UTMB uses the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS) to manage threats, planned events, emergency incidents, and all other potential hazards. HICS provides an adaptable organizational structure for incident command teams and guides prevention, protection,
mitigation, response and recovery efforts.
UTMB has several Incident Command Teams that can be activated depending on the situation. Some incidents require a response at the institutional level while others may be more focused (e.g., Health System or department level). For No-Notice Incidents,
the first person to become aware of the incident is the Incident Commander. That person should resolve the incident -or- communicate and escalate as needed so an appropriate level of resources can be directed at resolution of the incident. This can
include escalation up to full activation of the UTMB Institutional Command Team.
- Facilities or Utilities-related incidents should be reported to the Business Operations and Facilities Executive On-Call (24 hours a day).
- Healthcare related incidents should be reported to the Health System Clinical Operations Administrator and Administrator On-Call.
- These On-Call officials will mobilize resources as needed for incident resolution and decide if immediate executive notification is required.
- For Mass Casualty Incidents, the Emergency Department has a plan to activate an ED Command Team if needed to coordinate a response to an external mass casualty incident or influx of patients. The ED may escalate to the Health System Command Team,
which in turn can request full activation of the UTMB Institutional Command Team.
However, for Notice Incidents where warning time is available (e.g., approaching hurricane), the UTMB President or their designee will serve as the Incident Commander. For UTMB, activation and deactivation of the Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) is comparable
to activation of the Command Team. The EOP addresses delegation of authority from the president to the campuses to immediately address emergency situations where time is of the essence.
The Organization Chart to the right is for UTMB's Institutional Incident Command. It is not an all inclusive list of names - which changes based on the type and severity of incident - but is rather a snapshot to highlight the structure and key positions. For
instance, Medical/Technical Specialists might involve infection control experts for a disease outbreak, Information Services personnel for a cyber-attack, environmental services specialists for a hurricane or winter storm, etcetera. The institutional
Command Team has representation from all UTMB hospitals and locations.
UTMB's Institutional Command Team has over 150 members, including the entire C-Suite (executive leadership) and heads of all major departments.
Resources, supplies, and equipment can be obtained through the UTMB Command Team using Incident Command Resource Management. For major incidents such as hurricanes (#1 Priority Risk) where formal documentation is required, an ICS Standard Form 213 Resource Request is used. The Command Team Finance Section will track costs associated with each resource request using a Chart Field String assigned for the specific disaster. Requests for state assistance will be made only by authorized members of the Command Team using WebEOC as the primary method to initiate a State Resource or STAR Request.