North Carolina Standardized Emergency Alerts

Standardized emergency notifications promote safety and reduce harm by quickly communicating emergencies and mobilizing expert assistance. The need to standardize emergency alerts had been recognized by hospital emergency management staff, especially in communities with more than one hospital or adjacent to nearby states.

Legislation requiring hospitals to standardize emergency alerts was introduced during the 2013 session of the NC General Assembly, but did not pass. In May of 2014, NCHA’s Board of Trustees voted to urge all NC hospitals to implement standardized, plain language emergency alerts, as recommended by the North Carolina Hospital Emergency Management Council.