Hospital Emergency Incident Command System 2008

The Hospital Emergency Incident Command System (HICS) was implemented at Marietta Memorial Hospital during 2004. HICS is a standard, hospital-wide response to disasters of all types. When the Nursing Supervisor, or the Administrator-on-Call, makes the decision to call a “Code Yellow”, the HICS system goes into effect. The CEO or Administrator-on-Call becomes the “Incident Commander” and immediately opens the Incident Command Center (located in the Administrative Boardroom). The Incident Command Center is stocked with radios, position descriptions, organization charts, color-coded vests, MMH Emergency Management manuals, Washington County manuals, and all other items necessary for the implementation of the HICS system.

Once the Incident Commander opens the Incident Command Center, he/she will assign positions in the HICS system to staff members. The staff members who will be assigned positions will follow instructions on a Job Action Sheet to manage the disaster. Not every disaster requires the assignment of all HICS positions, but the Incident Commander makes the decision of which positions are assigned.

What do you do during a “Code Yellow?” The most important thing you can do during a Code Yellow is to report to your work or designated area immediately. If you would be needed to fill a HICS position, you will be called to the Incident Command Center. Do NOT report to the Incident Command Center, unless called to do so. All

attempts to maintain normal operations during a Code Yellow are desired. Our number one priority is staff safety, patient care & patient safety.

The following pages include the various codes you may encounter in the hospital emergency management system. Several codes were changed in 2004 and a couple of new ones in 2007. The changes were brought about to make a more standardized system used in many hospitals throughout the United States.

The Emergency Management Plan can be accessed on the employee intranet at www.mmhospital.org.

Hard copies can be found in the Emergency Department, & Nursing Administration in the Incident Command Center.

Systems Failure and Basic Staff Response

(See Emergency Preparedness Manual for additional details.)

Failure of:	What to Expect:	Who to Contact	Responsibility of User:
Computer Systems	System down	Information Technology Department Ext. 1742	Use backup manual/paper systems
Electrical Power Failure Emergency Generators Do Not Work	Failure of all electrical systems.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Utilize flashlights/lanterns, hand ventilate patients, manually regulate IV’s, don’t start new OR cases.
Elevators Out of Service	All vertical movement will have to be by stairwells.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Review fire & evacuation plans, establish services on first of second floor, use carry teams to move critical patients and equipment to other floors.
Elevator Stopped Between Floors	Elevator alarm bell sounding.	Dial “0” for Operator	Keep verbal contact with personnel still in elevator and let them know help is on the way.
Fire Alarm System	No fire alarms or sprinklers	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Institute Fire Watch, minimize fire hazards. Use phone of runners to report fire. Complete maintenance log sheet.
Medical Gases	Gas alarms, no Oxygen, medical air or Nitrous Oxide	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Hand ventilate patients, transfer patients if necessary, use portable oxygen and other gases, call for additional portable cylinders.
Medical Vacuum	No vacuum; vacuum systems fail & in alarm.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Call Central Sterile Processing for portable vacuum, obtain portable vacuum from crash cart, finish cases in progress, don’t start new cases.
Natural Gas, Failure or Leak	Odor, no flames on burners, etc.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Open windows to ventilate, turn off gas equipment, don’t use any spark producing devices, electric motors, switches, etc.
Nurse Call System	No patient contact.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Use bedside patient telephone if available, move patients; use bells, detail a rover to check patients.
Systems Failure and Basic Staff Response (See Emergency Preparedness Manual for additional details.)
Failure of:	What to Expect:	Who to Contact	Responsibility of User:
Patient Care Equipment/Systems	Equipment/system does not function properly.	Bio-Medical Department Ext. 1485	Remove and “RED” tag defective equipment.
Sewer System	Drains backing up.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Do not flush toilets, do not use water.
Steam Failure	No building heat, hot water, laundry, sterilizers inoperable, limited cooking.	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Conserve sterile materials & all linens, provide extra blankets, prepare cold meals.
Telephones	No Phone Service	Telecommunications Ext. 1437	Use overhead paging, pay phones and runners as needed.
Water	Sinks & Toilets Inoperative	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Institute Fire Watch, conserve water, use bottled water for drinking, turn off water in sinks, use RED bags in toilets.
Water Non-Potable	Tap water unsafe to drink	Maintenance Department Ext. 1531	Place “Non-Potable Water-Do Not Drink” signs at all drinking fountains.

Failure of:

Who to Contact

Computer Systems

Elevators Out of Service

Fire Alarm System

Medical Gases

Medical Vacuum

Nurse Call System

Failure of:

Who to Contact

Steam Failure

Telephones

Water

Water Non-Potable