Disaster Response Resources
General Information: Relief Web is a hub for time-critical humanitarian information on Complex Emergencies and Natural Disasters.
The Center for International Disaster Information provides information and guidance in support of appropriate international disaster relief.
The Center for International Health and Cooperation promotes healing and peace in countries shattered by natural disasters, armed conflicts and ethnic violence.
The Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance's mission is to promote effective civil-military management in international humanitarian assistance, disaster response and peacekeeping through education, training, research and information programs.
The Sphere Project/Sphere Handbook: Improving the quality of assistance provided to people affected by disasters, and enhancing the accountability of the humanitarian system in disaster response.
The Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (HHI) is a university-wide multi-disciplinary center within the Harvard academic and medical community. The Initiative combines expertise in public health, medicine, social science and humanities to advance research, practice, and policy in the field of humanitarian assistance to populations affected by war and disaster.
CDC Mass Casualty Preparedness and Response
CDC Natural Disaster Preparedness and Response
CDC Chemical Emergency and BioTerrrorism Preparedness and Response
ACS Resources: ACS Committee on Trauma, Disaster Subcommittee
ACS Statement on Disaster and Mass Casualty Management (2003)
Unconventional Civilian Disasters: What the Surgeon Should Know
COT Report on Disasters from Biological and Chemical Terrorism
AMA Resources: AMA Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response Through the Center for Public Health Preparedness and Disaster Response, the AMA strives to be recognized as an important national educational resource for enhancing the disaster preparedness and response capabilities of both civilian and military providers.
AMA- Coalition of 18 health organizations releases recommendations for improved disaster response The recommendations seek to strengthen health system preparedness and response through increased funding, greater integration, continued education and training and ensured legal protections for responders.
National Resources: FEMA - Emergency Management Institute - Incident Command - ISO-100 This course describes the history, features and principles, and organizational structure of the Incident Command System. It also explains the relationship between ICS and the National Incident Management System (NIMS).
Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) ESAR-VHP is an electronic database of health care personnel who volunteer to provide aid in an emergency. The system is designed to (1) register health volunteers, (2) apply emergency credentialing standards to registered volunteers, and (3) allow for the verification of the identity, credentials, and qualifications of registered volunteers in an emergency.
MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources. The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, with aims of increasing disease prevention, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness.
Disaster Management Assistance Teams (DMATs) DMAT deployable units consists of approximately 35 individuals; however, teams may consist of more than three times this number to provide some redundancy for each job role to better facilitate deployments. DMATs deploy to disaster sites with adequate supplies and equipment to support themselves for a period of 72 hours while providing medical care at a fixed or temporary medical site. DMATs are designed to be a rapid-response element to supplement local medical care until other Federal or contract resources can be mobilized, or the situation resolved. DMATs are under the jurisdiction of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), Federal Emegency Management Agency (FEMA), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act This act aims to establish a robust and redundant system to quickly and efficiently facilitate the deployment and use of licensed practitioners to provide health and veterinary services in response to declared incidents of disasters and emergencies. This act (1) establishes a system for the use of volunteer health practitioners capable of functioning autonomously even when routine methods of communication are disrupted, (2) provides reasonable safeguards to assure that health practitioners are appropriately licensed and regulated to protect the public’s health, and (3) allows states to regulate, direct and restrict the scope and extent of services provided by volunteer health practitioners to promote disaster recovery operations.
State Resources: Links to State and Local Health Departments Pennsylvania Department of Health, Strategic National Stockpile The Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) has large quantities of medicine and medical supplies to protect the citizens of the Commonwealth if there is a public health emergency (terrorist attack, flu outbreak, earthquake) severe enough to cause local, regional and state supplies to run out.
Personal Preparedness Resources: The city of San Francisco has compiled information on individuals' response and preparedness in a variety of disaster situations. The information is widely relevant. http://www.72hours.org
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