Situation Report | September 21, 2020
The state Department of Health (DOH) will be conducting a statewide, no-notice Interoperable Communications (IOC) drill sometime in the next two weeks.
The drill, while voluntary, can be used to fulfill federal and/or state requirements for agencies to conduct emergency preparedness exercises.
The objectives of the IOC drill are to: demonstrate the ability to use a primary and back-up communication system and complete a Health Commerce System (HCS) Health Emergency Response Data System (HERDS) survey within the timeframe outlined in an Integrated Health Alerting and Notification System (IHANS) alert that will be sent to you.
On the day of the IOC drill, agencies and Local Health Departments will receive an IHANS message via text/phone call/e-mail that outlines the emergency scenario and directs recipients to their e-mail to access, complete, and submit the HERDS survey within two hours.
The following HCS Communication Roles for home care agencies will be contacted: 24/7 Facility Contact; Administrator; Director, Home Care Patient Services; Emergency Response Coordinator; and Operator.
The HCS Communication Roles for hospices include: 24/7 Facility Contact; Administrator; Director, Clinical Services; Director, Patient Services; Emergency Response Coordinator; and Operator.
Agencies should ensure that their information is up to date in the HCS Communications Directory so they receive notification of the IOC drill.
Slides for a webinar on the drill are here; a video of the presentation is here.
The After Action Report, which should be completed and kept by the agency, is available for download here.