The Knox/East Tennessee Healthcare Coalition (KETHC) serves a diverse 16-county region, requiring coordinated planning and response across hospitals, CMS 17 facilities, emergency responders, public health, and partner agencies. Ensuring these partners can effectively work together during disasters requires more than written plans—it demands hands-on training and real-world application. Gaps in coordination, communication, and surge capacity are often only identified when systems are tested in a realistic, operational environment. Additionally, coordination with organizations outside the region is critical, as large-scale incidents often require mutual aid and cross-jurisdictional support.
To strengthen regional preparedness, KETHC conducted its annual Medical Response and Surge Exercise (MRSE), bringing together more than 90 participants from across the healthcare and response community within the 16-county region, as well as partner organizations from outside the region.
Participants included:
- Hospitals and healthcare systems
- CMS 17 partners (long-term care, dialysis, home health, and other facilities)
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS), fire, and public safety agencies
- Public health and emergency management
- Amateur Radio
- Blood Bank
- Red Cross
- Coalition partners, volunteers, and external partner organizations
This community-wide functional exercise focused on testing the region’s ability to respond to a large-scale incident requiring coordinated medical surge. It provided a realistic, operational environment where participants could practice resource coordination, patient movement, communication, and decision-making under pressure.
The effort continues with a follow-on tabletop exercise, allowing partners to further evaluate plans, identify gaps, and strengthen coordination through facilitated discussion and scenario-based planning.
Training together strengthens response together. The KETHC MRSE enhanced regional preparedness by bringing together partners from across the 16-county region and incorporating coordination with organizations outside the region—reflecting the realities of large-scale emergency response.
The exercise improved understanding of roles and responsibilities, strengthened communication pathways, and identified opportunities to enhance medical surge capabilities. Participation from CMS 17 partners, volunteers, and external agencies ensured a more inclusive and comprehensive approach to preparedness, reflecting the full continuum of care and the importance of mutual aid.
By combining a functional exercise with a follow-on tabletop, KETHC created a layered learning environment—allowing participants to both test capabilities in action and refine plans through discussion.
These efforts build stronger relationships, increase confidence in coalition support, and ensure that partners are better prepared to respond effectively during real-world emergencies—both within the region and in coordination with outside partners.
Collectively, this initiative supports Healthcare Preparedness Program (HPP) priorities by enhancing training and exercise participation, strengthening healthcare coalition coordination, improving medical surge readiness, and increasing overall community resilience.
