NHRMC News - SMAT III - New Hanover Regional, Wilmington, Southeast NC

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SMAT III
09/24/2004
New Hanover Regional EMS was selected as one of several teams throughout North Carolina to receive a SMAT III (State Medical Assistance Team) trailer in an effort to have communities better prepared to respond to disasters. SMAT III employs another element of the SMRS (State Medical Response System) and will consist of prehospital disaster teams, including Advanced Life Support providers, often the first line of defense. This involved North Carolina purchasing and distributing, throughout the state, 90 highly mobile packages with basic personal protective equipment, decontamination equipment and medications. Although specific counties may choose to purchase additional items, this assures at least a baseline-standardized package of materials across North Carolina, that can be moved to specific areas of high need.
While the identification and distribution of necessary medical and decontamination materials, medications and personnel have been addressed, the extensive training needs for field personnel, the need to identify a methodology for reporting hospital bed status and development of response and contingency plans are essential. Moreover, it is clear public health will play a vital role in many terrorist scenarios. Therefore plans currently include the development of public health bioterrorist response teams. The latter would be comprised of individuals such as medical epidemiologists, lab technicians and disease investigation specialists that can assist in identifying, for example, the existence of a disease, those at risk, the need for quarantine, etc.
While much of the tiered SMRS plan is still in the developmental phase, the agencies are quickly moving to outline a comprehensive plan that will account for the need to develop and train regional medical teams. This component will depend on the coordination of hospitals to efficiently meet the increased health needs during a disaster and provide support for medical teams with regards to equipment, medical supplies and trained personnel while assuring clear command and control during a disaster. Current coordination of medical activities during activation is through the existing Disaster Medical Section as written in the existing State Emergency Operation Plan.
Training for the SMAT III will begin in August for Special Operations Paramedics and for all other personnel throughout the fall.

SMAT II response will initially involve the delivery of seven "mobile" packages to each of the seven lead hospitals within the RACs (Regional Advisory Committee). The seven equipment trailers will be mobile. If any one RAC is not actively involved in a specific disaster event, the mobile package and allied-trained medical staff could then be relocated elsewhere to assist accordingly. The equipment inventory consists of personal protective equipment, decontamination materials, medications, etc.

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