Bringing Calm to Chaos: HICS & the Coronavirus Pandemic

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact society, hospitals and healthcare systems are facing a myriad of challenges. Effective leadership is needed to ensure continued health care operations, access to critical medications and personal protective equipment, and overall viability of the health care system. The hospital incident command system (HICS) was designed decades ago to provide a decision-making framework to manage incidents and disasters. Now, more than ever, health care systems are relying on HICS to help meet the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic. In this episode, Domestic Preparedness Advisor Andrew Roszak explores how Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas is using HICS to help keep their more than 16,000 employees informed, protected and safe during this public health crisis. Roszak is joined by: Dr. Brent Kaziny, who is director of all hazards preparedness and response for the Section of Emergency Medicine and serves as the medical director of emergency management and co-chair of the Emergency Management Committee; and by James Mitchell, who is the director of organizational resilience. Video of this podcast can be found at https://youtu.be/DmartiNQvZo Texas Children’s Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children’s hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children’s has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women’s health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children’s Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children’s Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children’s Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children’s care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children’s Health Plan, the nation’s first Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) for children; has the largest pediatric primary care network in the country, Texas Children’s Pediatrics; Texas Children’s Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that is channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children’s Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. Texas Children’s Hospital