Hospital disaster manuals and response plansoften lack formal command structure; instead, theyrely on the presence of key individuals who arefamiliar with hospital operations, or who are inleadership positions during routine, day-to-dayoperations. Although this structure occasionallymay prove to be successful, it is unreliable, asthis leadership may be unavailable at the time ofthe crisis, and may not be sustainable during aprolonged event. The Hospital Emergency IncidentCommand System (HEICS) provides a commandstructure that does not rely on specificindividuals, is flexible and expandable, and isubiquitous in the fire service, emergency medicalservices, military, and police agencies, thusallowing for ease of communication during eventmanagement.

A descriptive report of the implementation of theHEICS throughout a large healthcare network isreviewed. Results and Conclusions: Implementationof the HEICS provides a consistent commandstructure for hospitals that enables consistencyand commonality with other hospitals and disasterresponse entities.