AAFP, Foundation Team Up With IMC to Help Disaster Victims

The AAFP and the AAFP Foundation have joined with the International Medical Corps, or IMC, to help strengthen physician response to domestic and international emergencies.

According to the terms of the agreement, IMC will be able to access the AAFP's membership pool of nearly 94,000 family physicians, residents and medical students during emergency situations. The AAFP will notify the IMC about members who wish to volunteer during a crisis, and the IMC then will decide how to use these volunteers.

Family physicians who participate will provide primary health care and help rebuild health infrastructure. The IMC will link volunteers via its network, which will ensure their knowledge and skills are used appropriately and that they have access to medications and other supplies needed to treat patients.

The IMC is a global, humanitarian, nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life through health interventions and related activities that build local capacity in areas worldwide. By offering training and health care to local populations and medical assistance to people at highest risk and with the flexibility to respond rapidly to emergency situations, IMC rehabilitates devastated health care systems and helps bring them back to self-reliance.

"The AAFP is honored to share our expertise so that people in disaster areas can receive high-quality health care services immediately during their time of need," said AAFP President Jim King, M.D., of Selmer, Tenn., in a press release. "Because of their extensive training, family physicians are the specialists best qualified to treat most ailments and provide comprehensive health care for people of all ages. Their breadth of training makes family physicians an extremely valuable asset during emergencies when a wide range of medical care is needed for large numbers of people."

The AAFP Foundation will help support the volunteer work through fundraising efforts with foundations and corporations committed to supporting humanitarian efforts. This dovetails with efforts the Foundation already has underway, including the General Disaster Recovery fund and the AAFP President's Challenge fund.