Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HEICS)

ICS Application in the Hospital Setting

Evacuation of a healthcare facility may be necessary following an emergency such as a facility fire or damage from a natural disaster such as an earthquake or flooding. The decision to evacuate a healthcare facility will be based on the ability of the facility to meet the medical needs of the patients. Immediate threats to life, such as internal fires or unstable structures, will require emergent evacuation, while other situations may allow for a planned and phased evacuation. 

Everyone must work together to manage the emergency. To coordinate the effective use of all of the available resources, agencies need a formalized management structure that lends consistency, fosters efficiency, and provides direction during a response. The ICS organization is built around five major components: 

♦ Command 

♦ Planning 

♦ Operations 

♦ Logistics 

♦ Finance/Administration 

These five major components are the foundation upon which the ICS organization develops. They apply during a routine emergency, when preparing for a major event, or when managing a response to a major disaster. In small-scale incidents, all of the components may be managed by one person, the Incident Commander. Large-scale incidents usually require that each component, or section, is set up separately. As you will see later, each of the primary ICS sections may be divided into smaller functions as needed.