Hospital Incident Command System training Offerings

Duration & Format

• 2-hour instructor-led PowerPoint lecture followed by a 2-hour facilitated tabletop exercise (total 4 hours).
• Tabletop uses injects and role-specific tasks to stress coordination and IAP development. 
• Delivery: in-person
   

Course Summary
An introductory course that teaches hospital staff how HICS organizes response within the hospital environment, how HICS maps to the Incident Command System (ICS) / NIMS, and how to use job action sheets and HICS forms to create an Incident Action Plan (IAP). The lecture covers structure, chain of command, communications, responsibilities for Command/General Staff, and initial activation steps; the tabletop lets participants practice activation, role assignment, and creation of a short IAP in a realistic scenario.

Learning Objectives 

• Describe the purpose of HICS and its relationship to ICS/NIMS. 
• Identify HIMT positions, basic duties, and where to find Job Action Sheets and HICS forms.
• Demonstrate initial HCC activation steps and apply chain-of-command and unity-of-command principles.
• Draft a concise operational Incident Action Plan for a single operational period during the tabletop.
• Apply checklists (Job Action Sheets) to make role assignments and tactical decisions.
   

Duration & format

• 2-hour instructor-led advanced lecture followed by a 2-hour complex tabletop exercise (total 4 hours). 
• Tabletop uses injects and role-specific tasks to stress coordination and IAP development.
• Delivery: in-person
   

Course Summary
Designed for HIMT members and hospital leadership, this course builds on fundamentals and concentrates on planning and operational execution under evolving incident conditions. Topics include developing multi-period Incident Action Plans, resource tracking and requests, coordination with external agencies and the broader response community, finance/documentation during an incident, and decision support for surge and continuity of operations. A complex tabletop emphasizes inter-section communication, resource prioritization, and adaptive leadership. HICS guidebook tools (IAP templates, JAS, IRGs/IPGs) are used as the baseline for best practice.

Advanced Learning Objectives

• Lead or advise the Hospital Incident Management Team in development of multi-period Incident Action Plans (IAPs).
• Coordinate operations, logistics, and planning functions to support surge, staffing, and supplies.
• Use HICS forms and job action sheets to assign and track tasks, documentation, and expenditures.
• Integrate external response partners (local EMS, public health, EMAs) and understand common terminology to reduce friction across agencies.
• Conduct an after-action debrief and document lessons learned for improvement.