The National
Disaster Medical System (NDMS), through
the U.S. Public Health Service (PHS),
fosters the development of volunteer
teams, called Disaster Medical Assistance
Teams (DMATs). A DMAT is a group of
professional and paraprofessional medical
personnel (supported by a cadre of
logistical and administrative staff)
designed to provide emergency medical
care during a disaster or other event.
The following guidelines can assist in
developing a DMAT.
Step 1 -
Contact the NDMS at
1-800-USA-NDMS. DMATs are established to
augment State and local resources. A U.S.
Public Health Service (PHS), Office of
Emergency Preparedness (OEP), staff
member will be assigned to assist in
determining the needs in your area. If a
need is established, you will be required
to:
Step
2 - Identify a sponsor. Each
Disaster Medical Assistance Team has a
sponsoring organization that organizes
the team, recruits team members, arranges
training, and coordinates the dispatch of
the team. A sponsor can be any
organization that is willing and able to
support the development of a DMAT.
Examples of sponsors include hospitals or
major medical centers; public health and
safety agencies; and non-profit, public,
and private organizations. DMATs may be
jointly sponsored by more than one
organization. The potential sponsor must
send a letter to OEP indicating their
intent to sponsor a DMAT.
Notify all
community organizations and governmental
agencies that may have a vested interest
in or a need to use the DMAT as a
resource and inform them of your
intention to develop a DMAT. Hospitals,
public safety organizations, local
chapters of the American Red Cross, as
well as your local emergency management
and public health officials should be
kept abreast of your efforts. This effort
may later serve to build community
support and recruit additional sponsors
and DMAT members.
Step
3 - Identify a point of contact
to serve as the interface between the
sponsor(s) and NDMS. This individual will
usually be the person directly
responsible for organizing the DMAT. This
person does not need to be an employee of
the sponsor(s).
Step
4 - PHS Regional Approval must
be obtained. The potential sponsor will
contact the PHS Regional Health
Administrator (RHA) to convey their
interest in sponsoring a team. The RHA or
PHS Regional Emergency Coordinator (EC)
will contact the appropriate state agency
management official (i.e., Health
Department, Emergency Management, or
Emergency Medical Services) to convey the
sponsor's interest in forming a DMAT and
to solicit state endorsement for the
DMAT.
Step
5 - Contingent upon written State
Approval, the RHA will inform
the Director of OEP in writing of the
region and State decision to sanction the
development of the team. This decision
will be based upon the need for a team in
the geographic area, the ability of the
sponsor to meet their obligations in
developing the team, and the availability
of resources.
OEP
headquarters will support the regional
office efforts by providing handouts,
brochures, a static display, an NDMS
overview set with script, guidance
materials such as the NDMS Team Handbook,
and promotional items. When possible, OEP
will provide a representative to the
regional office in making presentations
or answering questions at selected
meetings.
Step
6 - Enter into a formal agreement with
NDMS. This is done through a
Memorandum of Understanding between the
sponsor and PHS. PHS provides this
standardized document that must be signed
by all parties concerned.
Step
7 - Recruit team members.
Members do not need to be employees of
the sponsor, but they must be physically
fit, available for immediate deployment,
and capable of working in an austere
environment for at least two weeks. To be
activated for Federal deployment, DMATs
must be able to provide a complete team
consisting of approximately 35 members
including physicians, nurses, and other
allied healthcare and support personnel.
Many of the positions require specialized
skills or licensure and are not
interchangeable. To ensure that a
complete team is always available, DMATs
should identify at least two people
capable of meeting the requirements of
each position. The sponsor is responsible
for developing a method of alerting the
team members.
Step
8 - Submit a completed employment package
for each DMAT member to NDMS
headquarters. All DMAT members become
temporary Federal employees for the
purpose of licensure, liability, and
workman's compensation issues when
activated as an element of NDMS. NDMS
headquarters provides all of the
necessary forms and instructions.
Step
9 - Obtain a storage site for team
equipment. DMATs that possess
the personnel and equipment, and meet
NDMS training requirements are identified
as Level 1 teams. These teams are
provided with additional equipment to
allow them to be self-sufficient for the
first 72 hours after arrival in the
field. Individual teams may also obtain
response equipment to support the unique
requirements of their local community. As
a PHS DMAT, you are eligible to obtain
surplus government property.
Step
10 - Prepare your team by training for
deployment. In addition to the
training required of medical providers
and other specialists, all DMAT members
must be trained in the additional skills
necessary for deployment and to support
the NDMS mission. This includes training
in areas such as: field deployment and
living, aeromedical operations, equipment
use and maintenance, casualty collection
and regional evacuation point operations,
command and control, and NDMS
organization, structure and
administrative requirements.
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