Healthcare Organizations

More Than One Hundred Twenty Five Years of Extensive Expertise in Crisis Leadership and Change Management

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Our Expertise

Incident Management Solutions (IMS) expertise in healthcare emergency management centers on providing a structured, standardized framework for effective crisis response, primarily through the adoption of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), which is consistent with the National Incident Management System (NIMS). This expertise includes the use of centralized software platforms and established protocols to achieve real-time situational awareness across all departments, manage the coordination and deployment of critical resources (such as staff, supplies, and space), and facilitate integrated, auditable communication with internal teams and external agencies. By providing a common operating picture and predefined functional roles (Command, Operations, Planning, Logistics, Finance/Administration), IMS ensures that healthcare organizations can scale their response to any emergency, from an internal utility failure to a mass casualty event, thereby protecting patients, staff, and organizational continuity.

Planning

Emergency management planning in healthcare facilities is a robust, continuous process driven by an all-hazards approach to protect patients or residents, staff, and essential services from any disruptive event. This planning cycle encompasses four core phases: Mitigation (reducing risks identified in the Hazard Vulnerability Analysis), Preparedness (developing and training staff on the Emergency Operations Plan and the Hospital Incident Command System), Response (activating protocols for triage, medical surge, security, and utility management during a crisis), and Recovery (restoring full clinical and financial operations). The ultimate goal is to ensure organizational resilience and the ability to function as a crucial community resource, often relying on internal resources and external partnerships to maintain continuous care during and after a disaster.

Training

Emergency management training in healthcare facilities is a crucial, mandated, and ongoing process designed to validate and reinforce the facility's Emergency Operations Plan (EOP). The training ensures all personnel, from clinical staff to security and leadership, are competent in their crisis-specific roles, with a focus on core areas like communications, utilities management, resource allocation, active assailant/workplace violence, and clinical surge capacity. This training is progressive, starting with annual education and tabletop exercises (discussion-based scenarios) and escalating to full-scale functional exercises that test the full activation of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) in realistic simulations, such as mass casualty incidents or evacuations, to identify gaps and drive continuous program improvement. This training is mandated by regulatory organizations and needed for clinical and non-Clinical staff throughout the facility.

Emergency management leadership in healthcare facilities is the vital function that provides strategic direction and oversight for the continuous cycle of planning, training, response, and recovery. This leadership is typically delegated by the CEO to an Emergency Management Director and guided by a multidisciplinary Emergency Management Committee that ensures the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) aligns with the facility's Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) and community-wide plans. During an actual event, leadership transitions to the Incident Commander operating within the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) or Nursing Home Incident Command System (NHICS), who is responsible for setting incident objectives, allocating resources, prioritizing the safety of patients and staff, and ultimately declaring the return to normal operations to maintain the organization's mission of continuous patient care.

Leadership

Drills and Exercises

Emergency Management drills and exercises are essential, mandatory activities for healthcare facilities, serving to test, validate, and improve the effectiveness of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) and staff proficiency. These activities range in complexity from Tabletop Exercises (TTX), which are discussion-based sessions to review plans and procedures, to Drills that test a single, specific function (like decontamination or fire evacuation), and ultimately to Full-Scale Exercises (FSE) that may include multi-agency, real-time simulations designed to test the entire system's coordination, communication, and command structure. By regularly engaging in these planned and often unannounced scenarios, facilities identify gaps in resources and training, clarify roles and responsibilities under the Hospital or Nursing Home Incident Command System (HICS/NHICS), and ultimately ensure continuous patient care and community safety when a real crisis occurs.

Clients Served

Incident Management Solutions has been serving healthcare systems since 1996.

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