NH DHHS Appoints State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee To Inform Clinical Care Guidelines During COVID-19

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has announced appointments to the State Disaster Medical Advisory Committee (SDMAC). DHHS recently issued the NH Crisis Standards of Care (CSC) Plan, which called for the formation of the SDMAC to establish CSC Clinical Guidelines prior to a crisis period to prevent unnecessary negative outcomes.

The statewide CSC Clinical Guidelines will establish recommendations for the triage of critical health care resources and ensure that fair, respectful, effective and efficient care is provided if the COVID-19 pandemic results in patient needs that exceed hospitals’ available resources. The CSC Plan also calls for the SDMAC to identify a team of interdisciplinary subject matter experts to form a State Triage Committee (STC).

The SDMAC consists of representatives from key stakeholders such as State agency officials, legal and medical experts, risk management professionals, community representatives, ethicists, and leaders from health and medical stakeholders and associations. The authority to activate the CSC Plan by DHHS Commissioner Lori Shibinette was granted under Emergency Order #33 by Governor Chris Sununu. The SDMAC will provide guidance to health care facilities and make recommendations to Governor Sununu during the crisis period.

For more information, go to the SDMAC web page.