IMERT Conference

[MariaCatEMT]

IMERT (Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team) wil be having it's first conference for team members March 18th and 19th in Champaign, Illinois.

If anyone is interested, and from Illinois, I will post more information as I obtain it. I still have to attend an IMERT boot camp, to be fully active within the organization, my Firefighter II class has kept me from doing so yet. I wanted to complete that before I hoofed it out of town a few days for such an event. Hopefully they will have another before March.

--Maria

 

[SafetyPro2]

Maria, is this a state-run team? In reading the description, it sounds very much like the Federal DMAT teams (the deployment team model reads exactly like those found on most DMAT sites).

 

[MariaCatEMT]

Yes....IMERT is state run....I believe (if I understand this correctly) that it still falls under IDPH....but is activated at the bequest of the sitting governor, should an emergency of that level arise. Membership within this organization is totally volunteer.

 

[SafetyPro2]

Well, the DMATs fall under the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), which is now part of FEMA, which is part of Homeland Security. Before Homeland Security came along, NDMS was part of the U.S. Public Health Service. The DMAT(s) in a specific state also generally receive some funding from the state's Health Department or EMS agency and occasionally even from a local or county entity. DMATs can either be activated by the state, or by the Federal government (the later being the most common).

Only 28 states have DMATs, and it looks like Illinois is one of the ones that doesn't. My guess would be that since Illinois has the IMERT, they opted out of participating in the Federal program.

 

[PArescueEMT]

Chris...
Is there a website about the DMAT that I could look up participation requirements and wether or not my state participates. I thiink that others would be interested as well.
Thanx

 

[ffemt8978]

This is the federal homepage for the DMAT's:

http://ndms.dhhs.gov/index.html