Preparing for a pandemic crisis while working to prevent it Cayuga Medical Center While building robust COVID-19 testing and vaccination programs to reduce the virus’s spread and protect the community, Cayuga Health also made plans in case hundreds of local residents needed hospital care in a rapidly spreading pandemic. Cayuga Health’s testing and vaccination programs are essential to prevent such a fearful COVID-19 crisis, but the unknown impacts of the virus also require preparing for a potential surge of infections. Pandemic surge planning follows similar crisis plans New York requires hospitals to have for handling emergencies from floods to blizzards while still serving their communities.