Hospital Net Program

Each hospital operates its own Command Center, which manages the incident for that hospital using HICS (Hospital Incident Command System). The amateur radio operators assigned to a hospital provide communications support to the Hospital Command Center (HCC) and keep it connected to the other hospitals and to the county. The following operator assignments are available at each hospital, along with the credential type that is appropriate for the duties of that position:

*Preferred Credential: Indicates the minimum resource type that is fully capable of independently completing all aspects of the assignment efficiently and effectively. When requesting resources, the hospital will request this type of credentialed operator. If that resource type is not available, the hospital will decide whether or not to accept a less capable operator.

The Public Health Department Operations Center (PHDOC) functions as an operations center for the Department of Public Health working with hospitals and other medical facilities and functions within the county. Operators assigned to the PHDOC usually perform net control duty for the hospital voice net, send and receive the packet traffic to/from all hospitals, simultaneously operate on other county nets, and handle the highest traffic levels (several times the traffic that an individual hospital operator handles). The following operator assignments are available at the PHDOC, along with the credential type that is appropriate for the duties of that position:

*Preferred Credential: Indicates the minimum resource type that is fully capable of independently completing all aspects of the assignment efficiently and effectively. When requesting resources, the PHDOC will request this type of credentialed operator. If that resource type is not available, the PHDOC will decide whether or not to accept a less capable operator.

New operators interested in supporting hospital communications are always welcome. You don't need a medical background. You just need a desire to help with one of the most important communications assignments there is, and a commitment to become a credentialed operator. The expectation is as follows:

• Within the first year, achieve at least Communicator Type IV credential
• Within the next year, achieve at least Field Operator Type III credential
• Then continue to work toward additional and higher credentials, depending on your preference, such as:
  • Packet Operator Type III (recommended) for packet operations at a hospital
  • Net Control Type II and/or Packet Operator Type II for operations at the PHDOC

Of course, many will be able to progress much faster than this. It all depends on how active the individual is. Until credentialed, new operators will typically be assigned to work with a credentialed operator.

To join the hospital net team, we recommend taking at least the following training courses:

• Introduction to Emergency Communications
• Fundamentals of Emergency Communications
• Field Operations Type III Part A
• Field Operations Type III Part B and Type II

Then:

• Join the Hospital discussion group (see below)
• Contact the Hospital Net Coordinator (see below). He/she will add you to the Hospitals "pseudo-city" in our activities database so you can access the packet installer that contains the hospital forms.

Since 2016, SCCo ARES/RACES has maintained a set of minimum requirements for Hospital Net operators. Those who have followed those requirements will be about 95% of the way toward the above credentials and should be able to transition to a credentialed operator much more quickly and easily than a new operator. Those who have not maintained the minimum requirements for Hospital Net operators will have more work to do. The expectation for those who have adhered to the minimum requirements is:

• Within approximately the first year, achieve at least Field Operator Type III and, ideally, Packet Operator Type III
  • This will identify you as qualified to operate at a hospital
• Then continue to work toward additional and higher level credentials, such as:
  • Net Control Type II and/or Packet Operator Type II credentials for operating at the PHDOC

During the transition period, assignments based on credentials will gradually become the norm, while assignments based on historical attendance will gradually fade away. After the transition period, uncredentialed operators, if needed, will typically be assigned to assist credentialed operators.

See the Credentialing Program web page for complete information about the credentials mentioned above.

A monthly net is held on the fourth Wednesday of each month at 19:00 on the county Hospital Net frequency. Hospital net operators operate the net using the radio equipment at each hospital, they test the equipment operation and report on its status. Once per quarter, we also staff the PHDOC.

During the hospital monthly net, voice check-ins are completed and a packet message is sent to PKTHOS@w1xsc from each hospital. The net schedule and script below provides more details.

• Hospital Net Schedule Revised Mar. 22, 2024
• Hospital Net Script (PDF) Revised Dec. 09, 2023
• Consult the county voice frequency list and county packet frequency list for the appropriate repeaters and BBSs to use
• Hospital Tactical Calls for Packet can be found here

Consult the activities calendar for details about scheduled exercises.

Individual hospitals may conduct additional drills that may include amateur radio. Hospital net operators are also encouraged to attend other, non-hospital city and county drills and ARES/RACES training classes since the radio operating, message passing, and data network operating skills are directly transferable.

Consult the activities calendar for details about scheduled exercises.