The Healthcare Coalition supports the emergency response of individual healthcare organizations (Tier 1) by connecting them through an effective information processing and communications system. This facilitates the sharing of incident and emergency response information. It can also facilitate resource sharing between healthcare organizations, promote coordinated response strategies, and support effective interface between healthcare organizations and the relevant Jurisdictional Agency(s) (Tier 3).[7] The complexity of any Healthcare Coalition, and the response objectives it sets for itself, will depend in part on the level of services provided by jurisdictional authorities in its geographic area.
1.3.1 Defining the MSCC Healthcare Coalition
A Healthcare Coalition is a group of healthcare organizations in a specified geographic area that agree to work together to enhance their response to emergencies or disasters. The response objectives of the Coalition will vary depending on how the Coalition is constructed in a particular area. Example objectives include promoting situational awareness, facilitating resource sharing, and coordinating response actions among its member organizations. The Coalition also promotes the efficient interface of its member organizations with jurisdictional authorities (Tier 3). As noted earlier, the Coalition serves as a coordinating entity during incident response; it does not supplant the relevant incident command authority.
The Healthcare Coalition has both a preparedness and a response element. The response element is described in Chapters 2-4 of this handbook, while the preparedness element is discussed in Chapters 5-7. The Coalition response element is presented first to provide the reader with a clear understanding of the end goal for the Healthcare Coalition preparedness program.
- Jurisdictional Agency is the NIMS term referring to the “agency having jurisdiction” and responsibility for a specific geographical area or mandated function. Usually, this is a public agency representing a local, State, or Federal government that has direct authority for emergency response and recovery (NIMS, December 18, 2008).
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