Planning Services

Effective emergency planning activities continue on an ongoing basis, and begin well in advance of any potential incident.

Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) Development

The Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) provides the structure and processes that the organization utilizes to respond to and initially recover from an event. The Mass General Center for Disaster Medicine can assist an organization or network in developing and implementing an Emergency Operations Plan that will provide overall direction and coordination of the response structure and processes to be used by the organization in times of emergency. The Mass General CDM is experienced in planning efforts aligned to numerous preparedness measures and accreditation requirements, including:

• The Joint Commission (TJC)/The Joint Commission International (JCI)
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)
• Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR)
• National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Department of Homeland Security National Incident Management System (NIMS)

Incident Command System (ICS) Implementation

Incident Command Systems allow organizations to organize their response structure into a recognized, flexible, scalable, and adaptable system that can be used by all facilities regardless of size, location, patient acuity, patient volume, or hazard type. The Mass General CDM can assist an organization in developing or streamlining response structures according to ICS principles to maximize effectiveness during response and ensure buy-in from stakeholders.

Hazard-Specific Protocol Development

The Mass General CDM can assist with development or improvement of threat-specific protocols for an organization or system to prepare for and respond to the following scenarios:

• Active Shooter
• Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear and Explosive (CBRNE) Incidents
• Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning for system sustainability
• Disaster Recovery
• Emerging Biologic Threats / Infectious Disease Planning
• Evacuation
• Fire
• Hazardous Materials Decontamination
• Infant/Child Abduction
• Information Systems-related Downtime
• Natural Disasters / Severe Weather
• Mass Casualty / Triage
• Mass Fatality
• Patient Surge
• Research Operations
• Others

Incident Management Team (IMT) Organization

The responsibility of the Incident Management Team (IMT) is to ensure the initial steps of the EOP are enacted when needed and/or serve as a subset of subject matter experts (SMEs) when activation of the EOP is not required. An IMT will serve as a component of the Incident Command System, and can reduce operational disruption to a facility during incident response. MGH-CDM can assist in identifying on-call decision makers, outlining notification and activation processes, organizing IMT response roles, and developing a training program for a successful IMT.

Incident Action Planning

An incident action plan (IAP) formally documents incident response objectives, operational period objectives, and the response strategy defined by incident command during response planning. MGH-CDM can provide guidance to assist in synchronizing operations throughout an organization or system and ensure that incident operations are conducted in support of incident objectives.