State Medical Assistance Teams
State Medical Assistance Teams (SMAT) bring together a variety of resources and assets, along with overhead, clinical and non-clinical personnel to provide the necessary components for their assigned missions during an emergency or disaster. The State Medical Assistance Teams are a three-tiered system organized by State Coordinated SMAT I teams, regionally coordinated SMAT II teams, and locally coordinated SMAT III teams.
SMAT I - State
The North Carolina SMAT I team is primarily made up of NCOEMS and other State Agency employees.
Many of the SMAT I capabilities are focused on large scale emergencies and disasters. This includes the North Carolina Mobile Disaster Hospital (MDH) and its various components.
SMAT II - Regional
SMAT II teams are regionally coordinated, traditionally through some of our large healthcare systems. There are currently 7 SMAT II teams:
- Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist (Winston Salem)
- Duke Health (Durham)
- ECU Health (Greenville)
- Mission Hospital (Asheville)
- Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center (Wilmington)
- UNC Health (Chapel Hill)
- WakeMed Health & Hospitals (Raleigh)
SMAT III - Local
The SMAT III teams are locally managed. These teams initially started with a small trailer focused on decontamination, but over time they have moved more towards all-hazards and other specialty healthcare response components. Each team is unique in their capabilities and how they assist the State Medical Response System. Capabilities include:
- Mass Casualty Incidents (MCI)
- Mass Fatality Management
- Mobile Treatment Space
- Scene Responder Rehabilitation Units
- Special Events
- And Many More!
