Incident command system: Situation unit leader and county public health liaison roles during the federal medical station, Santa Clara, during the COVID-19 response

Abstract

Federal medical stations (FMS) and alternative care sites are used to provide surge capability and capacity for short-term inpatients with healthcare needs that cannot be accommodated or provided for in a general shelter or general acute care facilities. In March and April 2020, an FMS was deployed to support the management of the COVID-19 pandemic in the ‘hotspot’ of Santa Clara County, CA. This paper describes how the flexibility of the incident command system allowed for the positions of situation unit leader and liaison officer to be combined at the FMS, supporting the effectiveness and efficiency of the FMS through comprehensive situational awareness, information-sharing and collaboration. This method of combining closely related roles is not suitable for all healthcare emergencies, but as this paper demonstrates, it is well worth considering in circumstances where competences and capacity align.