Communications

The Health Council has established a communication strategy for coordinating the information flow among member hospitals in a disaster situation.

For instance, the Council manages a communication system used to give hospitals early notification of a mass casualty or hazardous materials situation and that allows hospitals to report in-house and emergency department capacity to Emergency Medical Responders (EMS).

This early notification and coordination of medical resources are intended to ensure that victims/patients are:

• Transported to the facilities most able to quickly stabilize their conditions

• Relatively evenly distributed among receiving hospitals, especially those closest to the incident

• Taken to hospitals that are prepared to manage any contamination in a manner that protects staff and the facility

Various tools and resources are used to coordinate communication in the most timely and efficient manner possible.

Disaster Net Radio – used to coordinate communications regarding the distribution of victims/patients in mass-casualty or hazardous materials situations in the most timely, systematic and efficient manner possible 
SurgeNet (housed on this website) – used by hospitals to enter their capability for response, including Local Mass Casualty Incident (LMCI) and National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) data
MARCS (Multi-Agency Radio Communication System) – an 800 MHz radio and data network that utilizes state-of-the-art trunked technology to provide statewide interoperability in digital clarity to its subscribers throughout Ohio and a 10-mile radius outside of Ohio. The MARCS system provides statewide, secure, reliable public service wireless communication for public safety and first responders.
Disaster Preparedness and Collaboration Portal – portal for sharing and accessing documents and resources
Disaster Alerting System (Everbridge) – used by the Health Council to send alert broadcast messages to all hospital disaster coordinators
OH Trac-Patient Tracking – statewide application used to track patients and assist with family reunification