Mission

Advance hospital and healthcare facility emergency preparedness through the development and presentation of incident command operational guidance, instructional materials, program presentations and instructor credentialing.

Objectives:

• Develop incident command related guidance for hospitals and healthcare facilities
  Provide instructional materials for use in teaching hospital and healthcare facility personnel emergency preparedness planning and response
• Create a clearinghouse for “best practices” for hospital and healthcare facility emergency preparedness and response

Governance:

An executive staff composed of personnel from WHC and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. will be responsible for day to day operations and final execution of all policies, issues and decisions relating to this Agreement.

An Advisory Board will be composed of individuals with a broad based background in hospital and community emergency preparedness and who served on the HEICS IV Project. They will be asked to serve for one year but can be reappointed. Board members will be asked to review and comment on select draft materials and provide recommendations on other related Foundation activities.

The Board will meet via teleconference and or in person at least once annually. A representative from the following organizations shall also serve in an advisory capacity. They include:

• American Hospital Association (AHA)
• Joint Commission for the Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO)
• American Society of Healthcare Engineers (ASHE)
• NIMS Integration Center (NIC)
• Healthcare Resources and Services Agency (HRSA)
• United States Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS)

Administrative Operations:

Two Executive Directors (1 each from Washington Hospital Center and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc.) will provide the day to day management and supervision of all HICS related activities. Each partner will provide administrative staff to work with their Director to manage mutually agreed to areas of responsibility.

Services to be offered:

The services offered through the Foundation will gradually be expanded to include the following:

• Developing and operating a HICS Foundation web page
• Answering HICS related questions via email or phone
• Coordinating requested instructional assistance
• Collection and dissemination of “best practices” related information relative to HICS as well as hospital preparedness and response issues