Disaster Medical Assistance Team
Encyclopedia : D : DI : DIS : Disaster Medical Assistance Team
Disaster Medical Assistance Team, or DMAT, a specifically-defined emergency medical resource in the United States. Originally created as a partnership between the United States Public Health Service and communities throughout the U.S., DMAT teams were absorbed by the new Department of Homeland Security in 2003. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, oversees DMAT teams at the present time.
The 55 DMAT teams across the country are essentially local volunteer groups of health care providers and support personnel that receive funding from FEMA, and often other sources (states, counties, private donors) to provide a rapid, professional response in disasters and other emergency situations. Under the National Response Plan, DMAT's are defined according to their level of capability and experience; a chart of DMAT types is available from FEMA at [link] (see "Health and Medical Resources"). DMAT's are composed of Physicians, Nurses, Pharmacists, Paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, and a variety of other health and logistical personnel. DMAT's typically have 50-125 members, from which the Team Leader chooses 35 to deploy on most missions.
DMAT's come equipped with medical equipment and supplies, large tents, generators, and other support equipment necessary to establish a Base of Operations in a disaster area and treat up to 250 patients per day. The capability is similar to an urgent care-level health care facility. In 2005, FEMA increased the response capabilities of DMAT's by issuing trucks to most of the teams.
DMAT's have distinguished themselves in hundreds of large and small-sized disasters, most recently as a critical part of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. DMAT teams treated and helped evacuate patients at the New Orleans Superdome, Louis Armstrong Airport, and in many areas in and around New Orleans.
References
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.