Hospital Net Program

Overview

The hospital net is a Santa Clara County ARES/RACES net focused on providing communications for and between hospitals during times of need. New operators are always welcome. Individuals interested in helping with communications at one or more hospitals should contact the Hospital Net coordinator.

Hospital Command Center Radio Staffing

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. Hospitals request amateur radio operators through their local jurisdiction’s EOC. Following the SEMS model, if the local jurisdiction doesn’t have enough radio operators to support its hospitals, they can request amateur radio mutual aid through the County Office of Emergency Management. The Santa Clara County RACES Chief Radio Officer also functions as the mutual aid coordinator for amateur radio.

Each hospital will generally need a voice operator and a packet operator. Hospitals should prefer a voice operator with at least a Field Operator Type III credential, and a packet operator with at least a Packet Operator Type III credential. When necessary, hospitals can get by with a single operator who has both capabilities.

Operator Onboarding

Hospital management teams expect our hospital net operators to be qualified to perform their assignments. And the they know that our Credentialing Program provides the objective and standard measure of whether an operator is qualified or not. But they also understand that new operators need time to come up to speed.

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. Contact the Hospital Net Coordinator (see staff list) to get started.

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

With these classes and some hands-on practice, you should be able to achieve at least the Communicator Type IV credential and then the Field Operator Type III credential. That can take a year or two, depending on how active you are. Until you are credentialed, you’ll typically be assigned to work with a credentialed operator.

Existing hospital net operators who do not yet have the expected credentials should work on obtaining them. Assignments based on credentials will become the norm, while assignments based on historical attendance will gradually fade away. When credentialed operators are available, uncredentialed operators will be assigned to assistant roles. You should be able to achieve the Field Operator Type III credential within the first year, and ideally the Packet Operator Type III credential as well. Then continue to work toward additional and higher level credentials, such as Net Control Type II and/or Packet Operator Type II for operating at the PHDOC.

Public Health DOC Radio Staffing

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 PHDOC will generally need a voice operator, a packet operator, and a shift supervisor. The PHDOC will prefer a voice operator with at least a Net Control Type II credential, a packet operator with at least a Packet Operator Type II credential, and a shift supervisor with both.

Operator Onboarding

Operators interested in working in the Public Health DOC should first gain experience working as an operator in a hospital command center. Then, express your interest to the Hospital Net Coordinator (see staff list). Work towards achieving your Net Control Type II and/or Packet Operator Type II credentials, which are expected for PHDOC operators. Until you have those, your PHDOC assignments will probably be as an assistant to a fully credentialed operator.

Monthly Hospital Net

Voice Net

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 (Public Health Department Operations Center). The net schedule and script below provide more details for checking into this net.

Packet Nets

There are two Packet Nets also conducted on the fourth Wednesday of each month. During these nets a packet message is sent to PLVKSXF~9"}n from each hospital. The net schedule and script below provide more details.

• The first Packet Net is open from 11:30 to 17:30 and is for hospital employees who have amateur radio licenses to practice with the packet system by doing the monthly packet check-in using the prescribed form for that month.
• The second Packet Net is open from 18:00 to 19:30 for volunteer ARES/RACES amateur radio operators assigned to the hospitals and is conducted along with the Voice Net at 19:00.

Net Schedule and Script

Other Activities

Statewide or Countywide Medical Health Exercises

From time to time there may be exercises between the local hospitals, the county and/or the state. Amateur radio is incorporated into these exercises, with the particular message types and content being dependent on the exercise scenario. Consult the activities calendar for details about scheduled exercises.

Training and 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.

Support

An email discussion group is available for SCCo ARES/RACES members interested in the hospital net. Visit our Email Discussion Groups page to learn how to subscribe to our main Announce group. You can then subscribe to the Hospital group; the Hospital Net Coordinator will need to approve your subscription.

Information for Hospitals

The following information is provided for Hospital personnel in the Services section of the website.

Hospital Net Coordinator

See the county ARES/RACES staff page for the name and contact info of the current Hospital Net coordinator.