Welcome!

[Renee Roberts]

What Is A DMAT?

A DMAT is a team organized under the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), under the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide emergency medical care and to augment local medical capabilities during times of disaster. Their responsibilities include triaging patients, providing austere medical care, and preparing patients for evacuation. In some situations DMATs may provide primary health care and/or may serve to augment overloaded local health care staffs. Under the rare circumstance that disaster victims are evacuated to a different locale to receive definitive medical care, DMATs may be activated to support patient reception and disposition of patients to hospitals. DMATs are designed to be a rapid-response element to supplement local medical care until other Federal or contract resources can be mobilized, or the situation is resolved. People who are members of a DMAT are intermittent federal employees. USERRA protection is afforded to members who are deployed.

How many people are on a DMAT?
Teams are typically composed of 35 medical professionals and support staff organized, trained and prepared to activate as a unit to provide medical and health care to disaster victims. A DMAT is self-sufficient, able to respond to a departure point within 8 hours, self-deployable within 500 miles of the departure point, and capable of sustaining 24-hour operations for a period of 72 hours.

What have DMAT's responded to?
DMATs have responded to numerous disasters, including: Oklahoma City, after Federal Building bombing; New England, after the ice storms; Seattle, after the World Trade Organization events; Saint Croix, after Hurricane Andrew; Kauai, after Hurricane Iniki; and Los Angeles, after the Northridge earthquake, the super-typhoon in Guam, the hurricanes of 2004 in Florida, and Hurricanes Katrina and Rita last year. Becoming a part of a Disaster Medical Assistance Team is a very rewarding experience, We are especially looking for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practicioners, RN's. However, anyone is welcome to join. We have need for people with all experiences! We meet every third Thursday of the month, at 1830 hours (6:30pm).


If you are interested in joining our team, please contact our Membership Officer:

Marti Peterson
Email: membership@dmatca11.org

In the meantime, you may download and fill out the application. We know it is long, but this is a requirement to joining any DMAT in the country. Our Membership Director is very familiar with the forms, and will help you if you have any questions.