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California Region II RDMHC Mutual Aid Project
This project appears in Volume III of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) Partnership in Preparedness: A Compendium of Exemplary Practices in Emergency Management is a compilation of exemplary programs, ideas, projects, techniques, and methods that have worked well in one place and may be worthy of replicating elsewhere. All three volumes of the Compendium are available on the Internet at www.fema.gov/library/lib07.htm or you may write:
Compendium of Exemplary Practices in Emergency Management
PT-SL, Room 614
Federal Emergency Management Agency
500 C Street, SW.
Washington, DC 20472
Program Type:
Medical/health mutual aid planning and coordination for Region II of the State Emergency Medical Services Authority
Target Population:
Operational Area (county) Medical/Health Coordinators of the 16 coastal counties. These individuals are responsible for coordinating disaster, medical, and health-related responses in their jurisdictions. Project activities are also coordinated with the Governor's Office of Emergency Services (OES), other regional planning agencies, hospitals, and State and Federal agencies.
Setting:
Regional; the 16 counties along the coast from Del Norte to Monterey.
Project Startup Date:
1990.
Program Description:
California is prone to nearly every type of disaster, including earthquakes, fires, floods, and hazardous materials release. As a response, the California State Governor's OES designated six regions responsible for the overall coordination of disaster mutual aid. Region II, comprising the 16 northern coastal counties, is one of the six regions established by the California State OES.
The Contra Costa County health officer has served as the Region II RDMHC since 1990. The RDMHC is responsible for coordinating medical and health-related resources acquisition in Region II. Over the years, the focus of the RDMHC project has evolved from local and bay area disaster planning to the regional planning efforts now sustained. Early efforts concentrated on emergency medical services and hospital coordination, including development of reporting forms and testing of guidelines for hospital assessments following an earthquake. The RDMHC project also offered hazard mitigation training for hospitals and developed bay area medical mutual aid procedures, a resource directory, and hospital evacuation plans.
The project recently provided for a Bay Area Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), which is organized under te National Disaster Medical System through the U.S. Public Health Service. The teams are made up of volunteer medical professionals. When activated, the DMAT, currently a Level II with 100 members, provides local patient staging and reception services, field-level emergency medical treatment capability, and augmented local medical capabilities during disasters.
Hospital and medical transport resource information is being assembled into a Region II resource directory. Project staff provide assistance to county and State agencies in the development of overall disaster response guidelines and policy update and revision. The Region II RDMHC responds to requests from operational areas within Region II and to requests from the Emergency Medical Services Authority, the Department of Health Services, and the State OES.
Evaluation Information:
Sixteen county disaster medical/health coordinators have been identified and trained. The Region II RDMHC Interim Emergency Plan has been developed and distributed.
Annual Budget:
$80,000.
Sources of Funding:
State Emergency Medical Services Authority.
Contact:
Art Lathrop, Director
Contra Costa County Health Services Department
Emergency Medical Services Agency
50 Glacier Drive
Martinez, CA 94553
Tel: 925-646-4690
Fax: 925-646-4379