National Incident Management System (NIMS)
A national organizational plan for response to a disaster that is utilized by all levels of government… including the DOH
Mandated by the Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (HSPD-5), NIMS is a standard plan used by ALL responding organizations for incident management.
NIMS establishes a framework for coordinating efforts of Federal, State, and local government responders and enables agencies, like the DOH, to organize all response activities.
NIMS must be adopted by all state and local governments who receive federal funds. The DOH has adopted NIMS and it has been incorporated into all planning, training and exercising efforts. As part of NIMS, the DOH uses the Incident Command System (ICS) to manage large-scale emergencies.
You will learn more about NIMS and ICS when you take two additional trainings: ICS 700 and ICS 100. These trainings are available online through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and are occasionally available in classes at the DOH.
