Emergency Preparedness 4: Incident Command System Portal
Effective Incident Management Through Command and Control
In the past, public safety and public and private health organizations’
responses to Emergency Incidents-Disasters were riddled with
significant deficiencies. This was due to a lack of implementation or
failure to comply fully with an established Incident Command System to
manage communication through command and control.
The Joint Commission (the accrediting organization for healthcare facilities) establishes a standard for Incident Command Systems. They require that alternate roles be outlined for staff during emergency situations, including a chain-of-command reporting structure consistent with that used by the local community. It is essential for health care organizations and community emergency response agencies to use similar terminology to assure integration of their agencies and systems.
Incident Command System
An
incident management system provides the organizational framework for
response. Incident management terminology and structure are
standardized according to the National Incident Management System
(NIMS). The Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) provides a
NIMS-compliant incident management system for hospital use.
Hospital Incident Command System (HICS IV) is a generic crisis management plan, which is modeled closely after the Fire Service Incident Command, developed expressly for medical facilities.2 Advantages of adopting HICS IV are:
HICS IV has gone through numerous reviews by experts in emergency management;
HICS IV is utilized by many health care organizations in hundreds of exercises and numerous actual Emergency Incidents-Disasters;
Job action sheets for all positions and a comprehensive set of forms are downloadable from the web site and can be modified to meet your organization’s needs
There are 28 HICS Incident Planning and Response Guides for events (14 external and 14 internal) that are most likely to impact hospitals. The planning portion provides a mock scenario and lists recommendations for planning and preparedness. The response guidance provides a mission statement for each incident, a list of directions with suggested objectives for mitigation and response, and then a list of actions by HICS command and general staff job positions for all phases of the response (immediate, intermediate, extended, demobilization/recovery). This is an outstanding resource that will greatly improve a hospital’s preparedness and response.
Training materials are easily accessed through the HICS web site (www.hicscenter.org).
Implementing an Incident Command System into a health care organization for the first time typically requires a committee of dedicated individuals to work intermittently but regularly for 12 to 18 months. An Incident Command System is not intended to be a self-functioning, turnkey system and as such requires administrative support and organizational champions to see that there is ongoing commitment to its full implementation. Health care leaders who have utilized an Incident Command System to manage Emergency Incidents-Disasters affecting their organizations have given positive testimonials as to its value. An Incident Command System provides for reduced morbidity and mortality, added margins of safety for staff and patients, efficiencies and effectiveness to managing an incident, and costs containment. An Incident Command System also reduces recovery time and costs of recovery for an organization.
Many health care organizations have implemented HICS IV, and expertise and advice can be gained from conferring with individuals in these organizations. For references and further details, contact the Minnesota Hospital Association at 2550 University Ave. W., Suite 350-S, St. Paul, MN 55114-1900; (651) 641-1121 or (800) 462-5393; www.mnhospitals.org
References
- Are You Prepared? Hospital Emergency Management Guide. www.jcrinc.com Developed with J. Christopher Farmer, M.D., a consultant in critical care medicine and professor of medicine at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota.
- HICS web site: www.hicscenter.org