Domestic Disasters

The following links are provided as a courtesy to those with an interest in humanitarian outreach in response to disasters.  Unless otherwise indicated, the American College of Surgeons is not affiliated with these organizations and not responsible for the content of their Web sites.

American College of Surgeons (ACS)

The American College of Surgeons provides several resources related to disaster response:

• ACS Committee on Trauma, Disaster Subcommittee
• ACS Statement on Disaster and Mass Casualty Management (2003)
• Unconventional Civilian Disasters: What the Surgeon Should Know
• Committee on Trauma Report on Disasters from Biological and Chemical Terrorism

 

U.S. Government Disaster Response Agencies

 

Emergency System for Advanced Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP)

ESAR-VHP is a state-based 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.

Disaster Management Assistance Teams (DMATs)

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 is resolved.  DMATs are under the jurisdiction of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and Department of Homeland Security (DHS).  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. These deployable units consists of approximately 35 individuals; though teams may consist of three times this number to provide some redundancy for each job role to better facilitate deployments.

 

Medical Reserve Corps

MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who wish 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.

 

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.

 

Educational 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.

 

Centers for Disease Control (CDC): Emergency Preparedness and Response

The CDC has created several resources to provide education and information for professionals and the general public regarding emergency preparedness and response for different crises:

• BioTerrrorism Preparedness and Response
• Chemical Emergency
• Mass Casualty Preparedness and Response
• Natural Disaster Preparedness and Response

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).

 

Licensing and Liability

 

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.

 

* Please note, this legislation is being actively introduced in many states.  If you are interested in learning how to become involved in your own state, please let us know by sending and email via the “Contact Us” link at the top of this page.

Online Articles and News

 

"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.

 

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