Abstract
After Hurricane Laura struck the southeast coast of Louisiana in August 2020, the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS), a component of the US Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, deployed several 35-person disaster medical assistance teams in response to requests for medical support at 3 hospital locations that had been severely damaged in the storm. This was the first natural disaster medical deployment for NDMS during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This article describes the modifications to the standard operating procedures that were made at 1 site to reduce the risk of infection to our patients and NDMS responders, including changes to the physical layout of the tenting, and alterations to the triage and treatment process.
Highlights
Hurricane Laura was a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale that made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, in the early morning hours of August 27, 2020
Two of the disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs) deployed used a hybrid service model where they were integrated with the hospitals they were assisting, providing some tent-based medical care combined with National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) staff augmentation to the emergency departments (EDs)
The DMAT was assigned its mission on post-storm day (PSD) 3, the team arrived at the end of PSD 4, and began 24/7 operations on PSD 5
Summary
Hurricane Laura was a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale that made landfall near Cameron, Louisiana, in the early morning hours of August 27, 2020. Two of the DMATs deployed used a hybrid service model where they were integrated with the hospitals they were assisting, providing some tent-based medical care combined with National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) staff augmentation to the ED.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
