A 1995 presidential initiative funded the
prototype for Metropolitan Medical Strike Teams (now
called the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS)),
which were composed of specially trained local personnel
and were organized to help communities respond to
disaster events. In 1996 Congress passed the Defense
Against Weapons of Mass Destruction Act, which is more
commonly known as Nunn-Lugar-Domenici. The goal of this
legislation is to develop Metropolitan Medical Response
Systems for the 120 most populous metropolitan areas in
the U.S. within five years.
FY 1997 saw the development of twenty-five
(25) MMRSs in the cities of: New Your, NY; Los Angeles,
CA; Chicago, IL; Houston, TX; Philadelphia, PA; San
Diego, CA; Detroit, MI; Dallas, TX; Phoenix, AZ; San
Antonio, TX; San Jose, CA; Baltimore, MD; Indianapolis,
IN; San Francisco, CA; Jacksonville, FL; Columbus, OH;
Milwaukee, WI; Memphis, TN; Boston, MA; Seattle, WA;
Denver, CO; Kansas City, MO; Honolulu, HI; Miami, FL;
and Anchorage, AK.
The following 20 jurisdictions initiated
systems development in FY 1999: Pittsburgh, PA;
Nashville, TN; Charlotte, NC; Cleveland, OH; El Paso,
TX; New Orleans, LA; Albuquerque, NM; Fort Worth, TX;
Oklahoma City, OK; Austin, TX; St. Louis, MO; Salt Lake
City, UT; Long Beach, CA; Tucson, AZ; Oakland, CA;
Portland, OR; Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN; Tulsa, OK;
Sacramento, CA; and the Hampton Roads, VA area.
As of January 2000, 47 urban areas have
received funding for development of an MMRS and more
communities are expected to receive similar support.
