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Emergency Management: Emergency Operations Center

mergency Operations Center

When situations that affect life, property, safety or normal business operations occur, UAMS opens its Emergency Operations Center (EOC), a command and communications facility that enables trained personnel to assess, monitor and respond to emergencies.

The EOC employs the Incident Command System (ICS), a standardized command, control and response coordination approach to emergencies. Because this component of the National Incident Management System (NIMS) can be tailored for incidents of all types and magnitudes, it's used around the United States.

As part of UAMS's emergency preparations, UAMS personnel are trained and assigned roles in our ICS. In turn, ICS Job Action Sheets for those roles describe responsibilities and actions throughout incidents when the EOC is open. The sheets also act as an activity log so that the dates and times of decisions and actions are recorded, which enables UAMS to capture lessons learned and continuously improve its emergency responses.

EOC Activation Levels

Once the UAMS EOC is activated in response to an incident or emergency, the incident commander assigns an activation level. The three activation levels used at UAMS align with those used by the Arkansas Department of Health and Division of Emergency Management. They reflect:

  • Whether the impact on UAMS is minor, moderate or major
  • The number of sites and agencies involved
  • The support resources and minimum staffing required

In most cases, the EOC is in Level 1 (Monitor), a steady state of operation shown in the following table. As conditions change, officials in charge of the UAMS response raise or lower the levels to ensure sufficient staffing and response in accordance with our All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan.

EOC Activation Levels & Decision Flow

EOC Activation Levels

Once the UAMS EOC is activated in response to an incident or emergency, the incident commander assigns an activation level. The three activation levels used at UAMS align with those used by the Arkansas Department of Health and Division of Emergency Management. They reflect:

  • Whether the impact on UAMS is minor, moderate or major
  • The number of sites and agencies involved
  • The support resources and minimum staffing required

In most cases, the EOC is in Level 1 (Monitor), a steady state of operation shown in the following table. As conditions change, officials in charge of the UAMS response raise or lower the levels to ensure sufficient staffing and response in accordance with our All Hazards Emergency Operations Plan.

EOC Activation Levels and Decision Flow

ICS Task Organization Charts

UAMS’s ICS includes task organization charts that identify a standardized chain of command and roles. Depending on the impact an event has on UAMS and the EOC activation level at a given time, many or only a few of the roles may need to be filled.

Click the button below to display a PDF that shows the chain of command and roles used when events impact hospital operations at UAMS. Clinical ICS Task Organizational Chart

Click the button below to display a PDF that shows the chain of command and roles used when events impact academic operations at UAMS. Academics ICS Task Organizational Chart

ICS Task Organization Charts

UAMS’s ICS includes task organization charts that identify a standardized chain of command and roles. Depending on the impact an event has on UAMS and the EOC activation level at a given time, many or only a few of the roles may need to be filled.

Click the button below to display a PDF that shows the chain of command and roles used when events impact hospital operations at UAMS.

Clinical ICS Task Organizational Chart

Click the button below to display a PDF that shows the chain of command and roles used when events impact academic operations at UAMS.

Academics ICS Task Organizational Chart

Incident Job Action Sheets

Incident Job Action Sheets are the most detailed level of documentation used in the EOC during an event. The roles listed in them correspond to roles in the ICS Organizational Charts.

Each role has a defined set of actions and a column for recording when each action was taken. Actions are listed in these categories:

  • Immediate operational period, 0-2 hours into the event
  • Intermediate operational period, 2-12 into the event
  • Extended operational period, beyond 12 hours
  • Demobilization and system recovery
Incident Job Action Sheets

Incident Job Action Sheets

Incident Job Action Sheets are the most detailed level of documentation used in the EOC during an event. The roles listed in them correspond to roles in the ICS Organizational Charts.

Each role has a defined set of actions and a column for recording when each action was taken. Actions are listed in these categories:

  • Immediate operational period, 0-2 hours into the event
  • Intermediate operational period, 2-12
  • Extended operational period, beyond 12 hours
  • Demobilization and system recovery
Incident Job Action Sheets
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Comments or Suggestions? Contact IT Development.
Comments or Suggestions? Contact IT Development.
UAMS Emergency Management
4301 W. Markham Street, Slot #730, Little Rock, AR 72205
Phone: (501) 258-4547 Or Email: EmerMgt@uams.edu
Emergency Operations Center • Phone: (501) 686-6999
After Hours Call • Phone: (501) 686-7000