercise utilized botulinum toxin and smallpox (secondary attack) as the biological agents with 56 “patients” presenting to various healthcare agencies throughout the region. Responders and clinicians were challenged with differential diagnoses and appropriate response procedures including communications, isolation and quarantine, and contact tracing. Preparatory efforts, specifically training activities, provided numerous opportunities for participants to remove barriers, bridge communication gaps, and establish new and essential partnerships. This successful initiative, one of the largest of its kind to date, demonstrates how public health-based leadership can contribute to enhanced collaborative planning, ensure resource sharing, and provide for better integration of the public health role into existing emergency management infrastructures.

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