In response to Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita
in the Gulf Coast region, volunteer medical personnel have been
utilized to provide medical assistance to a large number of impacted
persons. Many of our nation’s health professionals have been eager and
willing to provide volunteer health services. Utilizing these
volunteers in times of an emergency, however, presents
challenges for
hospital, public health, and emergency authorities, and raises a host
of legal issues.
During the hurricane emergencies and their aftermath, the Centers
was contacted by federal, state, and local government
representatives and private entities seeking information regarding the
legal issues associated with volunteer health personnel participating
in the response to the hurricanes. In response, the Centers developed (or made available) several memoranda, tables, articles,
and other documents to provide information and analysis for volunteers
and their coordinators. These resources can be accessed in PDF format
through the links below:
- Frequently Asked Questions [FAQs] Memo:
Legal
Issues Regarding the Use of Volunteers in Response Efforts - Table 1
– Legal
Protections for Volunteer Health Personnel in Alabama, Louisiana, and
Mississippi - Table 2
– Legal
Protections for Volunteer Health Personnel in Arkansas, Kentucky, and
South Carolina - Table 3 – Legal
Protections for Volunteer Health Personnel in Texas and Oklahoma - Memo 1– Legal
Protections for Intermittent Disaster Response Personnel under a
Federal Declaration of Public Health Emergency - Memo 2 – Legal
Protections for Federalized Volunteer Health Personnel under a Federal
Declaration of Public Health Emergency - Memo 3 – Incorporation
of Local Assets into a State Emergency Management Assistance Compact
(EMAC) Response - Memo 4 – Deployment
of Volunteers Through EMAC vs. DHHS under ESF-8 - Memo 5 – Federal
Utilization of State Emergency Management Resources - Memo 6 – Massachusetts
Hurricane Katrina Appropriations Act – Mass. Session Laws Ch. 81 - Memo 7 – House
Resolution 3736 – Katrina Volunteer Protection Act of 2005 - Memo 8 – Senate
Bill 1638 – Hurricane Katrina Emergency Health Workforce Act of 2005 - Memo 9 – Hurricane
Katrina and Rita Responses – Legal Lessons Learned - Article 1 – Volunteer
Health Professionals and Emergencies: Assessing and Transforming the
Legal Environment, Biosecurity and Bioterrorism
2005; 3:3 216-223, by James G. Hodge, Jr., Lance A, Gable, and
Stephanie H. Cálves - Article 2 – The
HIPAA Privacy Rule and Bioterrorism Prevention, Planning, and Response,
Biosecurity and Bioterrorism 2004; 2:2: 73-80, by James G. Hodge, Jr.,
Erin Fuse Brown, and Jessica O’Connell - Powerpoint 1 –VHP
Legal and Regulatory Issues in Real-time during the Gulf Coast
Hurricane Emergencies – Presentation on December 15, 2021
Disclaimer
– This information does not represent the official legal positions of
any federal, state, or local government agency or entity that provide
funding to the Center, nor is it meant to provide
specific
legal guidance or advice. Volunteer health personnel and their
coordinators should contact their local, state, territorial, or federal
legal advisors for specific legal guidance.
In addition, in conjunction with our work on the
ESAR-VHP Legal and Regulatory Issues Project, the Centers
has developed several resources to provide states and territories with
information, contacts, and resources to assist in the assessment of
many of the legal issues that arise in the implementation of ESAR-VHP.
These resources provide information regarding the general legal
framework for the use of volunteer health professionals in emergencies
for all states that are presently in the course of implementing
ESAR-VHP programs. For more information on this project, click
here.
Additional links of potential relevance include:
- DHHS
Health Care Professionals and Relief Personnel Worker Page - DHHS
Guidance on the Application of the HIPAA Privacy Rule to Hurricane
Katrina - DHHS
HIPAA Privacy Rule Guidance and Enforcement Statement for Activities
Related to Hurricane Katrina - Medical
Reserve Corps’ Hurricane Katrina Response Effort - Association
of State and Territorial Health Officials Hurricane Katrina 2005 - Association
of State and Territorial Health Officials, State
Mobilization of Health Personnel During the 2005 Hurricanes - National
Conference of State Legislatures Katrina Emergency Related Resources - Health
Law Issues Raised by Hurricane Katrina (as found on the
Medical Reserve Corps web site) – note that this document focuses on
federal and Texas state law - White
House Report, The Federal Response to Hurricane Katrina:
Lessons Learned - Metropolitan
Medical Response System (MMRS) Program (funded by the U.S. Department
of Homeland Security), Report: Lessons from Katrina Health - National
Association of County and City Health Officials, Shelter
from the Storm: Local Public Health Faces Katrina - U.S.
Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, Hurricane
Katrina: A Nation Still Unprepared - U.S.
House of Representatives, A
Failure of Initiative: The Final Report of the Select Bipartisan
Committee to Investigate the Preparation for and Response to Hurricane
Katrina