Disaster Medical Assistance Team

A Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT) is a group of professional and para-professional medical personnel organized to provide rapid-response medical care or casualty decontamination during a terrorist attack, natural disaster, or other incident in the United States. DMATs are part of the National Disaster Medical System and operate under the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Originally created as a partnership between the United States Public Health Service and communities throughout the U.S., DMATs were absorbed by the Department of Homeland Security and under the direction of FEMA, in 2003 then returned to the Department of Health and Human Services in 2007.

Organization
There are 55 DMATs across the country formed by local volunteer groups of health care providers and support personnel that receive funding from FEMA, and other sources such as states, counties, and private donors. Under the National Response Framework (NRF), DMATs are defined according to their level of capability and experience. Once a level of training and proficiency has been shown, the higher level of priority is given to the team. In addition to standard DMATs, there are DMATs that specialize in specific medical conditions such as crush injuries, burns, and mental health emergencies. Working closly along the same methodologies are the sister teams DMORT. (Disaster Mortuary Recovery Team)

A DMAT deploys to disaster sites with enough supplies and equipment to be self-sufficient for 72 hours while providing medical care at a fixed or temporary medical care site. Responsibilities may include triaging patients, providing high-quality medical care in adverse and austere environments, and preparing patients for evacuation. Other situations may involve providing primary medical care or augmenting overloaded local health care facilities and staffs. DMATs have been used to implemement mass innocultaions and other immediate needs to large populations. Under rare circumstances, disaster victims may be evacuated to a different locale to receive medical care. DMATs may be activated to support patient reception and dispersal of patients to hospitals.

Team composition and equipment
DMATs are composed of physicians, physician assistants, nurses, pharmacists, respiratory therapists, paramedics, Emergency Medical Technicians, and a variety of other health and logistical personnel. DMATs typically have 50-125 members, from which the Team Leader chooses 35 to deploy on most missions.

DMATs come equipped with medical equipment and supplies, large tents, generators, and other support equipment (cache) necessary to establish a Base of Operations, designed to be self-sufficient for up to 72 hours, in a disaster area and treat up to 250 patients per day. The capability is similar to an urgent care-level health care facility. In 2005, FEMA increased the response capabilities of DMATs by issuing trucks to teams that have obtained a certain standard of training and capabilities.

Incidents
DMATs have distinguished themselves in hundreds of large and small-sized disasters, most recently as a critical part of the federal response to Hurricane Katrina. DMAT teams treated and helped evacuate patients at the New Orleans Superdome, Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, and in many areas in and around New Orleans.