COVID Chronicle

STAND-UP OF INC IDENT COMMANDS

While Maine has experienced a low incidence of community transmission so far, Northern Light Health acted early to prevent spread, and track real-time data to facilitate planning.

Incident Command We knew we needed to think differently to meet the challenges that were about to sweep the nation. It became very clear a systemwide incident command structure was our answer to provide effective communication, management of resources, and ensure that all Northern Light Health facilities were in as near lockstep as possible. Jeff Doran, VP System Clinical Services was selected to serve as incident commander. Jeff immediately established standing 7am Zoom meetings with leaders representing the entire organization. We also stood up incident commands at each member organization. While they worked within their regions to manage operations (including staff and care of patients) system level incident command facilitated information sharing, resource gathering and allotment, and advanced communications to ensure people had the information they needed to stay safe, continue to provide care, and prepare for what might happen next.

The Incident Command System (ICS) is a fundamental form of management, with the purpose of enabling incident managers to identify key concerns—often under urgent conditions— without sacrificing attention to any component of the command system.

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