Massachusetts Disaster Medical Assistance Team Deployed To Gulf States For Hurricane Katrina
Release Date: August 30, 2005
Release Number: R1-05-085
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A team of medical specialists from Massachusetts has been deployed to the Gulf Coast states to assist in the response effort to Hurricane Katrina. Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed the Massachusetts-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) to be ready to assist communities in the area with emergency medical needs following Hurricane Katrina.
“FEMA is coordinating the mobilization of all available federal resources to help residents who may be in the path of this dangerous storm. The DMAT teams play a critical role in the medical response to a disaster by assisting communities whose local resources may be overwhelmed,” said Michael D. Brown, Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Emergency Preparedness and Response.
The Massachusetts-1 DMAT, based in Boston, joins similar teams from Washington, New Mexico, Ohio, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Florida. The teams will deploy as needed into affected areas after Hurricane Katrina moves through the region.
“We are prepared to help the residents of the Gulf States with their medical needs, and we have some of the finest emergency medical personnel in the Massachusetts area responding to this disaster,” said Massachusetts-1 Team Commander Kathryn Brinsfield. “The members of the team are experienced in these situations and are ready to mobilize when the call comes.”
The Massachusetts-1 DMAT Team has been deployed to previous hurricanes including the Florida Hurricanes in 2004 and Hurricane Isabel in 2001. Teams are part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which is one of the resources brought to FEMA since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The team is one of the leading DMAT’s in the U.S., developed in the late ‘80’s. Massachusetts-1 is affiliated with the Medical Surgical Response Team (MSuRT) East, Pediatric Specialty Team 1 (PST-1) and Burn Specialty Team 1 (BST-1). The team also deployed to Bam, Iran for the Earthquake response in 2003. The unit is designed to be self-sufficient for 72 hours with supplies including food and medicine. The team’s primary mission is to supplement the medical needs in the areas heavily impacted by the hurricane.
FEMA’s DMATs have responded to large-scale disasters including the World Trade Center attack on September 11, 2001. NDMS Teams were also deployed in 2004 to support the G8 Summit in Georgia, the National Democratic Convention in Boston and the Republican National Convention in New York.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 06-Sep-2005 09:58:02