1. Executive Summary
Public health is essential to the emergency response capability of any community, and as such it must have the ability to cooperate and collaborate with other responding agencies during emergencies. The United States has adopted a system for achieving unified inter-agency management during emergency response operations. This system is referred to as the National Incident Management System (NIMS). It is important that all public health agencies become familiar with NIMS, and structure their emergency response plans according to the frameworks of NIMS and the Incident Command System (ICS). Federal funding for all state, local and tribal agencies for disaster preparedness activities will be contingent upon compliance with NIMS. The purpose of NIMS is to assure a comprehensive national framework that will support efficient incident management for all domestic incidents, regardless of size, nature or complexity.
The Incident Command System is one part of NIMS and is a management system used to achieve command and control within an organization and seamless inter-agency coordination during any type of emergency event. The NIMS stresses that ICS should be user-friendly and applicable across a wide spectrum of incidents. Key features of ICS include the use of the following: a clearly defined chain of command, common nomenclature for key management positions, defined management sections, modular organization, management by objectives and use of specifically described emergency response functional roles. ICS is efficient, since only those resources in the plan that are needed are used at any given time. It is important to note that ICS is NOT a plan, but rather a common framework upon which specific agency plans are developed. Use of a common framework and titles enhances communication across agencies, standardizes role expectations and ensures that each agency addresses the key aspects of any emergency response. Key aspects include: command & control, strict coordination and attention to communication and information, responder safety, inter-agency liaison, planning/ intelligence, operations, logistics and finance/administration. While the specifics for each agency will be different, ICS ensures that where indicated, these basic functions are addressed.
This guide provides an overview of how the standardized ICS system is applied within the context of public health. During disaster events, public health has a dual responsibility to not only respond to specific public health threats but also to ensure that essential public health services are maintained for the affected community. Under this system, regardless of the mission of the agency, command and control is attained through the use of Command Staff positions (Incident Commander, Public Information Officer, Safety Officer and Liaison Officer) and defined sections that are led by Section Chiefs (Planning/Intelligence, Operations, Logistics and Finance/Administration). If necessary, each Command Staff officer or Section Chief may have assistants or deputies. Therefore, under ICS, the person in charge of the agency’s emergency response is always referred to as the Incident Commander; the person in charge of insuring the safety of the response staff is always called the Safety Officer; and so forth.
Almost any disruption to a community has some sort of public health consequence. Therefore, it is essential that public health has the ability to be a collaborating partner with other agencies as they work together to achieve effective community response.