Healthcare Coalition of Rhode Island Plans
The HCRI Preparedness Plan was developed to outline both the characteristics of the Coalition and the processes it employs to enhance coordination among its members as they work to advance their disaster preparedness efforts. In so doing, this plan outlines the Coalition’s central administrative and strategic functions. This plan does not preclude or supersede the administrative or strategic functions of any of the Coalition’s members; instead, the plan is intended to serve as a reference for the Coalition’s membership, around which members may better plan and develop their respective preparedness activities.
The HCRI Response Plan builds on the framework of the HCRI operations, as established in the HCRI Preparedness Plan, to outline actions that the Coalition takes when responding to and recovering from disaster. The processes and strategies presented in this plan are of an all-hazards focus; they offer actions that the Coalition may take with respect to a broad spectrum of incident types (e.g., intentional, naturally occurring, technological) and effects (e.g., power loss, medical surge, evacuation).
The Infectious Disease Surge Annex of the HCRI Response Plan is intended to supplement the policies and processes of the HCRI Response Plan to support the Coalition’s members’ individual and collective responses to an infectious disease event (e.g., large-scale disease outbreak in Rhode Island).
It should be noted that certain diseases (like Ebola), by virtue of their characteristics related to transmission, morbidity, and mortality, may be better responded to via processes outlined in disease-specific documents (like the Rhode Island Ebola Concept of Operations) and any similar plans are coordinated primarily by the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), with HCRI playing a core supporting role. This plan may also be employed in conjunction with other incident- or disease-specific plans developed by RIDOH.
This annex is not applicable for the routine management of infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, measles, foodborne illness, and other sexually transmitted diseases in Rhode Island, unless the situation requires significant coordination among HCRI members.
This annex describes the coordination of resources and information within the Coalition in order to mitigate the impact of an infectious disease event in the State.
The Pediatric Surge Annex of the HCRI Response Plan is intended to provide members and stakeholders a framework around which to maximize pediatric surge capacity and capability during times of disaster. In so doing, this plan strives to establish two central components: a common understanding of resources and capabilities present in the State and in the region that may be accessed to support a response to an incident with significant pediatric implications andan overview of the coordinated process by which HCRI can support decision making and the promotion of operational and clinical guidance throughout the Coalition.
As such, the Pediatric Surge Annex is meant to function primarily as a reference in coordination with various other plans, including its parent document (the HCRI Response Plan) and other incident- and surge-specific plans (e.g., Infectious Disease Surge Annex), and the Coalition’s various protocols (e.g., the Healthcare System Event Work Plan), hospital and other healthcare organization emergency management/operations plans, as well as state and local emergency operations plans and their associated annexes.
The purpose of HCRI’s Burn Surge Annex is to outline current capabilities and capacity, expected actions, and other guidance and references to support the Coalition and its members to effectively respond to a large-scale incident involving a high volume of burn injuries among victims and patients.
As an annex to HCRI’s Response Plan, this document is intended to supplement existing processes and policies implemented within the Coalition in support of an all-hazards approach to emergency response. This document is not intended to supplant or supersede any existing plans maintained by individual HCRI members, the Coalition, or the State of Rhode Island; instead, it has been designed to further reinforce existing mechanisms for response coordination with subject-specific (burn injury) considerations and activities.
The purpose of HCRI’s Radiation Emergency Surge Annex is to outline current capabilities and capacity, expected actions, and other guidance and references to support the Coalition and its members to effectively respond to a large-scale incident involving a high volume of radiation injuries among victims and patients.
This plan is focused primarily on the management of medical surge resulting from a radiation emergency. Some radiation emergencies may also have physical effects on critical infrastructure in the State, including healthcare facilities, which could impair their normal operation. Members of HCRI are encouraged to consider such impacts in their own respective emergency planning efforts, particularly business continuity and other continuity of operations plans.
The purpose of HCRI’s Chemical Emergency Surge Annex is to outline current capabilities and capacity, expected actions, and other guidance and references to support the ability of the Coalition and its members to effectively respond to a large-scale incident involving a high volume of patients exposed to, contaminated with, and/or injured by chemical substances.