By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
September 11, 2001
Filed at 1:21 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Health and Human Services Department has activated a national medical emergency system in an unprecedented move that would dispatch roughly 7,000 volunteer doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical staff to areas affected by Tuesday's attacks.
HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson said all of the agency's 80 disaster teams, based at various locales nationwide, are ready to go where needed.
HHS, the '911' for all national disasters -- natural or manmade -- was awaiting specific orders from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA, which coordinates national responses to disasters, has opened its operations center to respond to the attacks.
``This is the biggest deployment,'' said HHS spokesman Campbell Gardett, adding this was the first time all 80 teams have been put on alert.
HHS is the primary agency for sending medical help in a federal crisis. It is responsible for treating victims directly, evacuating patients in immediate danger and helping hospital staffs overwhelmed by events.
It coordinates more than 7,000 preselected private doctors, nurses, pharmacists and other medical staff who are organized into the 80 teams.
``They have been picked strategically according to their skills. They make themselves available to go at a moment's notice,'' Gardett said.
The agency also provides other medical services, including the handling of mortuary services for casualties and veterinary care for service animals.
In recent years, HHS has dispatched some of its staff to floods, earthquakes and ice storms. It has specifically helped in events like the TWA Flight 800 crash and the Oklahoma City bombing.
HHS also sends medical teams to help the FBI, the Secret Service and the State Department.
The agency also coordinates four teams around the country to handle emergencies involving bioterrorism. Acts involving explosions usually raise fears of potential use of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons.
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On the Net:
HHS Office of Emergency Preparedness:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2001pres/01fsemergencyresponse.html