Please be patient with us as we update our website. For more information, please see our Facebook pages SMAT   MAHPC

Metrolina Preparedness

Dedicated to organizing healthcare assets through planning, information sharing and coordination to ensure that healthcare organizations have the support they need in order to provide health care to residents and visitors of western North Carolina.

Who Are We?

matrac-smat

The MAHPC State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) and Mountain Regional Medical Reserve Corps (MRMRC) is a multidisciplinary volunteer team of medical and nonmedical professionals, established to provide mobile medical support for short and long-term disasters or catastrophic events. Roles in which the MAHPC SMAT/MRMRC can provide support include set up and provision of a mobile field treatment facility, regional and state logistics support, and community alternate care site support. The SMAT/MRMRC program is based in Flat Rock, North Carolina and is coordinated by the Mountain Area Healthcare Preparedness Coalition. MAHPC receives administrative and financial guidance from Mission Health System. Funding for the MAHPC SMAT is provided through a federal grant from the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s Healthcare Preparedness Program. Funding and support is also provided by the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), allowing MAHPC SMAT and MRMRC members to participate in unit activities interchangeably.

The MAHPC State Medical Assistance Team (SMAT) is one of eight similar teams across North Carolina that are a part of the State Medical Response System (SMRS). The SMRS is coordinated by the Office of Emergency Medical Services in an effort to improve the State’s ability to respond to emergent events that impact healthcare. This volunteer-based team responds to impacted areas within the MAHPC Region, the State of NC, within the southeastern United States, and potentially within the continental US.

While SMAT members are typically sponsored by the healthcare organization for which they work, Medical Reserve Corps members are strictly volunteers that support the program in the same manner. The two groups work seamlessly together, and their activities and responsibilities are interchangeable. In fact, all MAHPC SMAT members are also enrolled in the MRC program, as participation in MRC allows