In March, we had the pleasure of hosting two mentors this week at Heart to Heart International to help our disaster response team get ready for its World Health Organization (WHO) Emergency Medical Team Type 1 Mobile certification.
HHI is in the final stages of the WHO certification process to be verified as a Emergency Medical Team Type 1 Mobile, which will put us on the WHO’s registry for internationally deployable teams for an emergency response. Currently there are only three other organizations in the U.S. that are classified as EMT Type 1 Mobile.
The WHO EMT initiative was launched after experiences in the 2010 Haiti earthquake response in order to professionalize and standardize the delivery of health services following disasters.
The purpose of the Emergency Medical Teams (EMT) initiative is to improve the timeliness and quality of health services provided by national and international Emergency Medical Teams and enhance the capacity of national health systems in leading the activation and coordination of rapid response capacities in the immediate aftermath of a disaster, outbreak and/or other emergency.
Two WHO classification mentors traveled to HHI in March. They are both experts in their fields and have been sharing their knowledge and skills with our team, helping us prepare to provide the best possible care in times of crisis. We are grateful for their support and dedication to the mission of improving global health.
Look for more updates on this process as we get closer to final verification.
