WHAT IS IVRRT?

• Veterinary response team volunteers help protect Iowa’s animal industry
• Members act under authority of the State Veterinarian to prevent and control foreign animal disease and respond to animal health emergencies

WHY JOIN IVRRT:  Membership Form

• IVRRT volunteers help producers and communities deal with animal disease emergencies
• Members are covered under state law for tort liability, injury and workers comp
• CEs for license recertification are available for ongoing training, such as Agroville and Annual Conference
• IVRRT members provide leadership and expertise during a natural disaster or a foreign animal disease response
• State and national resources are available from many organizations
• Any veterinarian, technician or other animal health professionals and students are encouraged to join

RECRUITMENT STATISTICS:

• Over 400 members - includes small and large animal veterinarians, technicians, inspectors, biologists, epidemiologists, animal health students, producers and academic resources
• Members are from 88/99 Iowa counties and 5 border states and 14 othe

TRAINING:

• Seven curriculum components have been developed and include:
• Training Session I covers incident command, statutory authority, field deployment responsibilities
• Training Session II covers operational training in surveillance, epidemiology, euthanasia, burial and recovery
• Training Session III covers Katrina and poultry , back yard flocks and personal protective equipment
• Training Session IV covers Public Health interface, HSEM , communication, diagnostics, and assessment
• Training Session V covers animal emergency management and natural disaster training
• Training VI covers introductions to Incident Command System as well as state and federal agencies involved in emergency response
• Training VII covers Animal Disease Response Training portion of the AgPreparedness responder training by Kirkwood Community College, a FEMA-approved course
• Curriculum notebooks and DVDs of training sessions will help orient new members
• The Secretary of Agriculture certifies members and issues credentials
• Training in Incident Command (ICS) and National Incident Management Systems (NIMS) prepares members to work with other agencies in a response or disaster

PARTNERSHIPS:

• State partners include IHLSEM, DNR, DPH, DPS (Fusion Center), DPD, DOT
• Federal partners include Department of Homeland Security, USDA / APHIS, FSA, FBI, US Attorney Intelligence Division, FEMA Region 7
• Multi-State Partnership and Tri-States Veterinary Group
• Local partners include emergency management coordinators, fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, County Extension, public health and mental health services
• Industry partners (Agriculture Emergency Response Team – AERT, National Alliance of State Animal Agriculture Emergency Programs – NASAAEP, and  National Animal Health Emergency Core – NAHERC)
• Academic partnership with Kirkwood Community College, author of national ODP and USDA/APHIS certified Agro Terrorism curriculum for First Responders