The HCRT should be operational very rapidly at the onset of an incident. The use of pre-established procedures or a mobilization checklist can expedite and prioritize the actions that are required to transition from baseline operations to HCRT activation for emergency response. Mobilization procedures should address the following:
- HCRT personnel: Personnel staffing the HCRT must receive activation notification, mobilize themselves to “assemble” (even if virtually) and be briefed. Accountability is important not only from a safety and operational standpoint, but also potentially from a financial perspective (i.e., if compensation, liability coverage, and/or other benefits are included).
- Senior Policy Group personnel: Even if the services of the Senior Policy Group are not immediately needed, mobilization procedures might include verifying the contact information for Senior Policy Group personnel to ensure they can be rapidly contacted, if necessary
- Coalition Notification Center Technician: For a full HCRT activation, additional staffing or a change in the configuration of the Coalition Notification Center may be needed so that incident information is adequately processed and notification and other messaging can occur. Mobilization procedures for fully staffing and accessing the Coalition Notification Center should be pre-established.
- Other physical locations: Any facilities that may be used for the HCRT and/or Senior Policy Group operations should have established procedures for mobilization. Meeting space may be at these locations or distributed among Coalition members, whichever is most efficient for the specific Healthcare Coalition. Mobilization considerations are presented in Exhibit 3-6.
Exhibit 3-6. Considerations for facility mobilization
If a Healthcare Coalition will utilize fixed facilities to support HCRT operations, the following should be considered when developing mobilization procedures:
- Access to the facility must be available 24/7 and procedures should be in place to comply with security requirements. For example, activated HCRT personnel may need keys, access cards, or special identification badges to access the facility.
- Maps to reach the facility may be important, including the designated 24- hour entry points.
- The facility that is designated for HCRT operations may have a different purpose during everyday operations. Guidance for rapid conversion of the space to allow efficient HCRT operations could include instructions on set-up of the operational space.
- Procedures should include the set-up of required technology and supplies to support HCRT operations (see Section 6.2.1). This may include primary and backup telephones, cellular or satellite phones, teleconference microphone/speaker systems, computers with Internet access, radios, and direct connect devices.
- In some situations, power, water, and other utilities may need to be addressed for facilities that are rarely used for emergency purposes. Availability of backup electrical, water, and other support should be verified during the mobilization process.
- Potential backup locations for the HCRT operations should be identified in the event that the primary location is impacted by the hazard or is otherwise unavailable.
Mobilization procedures should be documented in the Healthcare Coalition EOP and its attachments, implemented via education, training, and drills, and evaluated through exercises or after action analyses of real-world emergencies.
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