Defines and Manages Staff Roles

Responsibilities are determined by specific plans for identified hospital vulnerabilities.

2. & 3 The roles and responsibilities of staff for communications, resources and assets, safety and security, utilities, and patient management during an emergency:

HCWs (Health Care Workers) roles and responsibilities during an emergency are determined by specific plans for identified hospital vulnerabilities, as well as HICS reporting structure.

As appropriate to the JAS (Job Action Sheets) HCW roles and responsibilities are defined in at least the following key areas:

  • Communications
  • Resources and Assets
  • Safety and Security
  • Utilities
  • Clinical Activities

In addition, HCW roles and responsibilities may be further delineated in a variety of documents such as specific policies and procedures, instructions on the use of forms and checklists, flow charts, etc

If HCWs are not available for handling critical tasks defined by the JAS, HCWs will be drawn from the appropriate departments or, if none are available, from the Labor Pool.

As HCWs are recalled, they will replace personnel on tasks they are better qualified to perform. If questions arise, the HICS Section Leaders will determine who will perform the task. The tasks are evaluated frequently to assess that the most appropriate HCWs available are assigned, that burnout or incident stress problems are identified, and HCWs in these jobs are rotated as soon as possible.

4. The EOP identifies to whom staff report in the hospital’s incident command structure:

The EOP delineates the chain of command for reporting during an emergency as identified in the HICS org chart.

5. The hospital has plan for managing staff support activities (such as housing, transportation, stress debriefing, etc.:

During an emergency, it may be necessary for St. Mary Medical Center to provide for various support activities to facilitate continuity of operations over a period of time depending on the length of the response phase of an emergency. Below are some of the activities the HCC may plan for during an emergency:

  • Housing for HCW - If call in procedures for off-duty healthcare workers are activated, the HCC will identify areas where HCW can relax and sleep when not working.Some areas to be considered are the hospital-controlled areas and other areas of the hospital campus that are not in use or where services may have been discontinued.
  • St. Mary Medical Center Spiritual Care, and the Social Service Department may be requested to provide Critical Incident Stress Debriefing (CISD) to healthcare workers in need of intervention.

6. Planning for managing staff family support needs such as childcare, elder care, communications, etc:

During an emergency, it may be necessary to provide for various support activities to provide continuity over a period of time depending on the length of the response phase of an emergency. It may be necessary for HCWs to bring in family members or their children because they do not feel comfortable leaving them during an emergency, or because they have no one to care for them in their absence. It is preferred that those HCW members be the last resource during call-in procedures. If the emergency creates a demand that would require these HCW members to be necessary, the HCC will identify areas and staff to assist in caring for these individuals.

Staff is trained for their assigned roles during emergencies:

St. Mary Medical Center discusses roles and responsibilities during unit based inservices, hospital orientation and annual self learning module.

Formal educational programs-

  • Self study modules-SLM annually includes Emergency Management information
  • Internet based programs such as Shots Fired (Dignity Health Active Shooter training) and Run Hide Fight video training from Homeland Security used for evacuation and Active Shooter drills
  • Just in time training –Inservicing and education on units- done annually by Director of DRC
  • Ongoing in-service and orientation programs
  • Equipment and HAZMAT hood and suit inservicing/Annual competency trainings
  • Lectures at Noon Conferences
  • Terrorism Liaison Officer trainings
  • Government sponsored training opportunities
  • Annual Emergency Department Competencies

    • ICS requirements: FEMA TRAINING ON NIMS:

    Leadership Team of SMMC:

    NIMS Based Training required:

    • Personnel likely to be involved as initial responders on a disaster team
    • ICS-100: Introduction to ICS or equivalent
    • FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
    • Personnel likely to function as Unit / Care Area Supervisors or Specialists in HICS
    • Personnel likely to function as Managers, Unit Leaders, and Branch Directors in HICS
    • Directors in the hospital
    • ICS-100: Introduction to ICS or equivalent
    • ICS-200: Basic ICS or equivalent
    • FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
    • Personnel likely to function as the Incident Commander, PIO, Safety Officer, Liaison Officer or Section Chief in HICS
    • Senior Leadership
    • Director of Emergency Management/Disaster Resource Center
    • ICS-100: Introduction to ICS or equivalent
    • ICS-200: Basic ICS or equivalent
    • FEMA IS-700: NIMS, An Introduction
    • FEMA IS-800.A: National Response Plan (NRP), An Introduction*
    • Participation in the disaster drills

    All of the above plus ICS-300 and ICS-400 and city wide Incident Management Team Trainings- SMMC is a Liaison Officer Type 3 IMT for City of Long Beach.

    Tracking training requirements will be managed by identifying positions required to complete HICS/ NIMS training and by adding this requirement as a component to the employee orientation process. Tracking course completion will be managed by the Director of Disaster Resource Center.

7. The hospital communicates in writing to licensed independent practitioners their role(s) in emergency response and to whom he/she reports during an emergency:

St. Mary Medical Center discusses roles and responsibilities of licensed independent practitioners. The roles and responsibilities are also assessed during exercises conducted and opportunities for improvement in their roles are then implemented.

The role of licensed independent practitioners as well as designated allied health practitioners is to render medical evaluation and care during the emergency within the scope of their competence and privileges granted unto them by the Medical Staffing Office. For the duration of the emergency, licensed independent practitioners' and allied health practitioners will report to the Medical Care Branch Director or designee. Disaster responsibilities are assigned only when the following two conditions are present: the EOP has been activated and the organization is unable to meet immediate patient needs.

8. The EOP describes how the hospital will identify licensed independent practitioners, staff, and authorized volunteers during emergencies:

St. Mary Medical Center HCWs are identified during emergencies by their employee identification badges. If a HCW does not have his/her badge or it cannot be located, temporary badges can be obtained through the Security Department, Human Resources and Medical Staff Office, upon verification.

Healthcare workers and physicians are to wear their name badges during the emergency period.

During an activation of the EOP, HCWs are expected to return to their units and provide support to the needs of their departments. Patient care units are to report HCW and bed availability to the HCC. Selected HCWs are responsible for carrying out a function identified on the HICS hospital incident management team chart. The HCWs assuming a HICS position are to report to the HCC and then to their pre-designated section meeting location to coordinate response activities. The HCWs will wear the appropriate HICS Section or Unit Leader vest indicating the title of the position assumed. In addition, hospital leadership are to send available HCWs to the Labor Pool, if appropriate, to help with response and recovery procedures. The Labor Pool will assign roles as requests for HCWs are received. In the event volunteers from the community come to the hospital, their credentials will be verified through the HICS Planning Section and Human Resources.