GOAL
The goal of the AVMA's Emergency Management Program is to encourage and foster veterinary leadership and guidance in local, state and federal efforts within the United States in preparation for: disasters and emergencies involving animals, animal and public health, and other veterinary issues.

OBJECTIVES
The objective of this program is to advocate for appropriate support for all veterinary aspects of disaster and emergency situations within the United States.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The AVMA staff with oversight and input by the Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues, is responsible for the coordination of information and people in order to advance all species/all hazards animal emergency preparedness and response. AVMA staff scope of work includes supporting policy development, education and outreach including compilation and distribution of educational materials, routine communication with membership and external customers and oversight of the Veterinary Medical Assistance Teams. . The Committee on Disaster and Emergency Issues is responsible for the creation of recommendations for consideration by the AVMA Executive Board concerning strategic guidance and fiscal and policy oversight.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

PREVENTION

• Provide educational materials on mitigation to practitioners
• Educate emergency managers and state veterinary associations on appropriate plans and mitigation measures
• In cooperation with animal industry, deliver biosecurity education to practitioners and materials for their clients

DETECTION

• Provide education on Foreign Animal Disease (FAD) awareness and reporting protocols to membership
• Support efforts nationally to enhance the food safety, zoonotic disease and animal disease surveillance systems

PREPAREDNESS

GENERAL

• Support national coalitions of animal health emergency management stakeholders to provide a world-class animal emergency management system
• Coordinate with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Department of Health and Human Services, and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to rapidly identify and communicate with practitioners willing to serve in animal emergency situations
• Explore the opportunity for AVMA PLIT to establish disaster coverage
• Assist Federal or State agencies in streamlining animal health resource utilization through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact or other mutual aid agreements
• Assist Federal or State agencies in ensuring that animal health, food safety and zoonotic disease issues are included in the National Response Framework and state-level emergency operations plans
• Support a State and county-level infrastructure for response to incidents no matter the scope
• Foster cooperation with human medical counterparts for all phases of the program
• Represent the membership in national emergency management system development such as the United States Animal Health Association's National Animal Health Emergency Management System Strategic Plan and other planning efforts
• Continue to maintain and update the AVMA Disaster Preparedness Series
• Support legislative efforts for government preparedness for animal emergencies and for funding of animal research relating to disasters
• Support the development of standards for essential information needs for national foreign animal disease events
• Support the development of mass euthanasia guidelines
• Support the development of carcass disposal guidelines

COMMUNICATION

• Communicate proactively with other animal welfare stakeholders to coordinate resource allocation, and create appropriate memoranda of understanding regarding emergency response efforts
• Disseminate information about the VMATs, USDA-APHIS National Animal Health Emergency Response Corps, State-level veterinary reserve corps, and other opportunities for veterinarians in the emergency response system
• Anticipate public affairs requirements during emergencies by preparing fact sheets for likely scenarios, and coordinate their review by veterinary specialty organizations or academia

VMAT SUPPORT

• Assist in the recruitment, training, development, and oversight of the VMAT program
• Work to develop and modify policy for VMATs that defines their mission, organization, training requirements, and utilization
• Explore continued VMAT sponsorship through direct funding from AVMF/AVMA, and other funding opportunities that might be available

All HAZARDS, ALL SPECIES RESPONSE

• Provide assessment assistance to the veterinary community and the local communities following a disaster
• Guide potential requesting organizations in VMAT request procedures and educate them about their capabilities
• Work with AVMF to appropriately target needs for AVMF grants
• Assist DHS-FEMA, USDA and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in communications with veterinarians during emergency response efforts
• Provide educational material to private practitioners during an incident
• Work with the incident public information officer to provide information through appropriate media to the public during a real or perceived incident

RECOVERY

• Assist in providing information to veterinarians in the state on status of recovery
• Coordinate appropriate after action reviews, recommendations, and education on how to improve prevention, preparedness and response efforts