Consensus Report: EMAC and EMS Resources for National Disaster Response (2008)
In June 2007, NASEMSO and the American Ambulance Association held a summit to discuss the use of EMS resources during a state-declared disaster. Participants included many of the national EMS stakeholders and our many federal partners. The summit began with a discussion on lesson learns from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The end result of the summit was the development of the 6 C’s: Coordination, Cooperation, Communication, Common Standards, Continued Operations and Commitment, which would ensure a robust national EMS response while not disrupting local emergency response capacity. This consensus report is intended as a starting point to enrich the national EMS response and available resources to a natural or man-made disaster. The report also provides EMS stakeholders and our federal partners a framework of topics that need to be addressed as plans are developed.