Framework for creating an incident command center during crises

Alan D Kaye; Elyse M Cornett; Anusha Kallurkar; Matthew M Colontonio; Debbie Chandler; Chizoba Mosieri; Kimberley C Brondeel; Sathyadev Kikkeri; Amber Edinoff; Mary Jo Fitz-Gerald; G E Ghali; Henry Liu; Richard D Urman; Charles J Fox

doi:10.1016/j.bpa.2020.11.008

Framework for creating an incident command center during crises

Best Pract Res Clin Anaesthesiol. 2021 Oct;35(3):377-388. doi: 10.1016/j.bpa.2020.11.008. Epub 2020 Nov 16.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: akaye@lsuhsc.edu.
² Department of Anesthesiology, LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: ecorne@lsuhsc.edu.
³ Department of Anesthesiology, LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: akallu@lsuhsc.edu.
⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: mcolo1@lsuhsc.edu.
⁵ LSU School of Medicine, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: dchan3@lsuhsc.edu.
⁶ Department of Anesthesiology, LSU Health, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: cmosie@lsuhsc.edu.
⁷ University of Texas Medical Branch, 301 University Blvd, Galveston, TX 77555, USA. Electronic address: kcbronde@utmb.edu.
⁸ OMS-IV, Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine, Dothan, AL 36303, USA. Electronic address: sathyakikkeri@gmail.com.
⁹ LSU Shreveport Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, USA. Electronic address: aedino@lsuhsc.edu.
¹⁰ LSU Shreveport Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: mfitzg@lsuhsc.edu.
¹¹ Department of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery, Craniofacial Surgery/Head & Neck Surgery, LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: gghali@lsuhsc.edu.
¹² Department of Anesthesiology, Milton S. Hershey Medical Center, Penn State University School of Medicine, 500 University Drive, H187, Hershey, PA 17033, USA.
¹³ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Brigham and Women's Hospital, 75 Francis St, Boston, MA 02115, USA. Electronic address: rurman@bwh.harvard.edu.
¹⁴ Department of Anesthesiology, LSU Health Shreveport, 1501 Kings Highway, Shreveport, LA 71103, USA. Electronic address: cfox1@lsuhsc.edu.

Abstract

The Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) is an incident management system specific to hospitals based on the principles of Incident Command System (ICS), and it includes prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. It plays a crucial role in effective and timely response during the periods of disasters, mass casualties, and public health emergencies. In recent times, hospitals have used a customized HICS structure to coordinate effective responses to public health problems such as the Ebola outbreak in the US and SARS epidemic in Taiwan. The current COVID-19 pandemic has placed unprecedented challenges on the healthcare system, necessitating the creation of HICS that can help in the proper allocation of resources and ineffective utilization of healthcare personnel. The key elements in managing a response to this pandemic include screening and early diagnosis, quarantining affected individuals, monitoring disease progression, delivering appropriate treatment, and ensuring an adequate supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare staff.

Keywords: COVID; crisis; emergency management; emergency preparedness; hospital resiliency; incident command center.

Publication types

Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19 / epidemiology*
COVID-19 / therapy
Crew Resource Management, Healthcare / methods*
Emergency Medical Services / methods*
Emergency Medical Services / trends
Humans
Incidence
Information Centers / trends