Wisconsin Interoperable System for Communications (WISCOM)
The Wisconsin Interoperable System for Communications (WISCOM) system serves as a means of redundant communication for Wisconsin’s seven healthcare emergency readiness coalitions (HERCs) with hospitals, partners, and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) during major disaster events and large-scale incident responses. It is vital to maintain these communications in the event of a disruption in normal communication practices, typically by land line or cellphone.
For the system to be truly redundant, as required by the Emergency Management accreditation standards, it is recommended that the WISCOM radio:
- Be powered by a source that will not be impacted by loss of power to the hospital’s primary power supply.
- Be left on your designated regional talk group (listed below) to support inter and intraregional emergency response communications between hospitals.
- Be located in the emergency department, whenever possible.
It should be made a priority to train your organization’s staff on how to operate the WISCOM radio to achieve these communications.
| Hospital Region | WISCOM Talk Group |
|---|---|
| Region 1 - Northwest HERC | HRCRD1 OPEN |
| Region 2 - North Central HERC | HRCRD2 OPEN |
| Region 3 - Northeast HERC | HRCRD3 OPEN |
| Region 4 - Western HERC | HRCRD4 OPEN |
| Region 5 - South Central HERC | HRCRD5 OPEN |
| Region 6 - Fox Valley HERC | HRCRD6 OPEN |
| Region 7 - Southeast HERC | HRCRD7 OPEN |
Resources
- Wisconsin Emergency Medical Services Communication Plan, P-00342 (PDF)
- WISCOM Functionality and Use, P-03378 (PDF)
- WISCOM HERC Type 1 Radio Tutorial
Technical questions can be routed through the regional WISCOM subject matter expert or submitted directly to the DHS OPEHC Radio inbox at DHSOPEHCRadio@dhs.wisconsin.gov.
The Department of Military Affairs (DMA) maintains WISCOM IDs for extra radios that hospitals wish to receive. For all non-technical inquiries or to request a WISCOM ID for an additional hospital WISCOM radio, please submit a service ticket directly to DMA through the WISCOM service desk portal.