|
| Recent Team News |
| Top News Items NDMS 2007 Disaster Conference This year the NDMS Conference was held in Nashville, TN at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. The dates were March 17 and 18 for the pre-sessions and March 19, 20, and 21 for the main sessions. Many OH-5 members were in attendance this year as they have been in years past. Law signed that moves NDMS to DHHS The White house announced on Thursday, February 23, that it recommended the move of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) to the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). This is the Department that NDMS moved from when placed in the newly created Department of Homeland Security. In response, the Omnibus budget which has been recently signed sends NDMS to its new home in the DHHS. Although transitioning has already started, the official transfer will not happen until January 1, 2007. A more formal legislation is also expected to confirm this transition later. OH-5 Full Team Deployments The OH-5 Team has completed its first three full team deployments. First came a mission to support FEMA's response to the Republican National Convention in 2004. Then at the end of the RNC mission the team was asked to serve as a unit in a response to hurricane Frances needs in Florida. In 2005, the team completed over two weeks of deployment in response to hurricane Katrina with additional members being assigned duties through December. The team was stationed in Biloxi, MS, working from tents in conjunction with the Biloxi Regional Medical Center. The 35 member team saw close to 1800 patients in the time they were deployed.
The Department of Homeland Security has release its report on national preparedness. This was in response to Congress, as directed by the DHS FY 2006 Appropriations Act and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act. In short, it is not a pretty picture. The report includes the following "The majority of the Nation’s current emergency operations plans and planning processes cannot be characterized as fully adequate, feasible, or acceptable to manage catastrophic events as defined in the National Response Plan (NRP).... The most common deficiency among State and urban area Direction and Control Annexes is the absence of a clearly defined command structure.... Many States and urban areas need to improve systems and procedures for communications among all operational components." |
Steering
Meeting The next scheduled steering meeting will be on the Second Thursday of the month 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. FEMA USERRA Letter The long awaited USERRA letter has arrived. Members will be receiving these from our team administrator soon. This letter describes the legal NDMS and USERRA statues that apply to DMAT members when taking time off from work to assist with national disasters. Full Story
OH-5
on Deploy Rotation
The
OH-5 Dayton Region DMAT was placed on the
"level
one" team rotation for the first time in 2003. The team will respond
again
this year as one of 6 primary teams placed on rotation during each of our assigned rotation months in 2007.
Full Story
NDMS WEB Training
The contract between FEMA and UMBC to provide NDMS Response Team Training expired on 31 October 2005. FEMA/NDMS is working on a new training site which should be up and running over the next few months. The site will have the same materials, but will have a different look and feel. We have been told that only those who have completed their training on the old system will receive credit on the new system. If you started but did not finish your training on the old system you will have to start over on the new system. New Member Applications New applications for membership in DMAT have been temporarily suspended. The application process will begin again after we transition to the Department of Health and Human Services. However, the new system will be an on-line system that will complete the required paperwork. This should eliminate much of the redundant entries such as names and addresses on multiple forms that use to be required. Communications Upgrade The team has received 14 new hand-held digital radios to replace our 10 old analog radios. The new radios are encrypted and help maintain better compliance with HIPPA regulations. In addition we have recently received 10 "camp" radios and a base radio and a new digital base radio system. The team also has received an additional satellite unit which will supply Internet and email capability in the field. We will also be receiving other communications additions shortly. Anti-Viral Help on the Way? According to researchers at the University of Wisconsin, a new drug type may be on the way to aid in the fight against influenza. Not only will it help prevent the common flu, it will also prevent bird flu. The drug is also effective in ending the flu once it has been contracted and has a 100% effectiveness. The drug uses a peptide that prevents a virus from entering a cell. Much work must yet be done before human trials will start. Lets hope it arrive in the medical arsenal before any potential pandemic occurs. DHHS Welcome to NDMS Members Click on the link below to see the DHHS welcome video from RADM Craig Vanderwagen, Assistant Secretary for Public Health Emergency Preparedness: |
|
Medical Card
Updates
Be sure to turn in your medical information to the team
administrator as soon as you can! In addition, remember to have the information added to your yellow medical information card. |
|
Back
to
the DMAT front page
Updated 4/12/2007 |
