What is Virginia-1 DMAT?
- A Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) is a group of professional medical personnel supported by a cadre of logistical and administrative staff designed to provide emergency medical care during a disaster or other event. In mass casualty incidents, responsibilities include triaging patients, providing austere medical care, and preparing patients for evacuation. In other situations, DMATs may provide primary health care or augment overloaded health care staffs.
- DMATs are part of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) within the federal Department of Health and Human Services. DMATs typically deploy as 48-person mobile medical units, or smaller strike teams, to augment local health care personnel and facilities in times of disaster. DMATs are capable of standing up self-supporting temporary emergency medical care centers, providing supplemental medical staff for denuded hospitals following disasters and providing airhead support for the movement of casualties from a disaster area to available health care resources in unaffected areas of the nation.
- In 2005, Norfok Department of Fire-Rescue, York County Department of Fire and Life Safety, and the Virginia Office of EMS formed Virginia-1 DMAT. Since that time, VA-1 has responded to numerous natural disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan & Superstorm Sandy as well as internationally deploying to Haiti for the 2010 earthquake. VA-1 has also deployed proactively on many National Special Security Events including State of the Union addresses, addresses of the Joint Session of Congress and the Republican and Democratic Conventions.
- Our Virginia-1 DMAT Team provides an opportunity for the highly trained personnel involved in the healthcare systems of the Peninsulas and Tidewater regions to assist others who don't have the advantage of our resources or whose local resources have been strained by local and regional emergencies.
Current VA-1 Team members log in here.