Vest Kits

DMC, Inc. has created a variety of vest kits that are used for multiple purposes. The identified need for such kits was a result of inter-agency response measures to the Florida hurricanes in 2004. In our professional involvement we clearly observed a lack of resource typing - identifiers, if you will. How can manpower be typed? How can a shift manager be assured that resources that arrive integrate with his or her existing allocation of personnel? A vest system can resolve those issues.

The hurricanes caused a frequent activation of shelters within Florida, some of which were Special Need Shelters (SpNS). The response to the Special Need Shelters was tremendous in both effort and complexity. The 'typing' of resources is a critical component in managing the operation. To simplify the typing of manpower, DMC has created a vest system that simplifies the process. Following the START 2 Finish response model, personnel are identified in two manners. First, by their job function and not their agency's title, such as clerk, nurse and transporter. The second manner in which they are typed is by their skill level. An example is nursing. A nurse who wears a green vest has the skill set to manage non emergent type patients. A yellow vest indicates she/he is qualified to care for the urgent acuity level patient, and a red vest indicates a skill set matching those required to care for a critical patient. Administrative personnel wear white vests.

An example of the SpNS vest kit includes:

• Director
• Safety Officer
• Respiratory
• Lead Nurse
• Nurse
• Physician
• Security
• PIO
• Epi Officer
• Registration
• Patient Care
• Liaison

There are vest kits for:

• Medical Reserve Corp
• Volunteer Reserve Corp
• State response teams