Mission Statement

The mission of the Disaster Medicine Institute (DMI) is to strengthen local, regional, and national capacity to respond to disasters and complex emergencies through education and training. The initial hours to days of a disaster is when most of the medical and trauma-related preventable deaths are occurring. Because the initial response is almost entirely dependent on local resources, the majority of life-saving efforts are typically undertaken by first responders and regional responding agencies that all too often train and operate within “silos”, in the absence of inter-agency cooperation. While building local acute-phase response capabilities greatly enhances community resiliency, education at all levels related to mitigation, preparedness, and response is a crucial area often not fully addressed in disaster planning. This education does not only involve traditional first-responders but rather must reach all members of civil society, including government officials, municipal workers, healthcare providers, social service agencies, media, and the civilian population.