Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) for Hospitals Training

The Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) training provides a set of guiding principles for exercise programs, as well as a common approach to exercise program management, design and development, conduct, evaluation, and improvement planning.

Lesson 1: Overview of HSEEP
Lesson 2: Gathering Information
Lesson 3: Writing SMART Objectives and Evaluation Guides
Lesson 4: Completing the Exercise Design Checklist
Lesson 5: Scenario Development
Lesson 6: Master Scenario Events List
Lesson 7: After Action Report and Improvement Plan

Lesson 1: Overview of HSEEP (26 minutes 31 seconds)

This lesson addresses the origins of the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) and its relevance to the hospital exercise design process. It also addresses compliance with Joint Commission and CMS standards.

Preparedness Partners Training and Exercise Grid (Word)

Lesson 2: Gathering Information (16 minutes 44 seconds)

This lesson discusses the documents and information needed for exercise planning. Documents include the facility's Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA), as well as any After Action Reports / Improvement Plans from past exercises or actual events.

Gathering Exercise Planning Documents (Word)
Multi Year Exercise Grid (Word)
Example After Action Report with Improvement Plan (Word)

Lesson 3: Writing SMART Objectives and Evaluation Guides (16 minutes 17 seconds)

This lesson introduces the SMART method of writing objectives. Exercise objectives should be simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and task-oriented. Evaluation guides provide a framework for evaluators to record observations of the tasks and activities performed during the exercise.

Sample Objectives List Developed by Region 7 (Word)
Severe Weather Planning Objectives (Word)
Severe Weather Response and Recovery Capabilities (Word)
Completed Exercise Evaluation Guide (Word)
Blank Exercise Evaluation Guide (Word)

Lesson 4: Completing the Exercise Design Checklist (11 minutes 38 seconds)

This lesson walks the student through the completion of a checklist developed to assist hospitals to create exercises that meet regulatory requirements, using what was done in Lessons 2 and 3.

Exercise Design Checklist (Word)

Lesson 5: Scenario Development (5 minutes 21 seconds)

This lesson addresses resources that can be used to assist in writing scenarios. There are 23 scenarios with planning guides and job action sheets that can be found at the web site, www.emsa.ca.gov.

Severe Weather Scenario (from HICS website) (Word)

Lesson 6: Master Scenario Events List (8 minutes 43 seconds)

This lesson addresses how to create a Master Scenario Events List that will help guide exercise controllers to ensure all scenario objectives are tested during the exercise.

Severe Weather Master Scenario Events List (Word)
Blank Master Scenario Events List (Word)

Lesson 7: After Action Report and Improvement Plan (7 minutes 41 seconds)

This lesson walks the student through creation of an After Action Report and an Improvement Plan, using a template modified for a hospital environment. This is important to the Joint Commission because it demonstrates a hospital is monitoring progress on issues identified for improvement.

Example After Action Report with Improvement Plan (Word)
Simplified After Action Report for Exercises with Appendix A (Word)
Simplified After Action Report for Actual Events (Word)
Appendix A Improvement Plan (Word)

For more information, contact Timothy Doerfler, Hospital Preparedness Program Coordinator