[Ares-races] re: approach to building a new hospital

[Jerry Reimer]

The joint commission (JCAHO) emergency plan requirement (Emergency 
Management Standards-EC.1.4) says that hospitals must have an emergency 
management plan, and that plan must identify backup internal and 
external communications.  How the hospital intends to provide that is up 
to them, but this simple requirement is what ARES proposes to provide 
for them.

Standard
EC.1.4 The organization has an emergency management plan.
The plan identifies
    b. Backup internal and external communication systems in the event 
of failure during emergencies.

http://www.jcrinc.com/subscribers/perspectives.asp?durki=2914

Here are two examples of ARES groups that have been successful in 
working with hospitals to provide the basic infrastructure that helps 
them to help the hospital.

1.  Travis County ARES (state capitol of Texas) launched a project to 
link together all nine hospitals in the county by voice and packet.  The 
project became so large that it became a separate organization, Amateur 
Radio Communications Hospital Emergency System (ARCHES).  Their basic 
hardware proposal is one that I have used with other organizations.

    http://lonestar.texas.net/%7En9yfk/tcares/Pages/arches.htm


2.  The Hospital Disaster Support Communications System (HDSCS) has 
successfully been providing backup hospital communications in California 
for over 20 years.

    http://members.aol.com/emcom4hosp/


Jerry Reimer, KK5CA
District Emergency Coordinator
ARES District 14 - Harris County
ARRL South Texas Section