Describe why this area is important to overall community infrastructure,
Every country’s critical infrastructure provides the most vital services to its population. Healthcare and Public Health Sector (HPH) is one of the 13 Critical Infrastructures of the United States. The network of all nation’s critical infrastructures support and maintain the wellbeing of the community. Playing an important role in preparedness and response for all hazards, Healthcare and Public Health Sector composes the major share of the US economy. It mainly aims to prevent, mitigate the damage or destruction of US’s healthcare and public health infrastructure. Unlike healthcare which is provided and managed locally, the public health component of HPH Sector is mainly
…show more content…
- The Healthcare and Public Health Sector should serve as a platform where public and private sector organizations can communicate about their programs and collaborate when possible to achieve maximum effectiveness.
- Healthcare facilities should take an all-hazards approach to protecting their critical infrastructure. This does not mean preparing for any and all hazards. It simply means that there are commonalities in all disasters, and so certain response activities can apply to multiple emergency situations. The foundation of an all hazards plan and response effort is effective command and control.
- A major area of planning by healthcare facilities is how the organization will handle patient surge incidents. Hospitals must be capable ofreceiving and treating a large number of patients in a short amount oftime. Having an effective triage process at the scene as well as the hospital is critical to maintaining a safe and secure environment. Patient moves must be well coordinated to ensure they are routed to a facility with appropriate resources so they can be provided with an appropriate level