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.