203.05 Transportation Sector

Transportation Sector Responsibilities

• Determine and request resources for patient transportation.
• Identify the rescue loading area and helicopter landing zone in coordination with Command.
• Determine hospital availability status by contacting Dispatch on Med-9.

Patient Allocation and Transportation

• Coordinate patient allocation and destination with Treatment Sector.
• Aggressively supervise patient movement from the treatment area to the ambulance loading area or helicopter landing zone.
• Maintain an accounting of all patients and their destinations.
• Provide progress reports, allocations, and ETA's to receiving hospitals.

Communication and Coordination

• Provide frequent progress reports to Command.
• Coordinate activities with other sectors, especially Treatment.
• Notify hospitals (through Dispatch) of estimated arrival time of specific rescues or helicopters.
• Notify Command when all IMMEDIATE patients have been transported.

Role of the Transportation Sector Officer

• Assume a visible position in the treatment area or patient loading area and wear a sector vest.
• "Size up" the transportation needs, including ambulances, air ambulances, and staffing needs.
• Communicate needs to Command.

Additional Roles and Responsibilities

• Hospital Communications Coordinator: assist with medical communications.
• Loading Coordinator: assist with transport loading.
• Charting Officer: assist with record keeping.
• LZ Sector: coordinate air medical transport.
• Staging: assist with staging of rescues.

Use of Helicopters and Ambulances

• Use helicopters to transport critical patients to distant medical facilities.
• Use ambulances or other vehicles to transport patients from the treatment area to the landing zone.
• Use ambulances to transport patients to closer hospitals.

Loading and Staging

• Establish a patient loading area next to the Treatment Sector.
• Stage rescues off-site and bring them in as needed, no more than two at a time.
• Ensure rescues and ambulances are immediately ready in the loading area.
• Ensure a separate entry and exit point for ambulances in the loading area.

Hospital Communication and Inventory

• Contact medical facilities to determine their capabilities and availability.
• Advise hospitals of the location, type of incident, triage report, and patient information.
• Initiate medical facility inventory by contacting Dispatch on Med-9 early during the incident.

Patient Transportation and Allocation

• Allocate patients to medical facilities based on injury, priority, hospital capacity, and specialty.
• Prioritize transport of IMMEDIATE patients, followed by DELAYED and MINOR patients.
• Consider using city busses or vans to transport MINOR patients to distant hospitals.

Tracking and Reporting

• Remove patients from the treatment area and deliver them to transport units.
• Use transportation tracking slips to maintain an accounting of all patients leaving the scene.
• Advise Dispatch on Med-9 of estimated arrival time and patient status after transport units have left the scene.