08-09-2023 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Ramsey County │ Annex D: Public Health and Medical 14 3.5.2.3 Operations Centers Depending on the nature of the incident, incident coordination may necessitate the activation of multiple operations centers. The RCEOC is the primary location from which Ramsey County government provides support and coordination during a large or complex incident. When activated, a liaison from SPRCPH will be designated to coordinate the health and medical services to assist the overall incident management. Concurrently, or if the event is a public health emergency, SPRCPH may activate its DOC. From the SPRCPH Response and Recovery Plan: The DOC is the hub of SPRCPH’s emergency response and recovery operations. It is responsible for the strategic overview, or “big picture,” of the disaster, and is a centralized post where public health response functions can sustain communication and coordinate response efforts. In the event of a public health emergency, the Incident Command Team staff activates the DOC within SPRCPH, where command leadership and program staff meet to plan and operationalize the public health response to the emergency. The Incident Command Team will decide the scope of the DOC activation based on extent of the event and/or the resources needed. The DOC has the capability to be activated within one hour of the decision to activate. Operational periods of the DOC, typically 12-hour periods, will be established by the Command Staff, including a determination regarding 24/7 operations. This determination is predicated on availability of sufficient staffing. 3.5.2.4 Medical Surge Widespread or long-lasting emergencies can challenge the capabilities of the health care system to adequately care for large numbers of patients. In addition, given the nature and scope of an incident, health care operations could be impacted by infrastructure or resource challenges. Medical surge is the ability to rapidly expand the capability and capacity of the existing health care system (long-term care facilities, community health agencies, acute care facilities, alternate care facilities, and public health departments) to provide support for an event that results in increased need of personnel (clinical and non-clinical), support functions (laboratories and radiological), physical space (beds, alternate care facilities) and logistical support (clinical and non-clinical equipment and supplies). This includes providing definitive care to individuals at the appropriate clinical level of care, in a culturally competent manner, within sufficient time to achieve recovery and minimize medical complications. In the metro region, hospital surge capacity is dependent on the daily census (monitored by MNTrac), with additional capacity generated using a combination of tactics, including deferral of elective cases, early discharges, use of flat-space areas for patient care, conversion of single to double rooms, etc. An assessment of the census and hospitals affected will be made by the Regional Hospital Resource Center (RHRC) early in the event to assist with resource and staffing requests from outside the region if necessary. Each hospital has its own internal plan to address medical surge, but if additional resources are needed, assistance can be requested through the Metropolitan Area Hospital Compact, which is a