The National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) within HHS https://www.hhs.gov works with DHS, VA, and DOD, to provide medical teams and equipment to support the initial emergency response, transportation, and definitive care for patients who are seriously ill or injured resulting from the disaster or emergency.
Patient movement is coordinated by 64 Federal Coordinating Centers (FCC) across the country that are managed by DOD and the VA. NDMS responders from the Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMAT) and Trauma Critical Care Teams (TCCT) provide pre-hospital care and support patient transport in disaster zones during patient evacuation.
To ensure all NDMS patients are accounted for during patient movement and while receiving patient care, NDMS uses the Joint Patient Assessment Tracking System (JPATS) teams to track all federal patient movement during a disaster. This includes those being moved or evacuated, admitted to a federally supported shelter, or are receiving NDMS definitive care at local facilities. JPATS teams are able to support patient movement operations at aerial ports of embarkation and at local medical facilities.
HHS Critical Care Air Transport Teams provide medical care during aeromedical evacuations. To ensure that NDMS personnel are ready to respond, the NDMS Patient Movement Branch has partnered with DOD. The Air Force’s Air Mobility Command at Scott AFB in Illinois, the School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, the University of Cincinnati Medical Center, and Florida International University developed the training needed to meet the needs for the injured.
Go to https://phe.gov/preparedness/responders/ndms/Pages/default/aspx for more information on NDMS.