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Rapid Expansion and Adaptability of California Medical Disaster Teams

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 April 2023

Thérèse Rymer ,
Amelia M. Breyre Open the ORCID record for Amelia M. Breyre [Opens in a new window] ,
LeAnne Lovett-Floom ,
Asha Devereaux ,
Katherine Staats ,
Erin E. Noste  and
Howard Backer Open the ORCID record for Howard Backer [Opens in a new window]
Thérèse Rymer*
Affiliation:
CAL-MAT, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Amelia M. Breyre
Affiliation:
CAL-MAT, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
LeAnne Lovett-Floom
Affiliation:
CAL-MAT, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Asha Devereaux
Affiliation:
CAL-MAT, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
Katherine Staats
Affiliation:
County of Imperial Public Health Department, EMS, El Centro, CA, USA
Erin E. Noste
Affiliation:
Emergency Medicine, University of California San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA
Howard Backer
Affiliation:
CAL-MAT, Emergency Medical Services Authority, Rancho Cordova, CA, USA
*
Corresponding author: Thérèse Rymer, Emails: thereserymer@mac.com, trymer@cal-mat.org.
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Abstract

The California Medical Assistance Team (CAL-MAT) program is coordinated by the California Emergency Medical Services Authority (EMSA). The program was developed to deploy and support medical personnel for disaster medical response. During the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, the program and missions grew rapidly in response to medical surge, programs for testing and vaccination, and other concurrent disasters. CAL-MAT enrollment increased 10-fold from approximately 200 members at the beginning of 2020, to an estimated 2200 members by June 2021. This article describes the flexible use of a state-managed disaster medical response program within California and some of the challenges associated with rapid expansion and varied demands during the COVID-19 surges of March 2020–March 2022. CAL-MAT may serve as a model for development of similar state-sponsored or other disaster medical response teams.

Keywords

COVID-19disasteremergency medical team
Type
Concepts in Disaster Medicine
Information
Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness , Volume 17 , 2023 , e375
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Society for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Inc.

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