Figure 4-2. Operations Branches for Medical and Public Health Assets
Detailed bulleted alt text:
Overall structure
A hierarchical organization chart titled “Medical and Public Health Operations Section.”
A related top-level box labeled “Medical and Health Operations Staging” is connected beneath the main title.
The chart branches horizontally into six major operational areas:
Incident Epidemiological Profiling
Pre-Hospital Care
Medical Care
Mental Health
Hazard/Threat/Disease Containment
Mass Fatality Care
Incident Epidemiological Profiling
Described as activities that identify, define, and track an incident from a medical and epidemiological perspective.
Provides the incident command with information needed to define medical objectives and effectiveness measures.
May be supervised by the jurisdiction’s senior epidemiologist acting as a branch director.
Subfunctions include:
Community Health Surveillance
Patient Surveillance and Tracking
Rapid Epidemiological Investigation
Anomaly Confirmation
Incident Diagnostics
Clinical Laboratory Diagnostics
Environmental Laboratory and “Field” Diagnostics
Criminal Investigation Diagnostics
Animal Surveillance
Environmental Surveillance
Pre-Hospital Care
Covers medical activities performed before hospital arrival, from the incident site through transport by first responders.
Includes activities from the point of victim extrication to arrival at sites where definitive evaluation and intervention occur.
May be directed by the jurisdiction’s senior EMS operations officer.
Subfunctions include:
Emergency Medical Services
Victim Extrication / Casualty Collection
Victim Triage
Victim Treatment
Response Resource On-Scene Staging
Patient Distribution
Operational Medicine
Medical Care
Covers organized medical evaluation and intervention for affected populations.
Includes inpatient and outpatient medical services, diagnostics, acute care, post-acute care, and patient movement.
May be coordinated by a senior public health, emergency management, EMS, or medical services representative.
Subfunctions include:
Acute Medical Care
Out-of-Hospital Care
Emergency and Hospitalized Care
Post-Acute Medical Care
Patient Diagnostics
Medical Evacuation / Inter-Facility Transport
Mental Health
Covers prevention and intervention activities that address emotional and psychological impacts on affected people.
Includes services for exposed victims, families of affected individuals, and the general public.
May be directed by the jurisdiction’s senior mental health authority.
Subfunctions include:
Population Mental Health Interventions
Victim Mental Health Interventions
Victims’ Family Assistance Services
Hazard / Threat / Disease Containment
Covers activities to control the incident and reduce its health and medical impact.
Includes both population-based and environment-based interventions.
Activities may be led by a senior public health officer or may fall under a separate containment branch director.
Population-based interventions include:
Mass or targeted prophylaxis / immunization
Isolation of all types
Evacuation strategies
Public warning, alerts, and public education
Victim decontamination
Environmental-based interventions include:
Environmental decontamination and cleanup of the hazard
Food, water, and sanitary inspection
Animal and vector control
Water disposal
Hazard-site or “hot zone” security
Mass Fatality Care
Covers activities for managing and processing deceased persons related to the incident.
Includes body and body-fragment recovery, identification, appropriate disposition, interim body storage, forensic evidence collection, chain-of-custody procedures, interactions with families, and cultural or religious support.
May be directed by the jurisdiction’s medical examiner, coroner authority, or equivalent branch director.
Subfunctions include:
Body Recovery / Handling, including pre-morgue activities
Mortuary Services, including identification, pathology, autopsy, and forensics
Post-Morgue Services
Decedents’ Family Assistance Services