State Medical Assistant Team
& Medical Reserve Corps
The MAHPC SMAT and MRC is a multidisciplinary volunteer team of medical and non-medical professionals established to provide medical support for short- and long-term disasters, catastrophic incidents or special events.
What do we do?
The MAHPC State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) is one of eight similar teams across North Carolina that are a part of the State Medical Response System (SMRS). The SMRS is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Medical Services in an effort to improve the State’s ability to respond to emergent events that impact healthcare. This volunteer-based team responds to impacted areas within the MAHPC Region, the State of NC, within the southeastern United States, and potentially within the continental US.
In 2002, SMRS developed a system of State Medical Assistance Teams (SMAT). Clinical considerations for patients included the consequences of bioterrorism and weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Recognizing the need to increase medical surge capacity, local, regional, and state agencies in North Carolina concentrated their efforts on developing this important emergency response capacity. The SMAT framework focused on the development of hospital, EMS, and fire department-based teams capable of providing medical decontamination, medical triage, emergency medical treatment, and medical surge capacity in hospital and field settings. This framework identified three tiers of SMATs. These tiers were identified as SMAT I, SMAT II, and SMAT III.
The SMAT program saw it first major response during Hurricane Katrina. Members of the State Medical Response System deployed to Waveland, Mississippi to provide a mobile field hospital for the area for over eight weeks. MAHPC SMAT II and Henderson County SMAT III members responded to Charlotte to assist with the reception of people and patients who had been evacuated from the Gulf area. The lessons learned from this response showed that equipment for mobile treatment facilities was needed to ensure North Carolina could better support itself in the face of a similar event since the area is very prone to hurricanes. The result was the purchase and distribution of eight Mobile Response Trailer Systems that included a 53’ trailer, that came with six Western Shelter Gate Keeper 19×35 tent systems. The tent systems could be set up individually or interconnected , and included provisions for power, light, and HVAC. The trailer was also designed to double as staff billeting and a command post, and carries the generator for the tent system. The teams also received beds, medical equipment, and supplies to establish a 40-bed treatment facility. Over the years, each team has made additions and adjustments to its system, equipment, and supplies to improve their capabilities and more fully support their specific service areas.
SMAT I: State-level response entity that manages the Mobile Disaster Hospital (MDH). The MDH is owned by the state of North Carolina, and is an asset that has generally all of the capabilities found in a typical community hospital. The MDH has a primary mission to support North Carolina, but can be deployed to any disaster site across the country.
SMAT II: Eight region-level response entities developed across the state. Their mission is to provide rapid mass casualty medical management services during human-made or natural disasters.
SMAT III: 30 teams developed in various county EMS systems across the state, with a focus on improving local decontamination and triage capabilities. The MAHPC region is home to five such teams (Buncombe, Cherokee, Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, Henderson, McDowell).
From a non-emergent perspective, the MAHPC SMAT and MRC participates in or assists with multiple local, regional, state, and national events and exercises. In many cases this included providing personnel, logistics, or both.
MAHPC SMAT equipment is also frequently used to support regional healthcare facilities and providers during mass gatherings, facility maintenance or outages, or other situations.
Who are SMAT Members?
The MAHPC State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) and Mountain Regional Medical Reserve Corps (MRMRC) is a multidisciplinary volunteer team of medical and nonmedical professionals, established to provide mobile medical support for short and long-term disasters or catastrophic events. Roles in which the MAHPC SMAT/MRMRC can provide support include set up and provision of a mobile field treatment facility, regional and state logistics support, and community alternate care site support. The SMAT/MRMRC program is based in Flat Rock, North Carolina and is coordinated by the Mountain Area Healthcare Preparedness Coalition. MAHPC receives administrative and financial guidance from Mission Health System. Funding for the MAHPC SMAT is provided through a federal grant from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s Healthcare Preparedness Program. Funding and support is also provided by the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), allowing MAHPC SMAT and MRMRC members to participate in unit activities interchangeably.
While SMAT members are typically sponsored by the healthcare organization for which they work, Medical Reserve Corps members are strictly volunteers that support the program in the same manner. The two groups work seamlessly together, and their activities and responsibilities are interchangeable. In fact, all MAHPC SMAT members are also enrolled in the MRC program, as participation in MRC allows
How to Join
The MAHPC response team maintains various levels of involvement:
Deployable Responder: Available to and interested in deploying outside of the local area for 24-72 hours, and up to 14 days in extreme situations. To qualify for this level:
Local Responder: Not available or interested in deploying outside the local area, but interested in being a part of the “Home Team” for mission support, local events, warehouse/admin support, etc. To qualify for this level:
Provider: Current Physician, Nurse Practitioner, Physician’s Assistant, or Pharmacist who is interested in deploying on case-by-case basis locally or across the state
To join, please download and fill out a MAHPC SMAT/MRC Application Packet and email it to Mark Stepp at mark.stepp@hcahealthcare.com. The packet can be downloaded below. Please note that MRC volunteer applicants are not required to complete the SMAT forms.
Next, go to NC TERMS to create an account. NC TERMS - Training-Exercise-Responder Management System is used across the state to verify credentials and to roster teams for specific missions or deployments. NC TERMS is utilized to send out mass notifications of upcoming events and trainings, so it is important to maintain current contact information in the system.
After entering personal information and credentials, the perspective team member will be prompted to affiliate with a team. Select the Mountain Area Trauma Regional Advisory Committee SMAT II (MATRAC) or Mountain Regional Medical Reserve Corps (MRMRC). Once the profile is 100% complete, MAHPC staff will receive notification to add you to the roster. You should then begin receiving messages and announcements.