Emac Ndms Easr-Vhp

I will briefly describe the function and development of the EMAC, NDMS, and the ESAR-VHP. I will then show how each were used separately or together in the past.

EMAC is a congressionally ratified organization that provides form and structure to interstate mutual aid. Through EMAC, a disaster-affected state can request and receive assistance from other member states quickly and efficiently, resolving two key issues upfront: liability and reimbursement.

All states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have enacted EMAC legislation (US DHS, 2006). Since 1999, EMAC has been activated 53 times, including Hurricane Katrina, for events such as hurricanes and terrorist attacks. As I stated in a previous Unit Assignment, Hurricane Katrina was a logistical disaster!

NDMS is a section within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Response Division, Operations Branch. It is responsible for supporting federal agencies in the management and coordination of the federal medical response to major emergencies and federally declared disasters. NDMS teams (including Disaster Medical Assistance Teams) are designed to provide care under any conditions at a disaster site, in transit from the affected area, and into participating definitive care facilities (US DHS, 2006). Hospitals in large areas (usually over 100 beds in size) partner with NDMS and commit a certain number of their acute care beds for NDMS patient care in an emergency (US DHHS, 2006).

In the aftermath of Katrina, one DMAT physician recalled that all that could be done was to “provide the barest amount of comfort care.” He said, “We practiced medical triage at its most basic, black-tagging the sickest people and moving them away from the masses so that they could die in a separate area.” The teams ran out of the most fundamental supplies and medications, including ventilators” (Vankawala, NPR., 2005).

The ESAR-VHP system is a state-based...