Upcoming Medical Response Surge Exercises in Lower Hudson Valley and Capital District
(March 3, 2026) Lower Hudson Valley (LHV) and Capital District nursing home, adult care facility (ACF), home care, and hospice providers should note two upcoming Medical Response Surge Exercises (MRSEs) being conducted by their regions’ Health Emergency Preparedness Coalitions (HEPCs). Participation in these exercises may be used to fulfill nursing home and home care requirements regarding emergency preparedness.
LHV MRSE: March 19, 2026
The LHV HEPC will be conducting its annual MRSE on March 19, 2026. Participation is open to health care and response agencies in Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster, and Westchester counties.
This will be a Functional Exercise (operations-based; no actual deployment of resources) and will run for approximately four hours to allow adequate time to complete all exercise objectives.
- 8:30 a.m. – Scenario Notification
- 9 a.m. – Start of Exercise
- 12 p.m. – End of Exercise
An After-Action Meeting will be conducted during the 4th Quarter LHV HEPC Meeting on June 10, 2026 to review exercise findings and improvement planning.
If your organization would like to participate in the exercise, please register by March 10, 2026 by emailing the Department of Health’s (DOH) Gyongyi McQueston (Gyongyi.McQueston@health.ny.gov) with the following information:
- Organization name
- Name, title, email, and cell phone number (or alternate contact number) for the designated Point of Contact (POC)
- Name(s) and contact information for the individual(s) who will serve as exercise controller/evaluator at your organization
An Exercise Briefing will be held via Microsoft Teams on March 12, 2026 at 9 a.m. The Teams link will be distributed on March 11, 2026 to registered participants.
Capital District MRSE: March 25, 2026
The Capital District HEPC MRSE will take place on March 25, 2026 from approximately 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m.
Background
- The exercise scenario will be based on regionally identified hazards, including civil unrest (e.g., protests in college communities throughout the region), as well as a hazardous material (HAZMAT) incident and managing the spread of misinformation and disinformation.
What to Expect
- Between 8:30 a.m. and 12 p.m., HEPC partners, including hospitals, local health departments, emergency management, emergency medical services (EMS), non-acute health care partners, and health care association representatives, will receive exercise notifications via email and the Integrated Health Alerting and Notification System (IHANS). Emails will come from cdregion@health.ny.gov.
- Each hospital is expected to simulate a coordinated surge response and to do internal decompression and patient movement coordination to place patients in appropriate bed types.
- Hospitals are also encouraged to simulate the request of resources and coordination with other partners, including local emergency management, EMS, public health, and non-acute care, as appropriate per local plans.
- Between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m., information will be collected from HEPC partners via surveys. Instructions on completing the surveys will be provided in the exercise notifications.
- Between 2:30 p.m. and 3 p.m., all partners will be invited to join a virtual hotwash discussion.
Exercise Overview Briefing
- An Exercise Overview Briefing will be provided at the 3rd Quarter Capital District HEPC Meetings on March 17, 2026 (North Country Sub-Region) and March 20, 2026 (Capital District Sub-Region).
Contact: Jeff Diamond, jdiamond@leadingageny.org