Health facilities are among the most critical infrastructures during emergencies, disasters, disease outbreaks, pandemics, and climate-related events. As the frontline of health emergency response, hospitals must remain safe, functional, and operational before, during, and after emergencies to ensure continuity of essential health services while protecting patients, healthcare workers, and surrounding communities. However, increasing climate variability, extreme weather events, earthquakes, floods, emerging infectious diseases, and other public health emergencies continue to place unprecedented pressure on hospitals and health systems worldwide.

The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that hospital preparedness extends far beyond emergency response. Hospitals were required to rapidly expand surge capacity, strengthen infection prevention and control, manage critical shortages of healthcare workers, oxygen, medicines, and personal protective equipment, while continuing to provide essential health services. The pandemic highlighted the importance of resilient hospitals that can anticipate, absorb, adapt to, and recover from multiple and simultaneous hazards without compromising the quality and continuity of care.

Global guidance from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), WHO Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (WHO EMRO), the World Bank, and the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) increasingly emphasizes the development of safe, resilient, and climate-resilient health facilities. These approaches promote an all-hazards framework that integrates hospital emergency preparedness, resilient infrastructure, emergency management systems, business continuity, infection prevention and control, sustainable facility management, and climate adaptation. Recognizing that the health sector is also a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts, WHO further advocates for climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health facilities capable of delivering quality healthcare while reducing their environmental footprint.

Recognizing these evolving priorities, the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center (ADPC) has developed this five-day face-to-face training course to strengthen the capacity of hospital leaders, healthcare professionals, emergency managers, engineers, planners, and policymakers to build resilient hospitals capable of preparing for, responding to, and recovering from disasters, disease outbreaks, and climate-related emergencies. The course combines international guidance, regional experiences, and practical tools to strengthen hospital preparedness, health facility resilience, business continuity, emergency management, and green health facility management, supporting countries in developing safer, more resilient, and sustainable health systems.

The training aims to strengthen participants’ knowledge and capacity to enhance hospital preparedness, resilience, and sustainable health facility management in the face of disasters, disease outbreaks, pandemics, and climate-related emergencies. By the end of the training, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles of hospital preparedness, resilience, and Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM) across the emergency management cycle.
• Assess disaster, climate, and public health risks affecting healthcare facilities and apply risk-informed approaches to strengthen hospital resilience.
• Apply international frameworks, standards, and tools, including the WHO Hospital Preparedness approach, Hospital Safety Index, and climate-resilient health facility guidance.
• Develop and strengthen hospital emergency preparedness, incident management, surge capacity, business continuity, and continuity of essential health services during emergencies.
• Strengthen hospital preparedness for disease outbreaks and pandemics through effective emergency planning, infection prevention and control, surveillance, and coordination with public health systems.
• Identify strategies to improve the resilience of health facility infrastructure, critical lifelines, and essential support systems, including energy, water, sanitation, medical gases, and healthcare waste management.
• Integrate climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable practices into health facility planning, operations, and resource management to reduce environmental impacts while enhancing resilience.
• Develop practical actions to strengthen hospital preparedness and resilience within their respective institutions and health systems through governance, multi-sectoral coordination, and continuous quality improvement.

The training is designed as a five-day face-to-face capacity development programme (09:00–17:00 hrs. daily) that combines expert presentations, regional case studies, interactive discussions, practical exercises, group work, peer learning, and a field visit. The course follows a progressive learning pathway, beginning with the fundamentals of hospital preparedness and resilience before advancing to emergency management, outbreak and pandemic preparedness, resilient infrastructure, climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable health facilities, digital innovation, and strategic planning for resilient health systems.

The program adopts an all-hazards approach, recognizing that hospitals must be prepared to respond to natural hazards, disease outbreaks, pandemics, technological incidents, and climate-related emergencies while maintaining continuity of essential health services. International frameworks, including the WHO Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM) Framework, WHO Hospital Preparedness guidance, the Hospital Safety Index, and guidance on Climate-Resilient and Environmentally Sustainable Health Care Facilities, are integrated throughout the course to provide participants with internationally recognized approaches and practical tools.

Learning is highly participatory and practice-oriented. Participants will engage in scenario-based discussions, institutional case studies, and group exercises that apply concepts to realistic hospital emergency situations, including mass casualty incidents, infectious disease outbreaks, and climate-related emergencies. A field visit to a hospital will provide an opportunity to observe good practices and examine key elements of hospital preparedness, emergency management, critical infrastructure, and resilient facility operations in a real-world setting.

Throughout the training, participants will work in multidisciplinary groups to analyze challenges, exchange experiences, and develop practical recommendations that can be adapted to their own institutions. The course concludes with the development and presentation of institutional action plans, enabling participants to translate the knowledge and tools gained during the program into concrete actions to strengthen hospital preparedness, resilience, and sustainable health facility management.

Practical application is an integral component of the training. Throughout the course, participants will engage in scenario-based simulation exercises designed to apply the concepts and tools introduced during the technical sessions. Working in multidisciplinary groups, participants will analyze realistic emergency scenarios involving natural hazards, disease outbreaks, pandemics, and climate-related events that affect hospital operations. The exercises will strengthen participants’ skills in emergency decision-making, hospital incident management, surge capacity planning, business continuity, coordination, and the maintenance of essential health services during crises.

The training also includes a field visit to a selected healthcare facility to observe good practices in hospital preparedness, resilience, and sustainable health facility management. The visit will provide participants with practical insights into how preparedness measures are implemented in an operational hospital setting and allow them to interact with hospital personnel responsible for emergency management and facility operations.

During the field visit, participants will examine key components of hospital preparedness, including:

• Hospital governance and emergency management systems.
• Hospital Incident Management System (HIMS) and Emergency Operations Centre (EOC).
• Emergency Department preparedness, patient flow, and triage systems.
• Preparedness for disease outbreaks and pandemics, including isolation facilities, infection prevention and control (IPC), and surveillance systems.
• Surge-capacity arrangements for mass-casualty incidents and public health emergencies.
• Critical infrastructure and lifeline systems, including backup power, water supply, medical gas systems, and emergency communications.
• Climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable practices, including energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and healthcare waste management.
• Digital health technologies, emergency information systems, and decision-support tools that enhance hospital preparedness and response.

Following the field visit, participants will reflect on key observations, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and discuss how the lessons learned can be adapted and applied within their own hospitals and health systems. These practical activities are designed to reinforce classroom learning and support the development of institutional action plans for strengthening hospital preparedness, resilience, and sustainable health facility management.

Day 1: Foundations of Hospital Preparedness and ResilienceTheme: Building Safe and Resilient Hospitals

The first day introduces the concepts of hospital preparedness, resilience, and Health Emergency and Disaster Risk Management (Health EDRM). Participants will examine disaster, climate, and public health risks affecting healthcare facilities and explore international frameworks, standards, and tools that support the development of safe, resilient, and sustainable hospitals. The day establishes the foundation for strengthening hospitals’ capacity to maintain essential health services before, during, and after emergencies.

Day 2: Hospital Emergency Management and Outbreak Preparedness
Theme: Preparing Hospitals for Emergencies, Disease Outbreaks, and Pandemics

The second day focuses on strengthening hospital emergency preparedness and operational readiness through emergency planning, hospital incident management, business continuity, surge capacity, emergency coordination, and continuity of essential health services. Participants will also explore hospital preparedness for disease outbreaks and pandemics, including infection prevention and control, surveillance, emergency communication, and coordination with public health systems.

Day 3: Climate-Resilient and Sustainable Health Facilities
Theme: Strengthening Health Facility Infrastructure and Sustainable Operations

The third day examines approaches to developing climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable healthcare facilities. Sessions cover resilient infrastructure, energy systems, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), healthcare waste management, renewable energy, climate adaptation, and sustainable facility operations that strengthen hospital resilience while reducing environmental impacts.

Day 4: Digital Innovation, Risk Information, and Quality Improvement
Theme: Smart Solutions for Hospital Preparedness and Resilience

The fourth day explores how digital technologies, health information systems, surveillance, early warning systems, and risk information support hospital preparedness and emergency decision-making. Participants will also examine monitoring frameworks, quality improvement approaches, and the use of digital innovations to strengthen hospital resilience and health system performance.

Day 5: Strategic Leadership for Resilient Hospitals
Theme: Institutionalizing Hospital Preparedness and Resilient Health Systems

The final day focuses on translating knowledge into action by strengthening governance, leadership, financing, partnerships, and policy integration for hospital preparedness and resilience. Participants will reflect on regional experiences, identify priorities within their own institutions, and develop practical action plans to strengthen resilient and sustainable health facilities within their respective health systems.

The course uses a highly practical, simulation-based approach to ensure healthcare leaders can act decisively under pressure.

• Tabletop Exercises (TTX): Participants will engage in "pressure-cooker" simulations where they must manage a fictional mass casualty incident using the HICS framework.
• On-Site Facility Walk-Through: A practical audit of a host hospital to identify "green" opportunities and "vulnerability" points.
• Technical Demonstrations: Showcasing energy-efficient medical technologies and sustainable waste treatment systems.
• Expert-Led "War Rooms": Small-group sessions where facility managers solve specific infrastructure failures.
• Scenario-Based Planning: Using climate projection data to plan for future health facility needs, such as increased cooling capacity for extreme heat events.
• The "Green & Safe" Scorecard: A capstone activity where participants evaluate their own home facilities using an integrated resilience and sustainability index.

This training is designed for:

• Hospital directors and healthcare administrators
• Emergency and disaster management focal points in hospitals
• Public health officials and Ministry of Health personnel|
• Hospital engineers, architects, and facility managers
• Healthcare quality and accreditation professionals
• Environmental health and healthcare waste management specialists
• Climate change and health professionals
• Disaster risk reduction practitioners
• Development partners and NGOs working in health system strengthening
• Researchers, academics, and university faculty in public health, health systems, engineering, and environmental sciences

$1,550 (without accommodation)
$2,036 [with accommodation (6 nights)]

Fees are inclusive of course materials (soft copy), cost of instructions and course certificate. For face-to-face training, fee is inclusive of morning and afternoon snacks and lunch during the course.

Interested individuals and organizations can register online at www.adpc.net/apply.

For more information about the course, you may also contact ApibarlBunchongraksa at apibarl@adpc.net and telephone numbers +66 22980681 to 92 ext. 132.