Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS)
Introduction
Disasters and emergencies are a common occurrence in the world today. Medical facilities are often under immense pressure to respond appropriately and effectively to such incidences. In most cases, it is difficult to predict the occurrence of the disasters. Most of them are a natural occurrence and in cases where they are artificial, they are often planned and executed precisely. The perpetrators target a particular group of people. Such incidences include terrorist attacks, mass killings that may be motivated politically, or planned robberies. On the other hand, natural disasters may result from the occurrence of adverse weather conditions or tectonic processes such as earthquakes
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After receiving the grant, the Emergency Medical System (EMS) for Orange County came up with a comprehensive document that included the organization chart of the proposed implementations. The chart also covered the job descriptions of the staff to be involved in the new emergency management system (Autrey & Moss, 2006, p. 23). The HEICS system has a similar structure to the National Incident Management System structure, its standard procedures, and the terminology it uses. The design suits the management of several types of emergencies in the various hospitals based on the nature of the disaster at hand. The scope of the disasters covered by the structure includes external emergencies and disasters such as disease outbreaks, terrorism, or MCIs. In addition, the structure also covers internal disasters such as mass shootings, fires, and …show more content…
Based on this chart, a management team is tasked with the supervision of four main sections of the Incident Management System. There are three branches in the Operations Section, and the chart has a reminder that the units and the functions of HEICSE act as performance tools. In order to utilize the tools on the chart, the hospital must have adequate staff, often found in the large hospitals of the country. In this case, the expected incident will occasionally occur and in case of several cases, it is highly likely that they will be caused by different kinds of disasters. Following the use of each tool in the management of a particular disaster, the tool will be discarded because it will have attained and served the in the emergency to its maximum capacity (Hodgetts, Porter, & Hodgetts, 2002, p. 33). As such, it is possible to assign one person to manage two functional assignments in the process of disaster management. The main sections include finance, logistics, operations and planning and they play different roles in the management of the
The National response plan outlines four key actions the disaster coordinator should take. They are gaining and maintaining situational awareness, activate and deploy key resources and capabilities, coordinating response actions and demobilizing. Throughout the response it is essential that responders have access to critical information. During the initial response effort the situation is will change rapidly. Situational awareness starts at the incident site. For this reason it is essential that decision makers have access to the right information at the right time. By establishing an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) all key responders are brought ...
Early recognition of a need for ICS and a prompt initiation by the Oklahoma City Fire Department allowed for a swift implementation of a command structure which in turn allowed recourses to be allocated quickly and
For this assignment, I will again examine my own department, the Knoxville Police Department (KPD). After September 11, 2001, the Knoxville Police Department had to look at its policies and make some changes. Knoxville does not have a Homeland Security Plan in itself, but does have an All Hazard Plan that covers the aspects of Homeland Security. The All Hazard Plan was last updated in 2013 and covers unusual occurrences that other General Orders and SOPs do not (KPD, 2013). The plan has an introduction and then moves on to cover the aspects of the Incident Command System or ICS (KPD, 2013). This is a very important part of any unusual occurrence, especially when other departments and jurisdictions are involved, as it establishes
The Emergency Operations Center (EOC) serves as an effective and efficient facility for coordinating emergency response efforts. An EOC may serve in a number of uses including operations, training, meetings but its primary use is for the coordination of emergency response. An EOC is the physical location where an organization comes together during an emergency. The Emergency Operations Center may alternately be called the command center, the situation room, war room, the crisis management center, or another similar term. Regardless of the term, this is where the coordination of information and resources takes place. The EOC is not an incident command post; rather, it is the operations center where coordination and management decisions are facilitated (Eastern Michigan University, 2010). A fully capable emergency operations facility is an essential element of a comprehensive emergency management system and a necessity to ensure continuity of operations at Clemson
Now, this incident can be considered as an emergency incident at the national level in which Incident Command System (ICS) was used properly. The Incident Command System that was used in this incident is basically termed as a management system. This management system is usually
Good evening Professor and Class. For this week’s forum we were tasked to review the attached excel incident command system forms and explain why having access to this tool and knowing how to use it will enhance our incident command system knowledge. First, let’s break down what was included within the Excel incident command system forms. The first form, the ICS-202 (Incident Objectives) is completed during the initial incident brief when the initial incident commander provides the ICS-201 (Incident Briefing). This is where the initial incident objectives are developed and the true start of the planning “P” (U.S. Coast Guard, 3-4). Next, we have the ICS-203 (Organization Assignment List). This form is completed during the initial incident
Firefighter safety is the most important thing for the deployment of firefighters in an emergency situation. Incident command system or ICS is also known as national incident management system or NIMS these systems were developed as a systematic set of guidelines for the command and control of an incident where a firefighter wellbeing will be at a risk. During the late 1960’s, California experienced a number of wildland/urban interface fires that destroyed billions of dollars in residential property located between the forest/wildland area and the coastline after the destruction is what lead to the creation of the Incident Command System. Also around 2004 is when the Incident command system started to be also known as the national incident
For achieving the third objective “to improve emergency response”, the group planned to design three SMART objectives as following:
This case describes the process where London Ambulance Service throughout the last 20 years has tried to implement a new and it-based despatch system. There have been several phases and parts of the project, and when looking back at it today the period is characterized by chaos and problems.
The National Incident Management System (NIMS) incorporates a comprehensive and standardized framework that is flexible and easily applicable across a full range of possible incident. The ability of being flexible doesn’t limit how the incident is managed based on the size, location, or complexity of the situation. When agencies and departments incorporate NIMS, the ability of multi-jurisdictional coverage for an incident is feasible and it allows personnel to prepare, prevent, respond to, recover from, and mitigate the effects of the incident. Entities such as Federal departments and agencies, State, Territorial, Tribal, Local Governments, the Private Sector, and Nongovernmental Organizations should follow key guidelines of the roles and
Since both models are scalable they ensure unified response between all sizes and types of emergency responses. ICS is “a command and control model developed by firefighters after the 1970 fires in southern California” (Lindsay, 7). It inspired the development of NIMS for federal level operations to standardize responses in all areas of the country. Another characteristic of emergency management procedures is the conceptual phases. These phases are useful for organizing efforts and resources, yet the often overlap and are not distinct (Lindsay, 7). The phases are mitigation, preparedness, response, and recovery. Each one has their own unique feature while contributing to the restoration of essential services and saving those involved with the incident. The framework however is the most distinguishing topic of the key concepts of the report. The frameworks are used to delegate roles, responsibilities, and coordinate actives (Lindsay, 9). The breakdown of the framework is into 5 “National Framework” sections: Prevention, Protection, Mitigation, Response, and Disaster
Sometimes one phase of the emergency management tends to overlap of adjacent phase. The concept of “phases” has been used since the 1930’s to help describe, examine, and understand disasters and to help organize the practice of emergency management. In an article titled Reconsidering the Phases of Disaster, David Neal cites different examples of different researchers using five, six, seven, and up to eight phases long before the four phases became the standard. (Neal 1997) This acknowledges that critical activities frequently cover more than one phase, and the boundaries between phases are seldom precise. Most sources also emphasize that important interrelationships exist among all the ph...
Natural Disasters can occur anywhere at anytime. Some are more predictable than others, but they all bring hardship to everyone’s life. Examples of natural disasters are Earthquakes (Haiti 2010), Tornadoes, Tsunami, Hurricanes, Wild Fires, Winter Storms, Heat waves, Mudslides and Floods. Regardless of what kind of disaster occurs, bottom line, everyone needs to be prepared mentally and physically to deal with the aftermath. Education is the first step to prepare you to deal with any major disaster. Three of the major disasters that can potentially disrupt normal day to day operations in our lives, are Hurricanes, Tsunamis and Tornadoes.
Communities throughout the country and the world are susceptible to disasters. The environment and location of a community often predisposes a greater susceptibility to the type of disaster. For example Central Pennsylvania would not be susceptible to an avalanche however communities in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado would have increase vulnerability. Understanding the types of disaster for which the community is susceptible is essential for emergency preparedness (Nies & McEwen, 2011). All communities are susceptible to man-made disasters; terrorism, fires, and mass transit accidents and emergency preparedness are essential. The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) is responsible for disaster planning.
Monitoring and warning systems are of critical importance, and this fact has been emphasised by recent tidal waves that killed thousands of people who were caught unaware in countries surrounding the Indian Ocean. Places such as California and Japan are testimony to the value of building codes that minimise structural damage and therefore lessen the loss of life. These examples prove that the effects of natural disasters can indeed by reduced so long as proper measure are put in place before such inevitable events occur.