COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

P.O. BOX 2120

RICHMOND, VIRGINIA 23218-2120

SUPTS. MEMO NO. 270

October 24, 2008

INFORMATIONAL

TO:	Division Superintendents
FROM:	Patricia I. Wright Superintendent of Public Instruction
SUBJECT:	Pandemic Influenza Simulation Exercise Participation

 

The purpose of this memorandum is to inform school divisions about a pandemic influenza tabletop exercise that the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) will participate in on November 20 and 21, 2008. VDOE has been participating with the Virginia Department of Health (VDH), the Virginia Department of Emergency Management (VDEM,) and other state agencies in emergency preparedness and response planning for the past three years. During that time several pandemic influenza tabletop exercises have been conducted to test sections of the state emergency preparedness plan specific to pandemic influenza. A multi-agency tabletop exercise is planned for November 20 and 21, 2008. VDOE has the opportunity to test our ability to communicate with school divisions during this exercise.

 

FluEx 08, the name given to the exercise, will offer VDOE the opportunity to determine if communication systems currently in place are sufficient to meet our needs during a pandemic influenza outbreak. VDOE will receive pre-event simulation information from VDEM on October 31^st, November 7^th and November 14^th. The full exercise will be on November 20^th and 21^st. Based upon this information, we will send out a Superintendent's e-mail and request specific information from each school division. The information requested will be as follows:

 

• October 31, 2008: name and contact information for the person identified in each school division as the point of contact for pandemic influenza planning and implementation

 

• November 7, 2008: information on each school division's pandemic influenza plan

 

• November 14, 2008: total student enrollment and the number of staff employed by each school division.

 

The exercise will culminate on November 20^th and 21^st when the entire scenario will be revealed. VDOE will request information by Superintendent's e-mail from your school division based upon needs identified in the exercise. After the event, we will have the opportunity to analyze response time; our capacity to collect and interpret the data received, and determine our strengths and areas needing improvement.

 

Your participation in this exercise is important in determining VDOE's ability to communicate effectively with school divisions during a contagious disease outbreak such as pandemic influenza. If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Tia Campbell, RN, MSN, NCSN at Tia.campbell@doe.virginia.gov or 804-786-8671.

 

PIW/tc