With Tropical Storm Ernesto moving toward Florida, the Tennessee-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (TN-1 DMAT) was asked to deploy two strike steams to staging areas near Atlanta as well as Dothan, Ala. The teams left Monday and are in place.
Each team consists of one physician or mid-level, two nurses and two paramedics. In addition, TN-1 DMAT Commander Ted Rogers has been deployed to the forward field command in Alabama, where he is serving as Chief of Planning. Two deputy commanders, Christy Westmoreland and Robbie Tester, have remained behind to coordinate team activities and serve as the points of contact.
TN-1 DMAT is composed of medical personnel from around the region. The currently activated strike teams include three employees from Erlanger, one from Memorial, one from Bradley Memorial Hospital, one from Hamilton County EMS, one from Vanderbilt, one from Warren County EMS, and two who are non-hospital.
According to Deputy Commander Christy Westmoreland, “Based on lessons learned from Hurricane Katrina and the multiple other hurricanes that TN-1 DMAT responded to last year, these strike teams function like Quick Reactionary Forces to recon, stabilize and establish operations until a larger force can arrive. We pre-stage close to the expected site of the event in order to reduce response time and increase effectiveness.”
TN-1 DMAT is made up of professional and paraprofessional medical personnel - supported by logistical and administrative staff - who provide emergency medical care during a disaster or other event. While TN-1 DMAT is based at Erlanger Medical Center, the members of the team come from throughout the region and work at a number of facilities. Erlanger serves as the team’s operations center, providing organization, recruitment and dispatch coordination.
TN-1 DMAT was officially designated by the Department of Health and Human Services on July 8, 2002, as the first DMAT in Tennessee and the 68th such team in the United States.