This year the USC Center for Public Health Preparedness (USC-CPHP) will coordinate with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SC DHEC) and the South Carolina Hospital Association (SCHA) to establish a backup communications system using ham radios at each hospital across the state.  This system, known as the South Carolina Healthcare Emergency Amateur Radio Team (SCHEART) project, is a statewide initiative that will provide each facility with the ability to link up with other hospitals for coordinated responses during major disasters.

At this time, the USC-CPHP is making every attempt to identify ham radio operators to serve at each hospital/healthcare facility.  These hams will be responsible for coordinating training for the facility, receiving training determined to be necessary by the hospital, and participating in monthly communication nets.  These nets will provide the training and expertise required to access the SCHEART network.  Each month ham radio operators will be expected to participate in these training sessions to strengthen the response capability of each healthcare facility.