The Recovery phase begins when hospital incident command determines that the event is de-escalating or over and that some or all de-mobilization and recovery activities can be initiated.

Activities involved in recovery phase will be dependent on the event and its impact on the hospital; these include assessing the six critical elements of operation and taking the steps necessary to ensure safe, normal operations (communications, resources and assets, safety and security, staff responsibilities, utilities, and [patient] clinical and support activities).

 Event response checklists and/or HICSⁱ Response Guides include recovery phase activities; recovery activities should include preparation of documentation for submission of claims for federal reimbursement as appropriate to the event.

If the hospital has facility damage or has evacuated the facility, then review and approval by appropriate regulatory agencies (e.g., state licensing, OSHPD, Fire Marshall) may be required before repatriating facilities or operations. Preparations for recovery should be initiated during the Mitigation, Planning and Response phases to minimize event impacts and optimize timely resumption of normal operations and recuperation of expenses. For example, mitigation activities may include information technology (IT) systems secure back-up to allow for recovery after an event involving loss of IT, planning may include the establishing procedures and appropriate documentation to account for event related expenses to maximize federal funding, and response may include de-escalation plans that allow for gradual resumption of normal operations.

The hospital should have a business continuity plan (BCP), or continuity of operations plan (COOP), that identifies non-critical functions and resources that may be reassigned during an emergency, as well as critical functions, services and their redundancy to support both response and recovery.