Disaster Medical Support

When disaster strikes, America needs more than just responders — it needs trained, organized, mission‑ready support personnel who can expand the nation’s medical and public health surge capacity quickly and professionally.

The U.S. Public Health Service Auxiliary exists to provide organized civilian public health volunteers who can support the USPHS, federal agencies, and state and local partners during natural disasters, public health emergencies, mass casualty incidents, pandemics, and national crises.

**Our mission is simple:** support the U.S. Public Health Service and strengthen America’s ability to respond to emergencies.

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### What Disaster & Medical Support We Provide

The USPHS Auxiliary is designed to support response operations in a wide range of emergency environments, including:

- Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires  
- Pandemic outbreaks and infectious disease emergencies  
- Mass vaccination and prophylaxis operations  
- Shelter medical support operations  
- Large-scale evacuations and displaced population support  
- Infrastructure failures and prolonged power outages  
- Public health crises, environmental hazards, and contamination incidents  
- Medical surge events overwhelming local hospitals  

The Auxiliary provides personnel augmentation and operational support, allowing the USPHS and emergency management agencies to focus on higher-level command and clinical leadership.

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### Medical Support Capabilities

**Medical Triage & Patient Support**

- Patient intake and screening  
- Basic triage assistance  
- Vital signs collection and documentation  
- Patient flow coordination  
- Non‑invasive patient monitoring support  

**Shelter Medical Operations**

- Medical support at emergency shelters  
- Chronic disease support (diabetes, hypertension, COPD, etc.)  
- Medication reconciliation and basic health assessments  
- Public health education and wellness checks  
- Assistance with special‑needs populations  

**Mass Vaccination & Clinic Support**

- Registration and check‑in operations  
- Crowd management and patient movement  
- Documentation and record support  
- Post‑vaccine observation support  
- Supply and equipment staging for vaccination sites  

*Auxiliary members may support clinical teams without replacing licensed providers or government‑directed medical authority.*

**Public Health & Preventive Medicine Support**

- Health screening and referral operations  
- Outbreak support and public education  
- Disease surveillance support roles  
- Sanitation and hygiene support planning  
- Risk communication assistance  

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### Administrative & Logistical Support Capabilities

Disaster response is won or lost on logistics and coordination. The USPHS Auxiliary can provide strong support in areas such as:

**Emergency Operations Support**

- Incident documentation  
- Situation reports (SITREPs)  
- Resource tracking  
- Personnel accountability support  
- Administrative staff augmentation  

**Medical Logistics**

- Receiving, organizing, and distributing medical supplies  
- Inventory control and accountability  
- Packaging and staging mission‑ready supply loads  
- Coordination with supply chains and vendors  
- Support for mobile medical teams and clinic sites  

**Planning & Coordination**

- Support to command staff and operations planners  
- Mapping, routing, and mission coordination support  
- Scheduling and deployment readiness tasks  
- Volunteer coordination and administrative processing  

**Communications Support**

- Radio/communications support staff  
- Message relay and documentation support  
- Coordination between shelters, clinics, and emergency operations centers  

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### Who Serves in the USPHS Auxiliary?

The USPHS Auxiliary is built on the strength of experienced, service‑minded Americans, including:

- USPHS veterans, retirees, and former officers  
- Military veterans and retired service members  
- Nurses, paramedics, EMTs, physicians, and allied health professionals  
- Public health specialists and healthcare educators  
- Administrative, clerical, and emergency management professionals  
- Logistics, supply, transportation, and communications personnel  
- Patriotic Americans who want to serve their country in a meaningful way  

Our members are united by one goal: to strengthen the nation and support the U.S. Public Health Service mission during emergencies.

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### Why This Matters

During major emergencies, hospitals overflow, shelters fill, supply chains strain, and exhausted responders are stretched thin. The USPHS Auxiliary provides an additional layer of organized, credentialed, and mission‑focused surge support that can be mobilized to reinforce the response effort when America needs it most.

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### Ready to Serve?

If you have medical, administrative, logistical, or public health skills — or simply the willingness to train and support your country — the USPHS Auxiliary needs you.

**Fill out the Volunteer Interest Form today and join the mission.**