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EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION

Communication of the emergency status and the expected response is to be made internally through the chain of command established by the Emergency Response Plan.  This plan can be disseminated through the County Emergency Operations Center, Michigan Health Alert Network (MIHAN), EMSystems, or through the 5th District Medical Response Collation is additional assistance is needed.
Activation of a Code Green necessitates the following immediate activities:

1. Assessment and Verification of Incident Information – depending upon the emergency (i.e. warning or real time event), the Incident Command will determine the level of response based upon:

a. Type of event and direct impact to Three Rivers Health (based on information received from affected operational units and/or external sources)
b. Event magnitude (internally and externally)
c. Expected duration of event
d. Potential secondary adverse events and impacts

2.    Internal Notification of Emergency Activation – the Incident Commander (IC) or designee will notify PBX operators to announce overhead on the Code microphone, Code Green four times.  On holidays and second and third shifts and weekends, the PBX operator or designee will contact key hospital personnel (listed below), and advise them to respond to the Command Center:

a. Chief of Staff
b. CEO / President
c. VP Operations
d. VP Nursing
e. VP  Finance
f. Safety Officer
g. Maintenance Supervisor
h. Material Management Manager

3.   External Notification of Emergency Activation – Whenever a situation adversely affects the Hospital's ability to provide services to the community, the Hospital should notify appropriate authorities and city-county agencies and coordinate mutual aid and other response activities through the County EOC, if appropriate, or directly with vendors and receiving hospitals.  Once the Hospital Incident Command Structure has been initiated, the Liaison Officer or designee will establish and maintain necessary communication with external agencies and authorities.

Activation of the Emergency Management Plan due to External Emergencies
If a community disaster occurs in which disaster victims will be brought to Three Rivers Health for treatment:

a. The external agency of jurisdiction will notify the Emergency Department
b. The Emergency Department attending physician or charge nurse should take the call and verify information received.
c. Once the ED has verified the information, they will inform the command center of the details if a Code Green has already been called, or the CEO, or  any VP, Safety Officer, or House Supervisor to initiate a Code Green if  needed.
d. The Hospital Incident Command will initiate the plan.  Staff will sign-in indicating any special training or certifications they have, and be given instructions appropriate for the particular situation. See addendum V for the staff sign-in sheet.    The Human Resource department under the direction of the VP of Operations or Operations Section Chief will activate departmental call lists of off-duty staff if needed.  The Liaison officer will notify off-site business occupancies and clinics.
The manager of the Emergency Department or designee will work with the Operations Section Chief to prepare the Emergency Department with adequate nursing and support personnel.  Under the Logistics Section Chief, the Material Management Manager will coordinate delivery of needed supplies. The Logistics Section Chief will assist the Emergency Department in ramping up operations with adequate medical supplies if needed.

The Operations Section Chief will ensure that support areas such as the Operating Room, Recovery Room, Intensive Care Units, Pharmacy, and Blood Bank are prepared to support these demands with additional supplies, calling on the Logistics Section Chief if needed.  Routine activities will be curtailed or altered as necessary to allow proper response to the emergency.

The Manger or Charge Nurse of the Emergency Department will contact Incident Command to determine inpatient bed availability.  The information will also be updated on the EMSystem in ED.  If necessary, authority to initiate the discharge of certain patients will be given by the Medical Director or a designee.

Activation of other CODES that may necessitate calling a CODE GREEN
The Hospital must also ensure that all personnel are adequately trained and are capable of responding quickly and efficiently to situations which directly endanger personnel, patients, or visitors, in their areas.  Code Yellow, Black, Red, White, Purple, Amber, Charlie, and Adam; power failures; water supply; are examples of such internal incident which may necessitate activation of the CODE Green.

If an emergency situation affects the operation of the facility, the employee who discovers the situation will report it to his/her supervisor immediately.  The supervisor will notify the appropriate VP. The activation of a Code Green for an internal emergency must still follow the chain of command previously described.

Emergency Communication Platforms
The Hospital will use established communication channels (i.e. telephone, overhead page, digital pagers, 2-way radios, and cell phones) whenever possible, to communicate vital information during a disaster.  If established communication channels are unavailable, the Command Center will establish a 2-way radio relay or runner/courier system to communicate vital information throughout the Hospital.  Through ARES, local HAM radio operators have been assigned to Three Rivers Health to provide an alternative communication system between and among the hospitals, the IC, the County EOC, and other external agencies.  In most cases, the radio operator assigned to Three Rivers Health will operate out of the command center.

Release of Public Information
For emergency situations which result in a Code Green with an activation of the Hospital's Emergency Plan or the County EOC, the release of information to the media/public will be coordinated with the County Joint Information Center (JIC).  If a JIC has not been established, the Public Information Officer (PIO) will make every attempt to interface with the County EOC prior to releasing information unilaterally.  If IC deems it appropriate for the Hospital to provide media statements, The PIO will be the only individual to do so.  An assistant to the PIO may be needed to record information received from the Command Post and through out the Hospital.

Any media representative who appears on the Hospital premises will be directed to a designated press area room.  This room designation will be made by the Incident Commander, and may be off campus.  Personnel will be stationed at appropriate points to help prevent the media from going to the other areas of the hospital.

US Patent Numbers 7,720,998 B2, 7,836,207