Yes, a hospital may utilize a vendor-created or delivered training course. The National Integration Center (NIC) recognizes that many operational aspects of the NIMS, including ICS training, are available through, state, local and tribal training agencies and private training vendors. It is not necessary that the training requirements be met through a federal source.
According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NIMS Integration Center is responsible for facilitating the development of national guidelines for incident management training and exercises at all jurisdictional levels, while individual agencies and organizations are responsible for establishing and certifying instructors.
No. Completion of ICS courses by appropriate personnel satisfies two of the 14 NIMS Compliance Objectives for Healthcare Organizations (Objective 5 and Objective 6). The remaining objectives must also be met to make a hospital NIMS compliant.
No. A stand alone HICS course does not take the place of ICS 100, 200 and 700, which are specific requirements of the NIMS Objectives.
There are different requirements for the various accrediting bodies and grant requirements. For example, the Hospital Preparedness Program grant may require participation in the Annual Statewide Medical Health Exercise.
According to the Homeland Security Exercise Evaluation Program (HSEEP) there are seven types of exercises, each of which is either discussion-based or operations-based.
The initial steps to planning an exercise include identifying:
The hospital’s Hazard Vulnerability Analysis (HVA) assists exercise planners in identifying threats facing the facility. The facility’s HVA provides a list of top scenarios to base future drills and exercises on. Additionally, past after action reports and improvement plans provide previously identified areas for improvement that can be tested.
The Incident Action Plan contains objectives reflecting the overall incident strategy and specific tactical actions and supporting information for the next operational period. The hospital’s IAP is generally comprised of:
Hospitals are required by The Joint Commission to monitor performance and evaluate each exercise or actual event using a multidisciplinary process that involves licensed independent practitioners. During an exercise, individuals are to be designated to observe performance and document opportunities for improvement.