Preparedness requires planning for any number of events and disasters. These collaborative response plans serve as the basis for the regional healthcare response in King County.

Planning Initiatives

Alternate Care Facilities (ACF)

The Alternate Care Facility planning process is led by Public Health – Seattle & King County, in collaboration with healthcare providers, response partners and the Coalition. The plan outlines operational models for activating and implementing an Alternate Care Facility in King County.
Alternate Care Facility FAQ

Crisis Standards of Care

One of the most difficult situations our region could face is the need to provide medical care when resources are scarce.

The Coalition works with healthcare organizations and other emergency response partners to develop a regional plan and tools for implementing crisis standards of care in the event of a disaster.

Crisis resources include:

• The Public Engagement Project on Medical Service Prioritization During and Influenza Pandemic (2009)
• The Institute of Medicine Letter Report “Guidance for Establishing Crisis Standards of Care for Use in Disaster Settings”
• Resource Conservation Planning in King County

Disaster Mental & Behavioral Health

The Coalition works with healthcare, regional and community partners to establish operational concepts for how the healthcare systems and the community provide and support mental and behavioral health services following a disaster.
In a Disaster: What parents can do to help their children

Evacuation Planning

Healthcare facility evacuation planning is an essential component of organizational and regional disaster planning. The Coalition works with organizations to prepare internally, and to build necessary systems to support single or multi-facility evacuation throughout the region.

This work includes development of mutual aid plans to support evacuation for hospitals and nursing homes.

• King County Hospital Regional Medical Evacuation and Patient Tracking Mutual Aid Plan
• Neonatal & Pediatric Evacuation Plan – Annex of Regional Medical Evacuation Plan
• Long Term Care Mutual Aid Plan for Evacuation and Resources/Assets

Family Assistance Center Planning

Led by Public Health – Seattle & King County in collaboration with the Coalition, the King County Family Assistance Center plan defines operations for a Family Assistance Center during a mass casualty or a mass fatality incident.

The purpose of a Family Assistance Center is to serve as a centralized location to provide coordinated information and assistance to families regarding the missing or deceased.

• Hospital Family Reception Services Planning Guide

Mass Fatality Management Planning

Public Health – Seattle & King County, through the King County Medical Examiner’s Office, is the lead agency for responding to mass fatality incidents.

The King County All-Hazards Mass Fatality Management Plan outlines operations for managing mass fatalities in King County. Additional tools and resources are available to assist healthcare organizations in preparing for mass fatalities.

• King County All Hazards Mass Fatality Management Plan
• Healthcare Facility Guidelines for Managing Mass Fatalities
• Healthcare Mass Fatality Plan Template

Patient Tracking Planning

The Coalition is presently working to develop a multi-disciplinary, multi-county operational concept for patient tracking in a disaster.

The Patient Tracking Steering Committee is charged with identifying minimum patient tracking data points which are necessary in determining response roles and responsibilities for EMS, hospitals, Public Health and other partners.

• Patient Tracking Steering Committee Charter
• Unidentified Patient Form
• Missing Persons Form

Pediatric Response Planning

The Coalition is working with healthcare organizations to increase regional access to age-appropriate pediatric services in a disaster.

This work includes the development of a comprehensive Regional Pediatric Disaster Response Plan that will ensure a basic level of pediatric care at all hospitals with emergency services in King County.

• Hospital Guidelines for Managing Pediatric Patients in a Disaster
• Annex 1: Neonatal and Pediatric Evacuation Plan

Security Planning

The Coalition works with healthcare organizations to facilitate security planning and develop sample security policies for healthcare facilities.
Bomb Threat Policy: Model Template