The Health Preparedness Program is grant funded through the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR). The grant funding assists the Regional Health Preparedness Coordinator in working with 10 hospitals within the Region II EMS area stay up-to-date with ongoing National Incident Management compliance. The National Incident Management system is a great way to educate and familiarize yourself with emergency planning and preparedness. All individuals involved with disaster preparedness and response within a community should complete the Incident Command Courses offered. For more information or to take courses, please visit the NIMS Training site at http://www.training.fema.gov/
Also, in conjunction with the City of Las Cruces/Dona Ana County, Region II EMS is participating in the NM MEMS pilot project. The New Mexico Modular Emergency Medical System (NM MEMS) is a community-based medical surge response framework to use when planning for a catastrophic medical public health incident. Developed by the NM Department of Health, NM MEMS will guide local planning for a health emergency, such as a pandemic, that could result in a surge of patients that overwhelms existing health care resources. For more information on the NM MEMS pilot project, please see the NM MEMS website at www.nmmems.org.
Links: New Mexico Modular Emergency Medical System – www.nmmems.org
FEMA – http://www.fema.gov/areyouready/index.shtm
NIMS Training – http://www.training.fema.gov/
Pandemic Influenza Preparedness – www.pandemicflu.gov
Contact: Lucindab@region2ems.com