Disaster Preparedness Is For Everyone

We Can Help

The Emergency Management team at University of Iowa Health Care is committed to ensuring the organization is in a state of readiness to respond to and contain the effects of a disastrous event and has the capability and resources to continue its vital mission of caring for the patients in its charge under adverse conditions.

The tornado sirens are going off - are you ready?

Is your family ready?
Is your community ready?
Is your local health care system ready?

Explore the links below for information on how you, your loved ones, and your colleagues at work can be better prepared to handle the next emergency event/disaster.

Personal/Family Preparedness (Prepare at Home)

Do you have...

...a shelter in place plan?
...an evacuation plan?
...a communication plan?
...a reunification plan?

Visit Be Ready Iowa and Ready.gov for more information.

Provider/Clinician Preparedness (Prepare Your Clinic)

Do you have...

a surge/evacuation plan?
a reunification plan?
a staffing plan (phone trees?)
a support plan for clinicians' families?
a support plan for individuals with special needs?

Visit the Iowa Emergency Management and Ready.gov for more information.

Hospital Preparedness (Prepare Your Hospital)

Our approach - keys to our success
Surge/evacuation/Mass Casualty Planning
Patient-Family Reunification
Clinician/Staffing Plans
Equipment/Supply Plans
Hospital Incident Command System
Exercise Planning/Staff Education

About Us

Since 2005, we have customized the Hospital Incident Command System for UI Health Care and worked to improve our disaster readiness with twice-yearly disaster drills based on our assessment of the most likely emergency hazards to which we are vulnerable.

The Medical Center on the University Campus and UI Stead Family Children’s Hospital is a 760-bed facility located in Iowa City, Iowa, and is the state's only academic medical center. UI Health ca and UI Stead Family Children's Hospital are a Level I adult and Level I pediatric trauma center with an ABA-verified Burn Treatment Center. We house the state's CDC-verified Ebola/Special Pathogen treatment center. We participate in the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) and the National Radiation Injury Treatment Network (RITN).

UI Health Care all-hazards Emergency Management program is directed by a 34-member Emergency Management (EM) Subcommittee that is led by a physician chairperson, a senior administrator, and an emergency management coordinator.

The program's charge is to assure that UI Health Care is prepared to continue its life-saving mission (i.e. remain resilient enough to continue serving its patients well) during major emergencies and disasters such as floods, tornados, infectious disease outbreaks, and acts of violence. It conducts an annual Hazard Vulnerability Analysis; maintains a comprehensive Emergency Operations Plan (EOP) to guide the institution's responses; and conducts regular emergency preparedness exercises training for the staff to assure institutional readiness. To manage major emergencies/disasters, UI Health Care uses a customized version of the Hospital Incident Command System (HICS), which assembles more than 100 staff and faculty members in the hospital command center. Throughout the year, EM Subcommittee members interact regularly with local, regional, state, and federal partners in an effort to continuously improve UI Health Care level of preparedness.

Since 2011 we have focused on Pediatric Disaster Preparedness. The Pediatric Disaster Readiness Work Group has developed a surge plan to help triage and manage mass casualties for injured children and young adults; developed a alternate “shadow” HICS plan to implement for predominantly pediatric disasters; and established a reunification center with protocols for reuniting disaster victims with their families.