A division within the Massachusetts General Hospital Department of Emergency Medicine, the Center for Disaster Medicine (CDM) oversees all preparedness and emergency management efforts at Mass General. The Mass General CDM also exists to assist other healthcare systems regionally, nationally and internationally with their efforts to prepare for, respond to, and recover from disasters and other major incidents.

Enhancing Healthcare Emergency Preparedness and Response

The Mass General CDM performs research and innovates, offers services to help with education and training, and provides outreach and consultation for a wide range of both governmental and private sector clients.

Research and Innovation
We conduct research into the optimal actions and systems that support effective disaster medical response and health system operations in emergencies

Education and Training
We educate physicians, healthcare administrators, nurses and others in the fields of Disaster Medicine and Emergency Preparedness through fellowship and other programs

Outreach and Consultation Services
We offer comprehensive consulting, planning, training, and exercise services to hospitals, health systems, and their leaders seeking to optimize emergency management efforts

Our center is composed of a team of physicians, nurses and administrators with decades of expertise in healthcare emergency management, emergency medical and surgical care, security, hazardous materials, biothreats, and health system operations. Members of the Mass General CDM work closely with local, state, and federal planning and response agencies, and collaborate on associated committees as part of their extensive involvement in community planning. In addition, several members of the Mass General CDM team are active members of regional, national and international disaster medical response teams and have collectively deployed more than 50 times around the globe in response to disaster events.

For the hospital and our community, the Center works to continually improve and enhance the hospital’s readiness for disasters and emergency situations of all types through effective training and exercise efforts, critical review of internal and external events, and the ongoing development of innovative new research and response programs.

The Mass General CDM has also been able to leverage the hospital’s culture of preparedness, its pioneering programs, and our practical experience and expertise to assist other hospitals and health systems their leaders with their preparedness, response and recovery efforts on a regional, national and international level.