Emergency Preparedness

Kern Medical Emergency Operations Plan (EOP)

Key Terms Refer to Appendix B - Emergency Management Acronyms and Appendix C - Emergency Management Glossary for a list of acronyms and more extensive glossary, respectively. The following terms are used frequently throughout this document. ALTERNATE SITES/FACILITIES Locations other than the primary facility where Kern Medical will continue operations during an emergency. CONTINUITY OF OPERATIONS (COOP) Plans and actions necessary to continue essential business functions and services and ensure continuation of decision making even though primary facilities are unavailable due to emergencies. EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER (EOC) The location at which management can coordinate Kern Medical activities during an emergency. It is managed using the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) . The EOC may be established in the primary Kern Medical facility or at an alternate site. EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS COORDINATOR (EPC) The Emergency Preparedness Coordinator guides the development and maintenance of Kern Medical’s emergency management program and development of its emergency operations plan. EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT GROUP (EMG) The Emergency Management Group consists of Kern Medical staff that will fill the core positions of the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) and manage Kern Medical’s emergency response. Kern County Health Care Coalition (KCHCC) This coalition in the National Incident Management System (NIMS) is responsible for all incident medical and health coordination in Kern County. The ESF8C is often stationed in the County EOC and is frequently, but not always, the County Health representative or designee (Deputy IC or Liaison). During the response to incidents, the ESF8C is the ESF8 point-of-contact for requests for medical and health resources including personnel, supplies and equipment, pharmaceuticals, and medical transport. ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS (EF) Essential functions and services are those that implement Kern Medical’s core mission and goals. The extended loss of these functions, following an emergency, would create a threat to life/safety, or irreversible damage to, its staff or its stakeholders. HAZARD MITIGATION Measures taken by a facility to lessen the severity or impact a potential incident or emergency may have on its operation. Hazard mitigation can be divided into two categories.

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