Hospital Incident Command Systems Case Study

Strategies to Resolve
There are many government, state, local and tribal agencies and organizations working together to resolve the aftermath of a massive wildfire. The following will discuss the responsibilities of a Hospital Incident Command Systems (HICS) which is at the forefront for caring and treating individuals and communities affected. The HICS ensures pre-planning, planning, evaluating, and testing of the system has been done prior to an incident (CDC, 2011). The first step when an incident occurs is the hospital needs to assess the situation. Some questions to ask include (CDC, 2011). What geographical area(s) has been or may be adversely impacted? How many people are threatened, affected, exposed, injured, or dead? Have critical infrastructures been affected (electrical power, water supplies, sanitation, telecommunications, transportation)? Is the hospital and surrounding healthcare facilities affected? How will current and forecasted weather conditions affect the situation? Has the local, state, or

Agencies include: Emergency Medical Services (EMS), other hospitals and clinics, laboratories, nursing homes/assisted living facilities, home health care agencies, mental and behavioral health and social services providers, liaisons to vulnerable populations, and other health and medical entities. All contacts and information must be recorded, including unsuccessful attempts, and any follow-up actions (CDC, 2011). Another step is assigning and deploying resources and assets. Effective allocation and monitoring of health resources and assets will be required to sustain 24-hour response operations (CDC, 2011). Examples includes medical supplies and equipment to treat patients, blood supplies, and safe water and