DISASTER PREPAREDNESS PROGRAM

The Incident Command System is part of the emergency management system in many levels (federal, state, and local). It is the basis for the National Incident Management System and California's State Emergency Management System. Every significant incident or event, whether large or small, and whether it is even defined as an emergency, requires certain management functions to be performed. 

Building on the work of the Florida Health Care Association (FHCA), the California Association of Health Facilities has developed the Nursing Home Incident Command System (NHICS) Manual and Train-the-Trainer Program as a method of organizing and coordinating emergency efforts in the Long-Term Care community.

NOTE: Originally posted in 2010, NHICS was revised in 2011 by the American Health Care Association Disaster Preparedness Committee to increase its national applicability and relevancy to long-term care health facilities. It has been revised again in 2017 by CAHF-DPP and Emerge Technologies for a better user experience, and to be more applicable to Skilled Nursing Facilities. Users are encouraged to check this site regularly for updates and revisions to the NHICS.