As Canada prepares for the Toronto 2015 Pan American & Parapan American Games (PPAG) this summer, the need for proven incident management solutions in the area has become critical.
The 2015 Pan American & Parapan American Games will bring over 8,000 athletes and numerous spectators to the Greater Toronto Area. With an event of this magnitude on the horizon preparedness is key. The PPAG will span over 7 of the 14 Ontario Local Health Integration Networks (LHINs).
One of the first priorities of the local health care community in preparation for the PPAG was the development of an Emergency Management Communication Tool (EMCT) to provide a common operational picture of thehealth care system to multiple health service providers and act as the central platform for information sharing and coordination in the case of a crisis. Although the immediate concern was the PPAG, a long-term, sustainable solution was desired for future planned and unplanned events.
University Health Network (UHN) volunteered its expertise to head up the procurement process on behalf of the Toronto Central LHIN. After a competitive RFP process, UHN chose DisasterLAN (DLAN) as their EMCT. Buffalo Computer Graphics (BCG), in conjunction with their Canadian partner FutureShield, will provide implementation, customizations, and training to UHN in time for the system to be fully live by the end of May and will continue to provide additional training and support throughout the PPAG and beyond.
The system UHN purchased is a cloud-hosted DLAN Local Responder with the optional Bed Tracking and GIS modules. This system will provide UHN with a securely hosted web-based incident management system to support task, mission, and resource management. The Bed Tracking Module will display critical bed capacity for hospitals in real time in their EOC. The GIS Module will allow users to monitor syndromic surveillance data, environmental conditions, and public event information in order to be proactive against potential developing risks.
With DLAN, the LHINs and their health service providers will be prepared to respond to and recover from any potential planned or unplanned incident during the PPAG. The system will continue to be a useful tool after the event for both day-to-day operations and in the event of a crisis situation.
