The HRMMST is capable of responding to large, complex all-hazard incident types, which in turn require a large number of first responders and first receivers to resolve the incident. Working for extended periods and exposed to austere environments, responders need rest and recovery periods and access to medical care. Emergency incident rehabilitation (rehab) is the process of providing rest, rehydration, nourishment, and medical evaluation to responders who are involved in extended or extreme incident scene operations. Proper rehabilitation operations preserves and ensures that the physical and mental condition of responders does not deteriorate to a point that jeopardizes the safety or effectiveness of responders or incident operations.
The HRMMST members (emergency medicine physicians, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, paramedics, and EMTs) are trained in accordance with the National Fire Protection Agency Standard 1584: Standard on the Rehabilitation Process For Members During Emergency Operations And Training Exercises. The Team also incorporates the Tidewater EMS Council Rehabilitation protocol in our rehabilitation operations.
The HRMMST is capable of providing medical expertise and resources to assess and treat first responders and first receivers at the scene of the incident. The HRMMST equipment cache includes medical supplies, durable medical equipment, pharmaceuticals, suture kits for wound closure, tourniquets and hemostatic agents for hemorrhage control, ophthalmic kits for foreign bodies in the eye, ultrasound for conducting Focused Assessment with Sonography in Trauma (FAST) exams for traumatic injuries, video laryngoscopy and 12-Lead ECG for cardiac arrest management. This equipment coupled with an emergency physician and physician extenders provide the highest level of care possible to our first responder and first receivers in the pre-hospital environment.
