2025 CMS Exercise Series Details
Welcome to the 2025 CMS Exercise Series. This page contains all of the essential information you'll need for each session. Please review the details below carefully:
- Exercise Series: This series is designed to help healthcare organization enhance their emergency preparedness plans and work towards meeting CMS requirements. It includes a variety of training sessions and exercises, all held in a virtual setting.
- Attendance: To get the most out of this series, we strongly encourage live participation in all sessions. Attending in real time allows for better planning, interactive Q&A, and optimal preparation for the exercise components. If you're unable to attend a session, recording will be available upon request. However, missing planning meetings may result in removal from the remainder of the series. Note: While your full team is required for the exercise sessions, only one representative needs to attend the planning and training sessions.
- Minimum People Involved: Exercises must involve a team- no single individual can complete them alone. At a minimum, your exercise team should include: an administrative leader, a clinical leader, and a facilities leader. You're welcome to include additional members of your organizations incident command or response teams. Important: SVHC will not certify completion for any organization that does not meet this standard. For questions about team composition please contact: ahubble@vhha.com or gskeens@vhha.com.
- Optional Offering: The Hazard Vulnerability Assessment scheduled for October 2nd is an optional offering. If you or your team have already completed this component for your organization for the year, or you plan to do it at another date/time you will not need to attend this offering.
- Tabletop Exercise (TTX): Your Exercise Team must attend one of the two available virtual Tabletop Exercise (TTX) sessions. This is a mandatory requirement for successful completion of the series. Each participant must register individually to ensure accurate attendance tracking.
- Functional Exercise (FE): This Exercise will take place through the VHASS platform on-site at your location. Your participation in the Functional Exercise (dates below) is mandatory for SVHC to certify completion of this requirement.
Exercise Series Calendar
Part 1: Hazard Vulnerability Assessment (HVA)
On Thursday, October 2nd, at 10:00 a.m., we are launching our series with a hands-on session focused on conducting a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA), also known as a risk assessment. This essential step in emergency planning helps identify your organization's greatest threats and vulnerabilities; guiding where to focus your time, funding, and resources. Please bring your organization's current HVA. If you don't have one, you can use this HVA template to create or update your assessment during the session. This session is optional for those who have already completed or updated their HVA for the year.
Part 2: Initial Planning Meeting (IPM)
On Thursday, October 9th , at 10:00 am. we will have an in-depth discussion centered around planning for the tabletop exercise. We will discuss the theme for this series, the importance of emergency planning and preparedness, and what to expect and have available for the tabletop exercise.
Part 3: Tabletop Exercise
Building on the work that you have already completed, Organizations will now have the opportunity to complete a tabletop exercise. A discussion-based event that involves key personnel and decision makers in an informal setting to discuss roles, responsibilities, and responses to an emergency scenario. To support the convenience and operational flexibility of participating facilities, this tabletop exercise will be conducted virtually only. This format allows teams to engage collaboratively without the need for travel, while still gaining valuable insights and experience in emergency response planning. Your team should choose one of the two dates to participate either Tuesday, October 14th from 1:00-4:00pm or Thursday, October 16th from 9:00am-12:00pm.
Part 4: Mid-Term Planning Meeting
On Thursday, October 30th , at 10:00 am, we will host the MPM. This session serves as a critical checkpoint in our exercise planning process. It is an opportunity for all participating facilities to review, refine, and finalize the details of the upcoming Functional Exercise. We will work together to iron out any remaining questions, clarify roles and responsibilities, and ensure alignment on expectations and logistics. Your input during this session is essential to ensure a smooth and effective exercise experience.
Part 5: Functional Exercise
Before we wrap up this series, Organizations will have the opportunity to complete a Functional Exercise. An operations-based event designed to test and evaluate the capabilities of an organization or multiple organizations in a simulated, realistic environment, focusing on command and control fucntions and coordination among various agencies. To support the convenience and operational flexibility of participating facilities, this functional exercise will be conducted virtually only. This format allows teams to engage collaboratively without the need for travel, while still gaining valuable insights and experience in emergency response planning. Your team should choose one of the two dates to participate either Tuesday, November 4th from 10:00am-12:00pm or Thursday, November 6th from 1:00-3:00pm.
Part 6: After Action Review
On Thursday, November 13th, at 10:00 am, we will host the final session in the series, the power of conducting an After-Action Review, a dynamic process that transforms experience into actionable insight. An After Action Review is a structured, team-driven discussion that takes place after an exercise or incident. It helps identify what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better. This process fosters transparency, strengthens collaboration, and drives continuous improvement. This review is a key component of the Action Action Report/Improvement Plan process, which results in a formal document outlining findings and recommended actions for future enhancement.
