A hospital is activating its incident command system (ICS) following a large-scale natural disaster in the region. A newly hired nurse asks the charge nurse why hospitals use a standardized ICS structure during disasters. Which explanation by the charge nurse best describes the primary purpose of the ICS?
- To ensure the hospital administrator personally directs all clinical staff during the emergency
- To restrict communication to only licensed clinical personnel during a mass casualty event
- To allow each department to independently manage its own resources without coordinating with other departments
- To provide a unified chain of command that coordinates resources and communication across responding agencies