ICS and
Public Health Applications
Because the Incident Command System is flexible and adaptable, it can (and has) been applied to many different situations, including those in public health. These situations include:
- Large-scale flu clinics - such as during the 2004 flu vaccine shortage
- Disease outbreaks - such as SARS, meningitis, West Nile virus or avian flu
- Non-outbreak situations - such as school vaccinations
- Food-borne illnesses - such as E. coli. or Salmonella
- Medical Emergencies - such as anthrax, mass casualty disasters or transportation accidents
Faced with a national influenza vaccine shortage in the fall of 2004, the DOH was forced to alter plans for its regular flu vaccine distribution. While approximately 37,000 doses of vaccine had been ordered and were to be administered through 17 large flu clinics, only 8,000 doses of flu vaccine were available for distribution.
Since the demand for vaccine far surpassed the supply, the DOH operated two mass flu clinics: one at Annapolis High School and one at Old Mill High School. This shortage provided an opportunity to test the DOH's capacity to mobilize mass clinics in the event of a natural emergency or bioterrorism. The Incident Command System was implemented, providing clear leadership roles, chain of command and delegation of duties. The use of ICS contributed greatly to DOH's success and demonstrated its capacity to mobilize mass clinics in the event of an emergency.
More recently, ICS was used extensively 2009-2010 in the Department's response to the H1N1influenza outbreak.
