Early in 1999, in response to the increased national
focus on terrorist threats and concerns about the deployment of
Weapons of Mass Destruction, a small group of emergency physicians
and toxicologists began meeting with the Illinois Department of
Public Health (IDPH) to discuss the need for education for physicians,
nurses and emergency workers on the subject of Weapons of Mass
Destruction. This group realized, through their discussions, that
the state as a whole needed a network of coordinated mutual support
and a more systematic approach to responding to a large-scale
catastrophe. When evaluating past national mass casualty events,
it was determined that there was a time gap between when local
resources were overwhelmed and when federal assistance would arrive
and the idea for state medical response teams was developed.
The Illinois Medical Emergency Response Team
(IMERT) Executive Council was created in 1999 to oversee the development
of IMERT. Members include emergency physicians, emergency nurses
and emergency medical personnel with leadership experience in
emergency medical services and disaster planning, as well as selected
individuals with relevant military and technical expertise. Advisors
from governmental agencies, such as the IDPH, Federal Bureau of
Investigation (FBI), and US Public Health Service (USPHS) also
sit on the IMERT Executive Council. The executive council is responsible
for the following:
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Oversight and direction for planning, implementation and
evaluation of all activities;
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Response to mass casualty incidents;
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Development, planning and coordination of educational sessions;
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Provision of necessary resources for the support and development
of team members;
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Evaluation and review of documentation submitted from physician
team leaders after an incident response; and
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Facilitation of research activities.
IMERT Mission
The IMERT will respond to and assist with emergency
medical treatment at mass casualty incidents in Illinois, including,
but not limited to, chemical, biological, and radiological incidents.
The IMERT will also provide educational programs for chemical,
biological and radiological agents and other emergency medical
response activities.
IMERT Team Composition
The standard IMERT response team will consist
of four medical personnel comprised of a Medical Doctor (MD),
Registered Nurse (RN), Emergency Medical Technician – Paramedic
(EMT-P), and one other member, with the minimum of an Emergency
Medical Technician – Basic (EMT-B) qualification. In the near
future, other allied health professionals will be allowed to participate
as team responders as well as physicians and nurses who specialize
in pediatrics. There currently are four fully equipped teams in
which three serve the state and a fourth team is dedicated to
the Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) in the City of
Chicago. Currently there are approximately 270 medically trained
volunteers that are located throughout the entire state.
IMERT Web site
www.imert.org
This web site provides news and other information
about team activities and contains a team application. Please
visit this site often for updated information.
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