The Mississippi Center for Emergency Services was created to expand Mississippi’s ability to maintain medical services during unanticipated events across Mississippi. Since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the University of Mississippi Medical Center has expanded medical emergency service functions by providing a vital link for the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) and the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) when responding to a natural or man-made disaster. The University of Mississippi Medical Center is an Emergency Support Function 8 (ESF8) resource under the Mississippi Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.
The increased emphasis on emergency preparedness and management has led UMMC to take a proactive approach to disaster planning and emergency response. Mississippi assets have contributed to award-winning programs to provide medical communications and coordination, assist in providing valuable mission-critical support and emergency response during small and large scale events, and by leveraging available air and ground transport services, patients can be safely evacuated out of affected areas.
In addition, the Mississippi Center for Emergency Services provides clinical and didactic education, advanced response and support services, and a centralized location for all current components of The University of Mississippi Medical Center emergency services programs and initiatives. Mission critical goals are:
- Education
To train pre-hospital, public safety officials, emergency responders, and healthcare professionals in Mississippi the ability to provide the highest level of emergency care
- Clinical
To provide the highest level of critical care transport, public safety medical support and disaster medical care in Mississippi
Regardless of the type or scale of incident, citizens will need rapid, effective healthcare services in an unpredictable and austere environment. The Mississippi Center for Emergency Services is designed to meet that need. The programs provided by the Center for Emergency Services will greatly enhance the effects of the initial and on-going response to an emergency situation by leveraging established strengths from the emergency management and response community while filling the need for clinical training for critically ill or injured patients.
In 2020 the Center for Emergency Services moved into a new building to better serve the emergency needs of Mississippian. This facility houses all UMMC Critical Care transport services, Public Safety Support and Mississippi Med-Com. To take a virtual tour of the building, click here.
Disaster response effort
If you would like to join our disaster response teams, visit:
http://signupms.org