The Northern New England MMRS functions as a coordinating resource for Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont in preparing for and responding to the health and medical consequences of an all-hazards event affecting the region.

There are 124 MMRS jurisdictions across the country, with the Northern New England jurisdiction being the only one designed as a multi-state cooperative. Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) between the NNE MMRS and key State-level emergency preparedness stakeholders from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont formalize this tri-state relationship.

Essential elements of the NNE MMRS are:

• Coordinated Planning
  The NNE MMRS provides a mechanism for the three states to coordinate planning across the region, primarily through the Steering Committee. Areas of emphasis for planning include mass casualty response, Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), surge capacity, patient transport, and communication.
• Coordinated Training & Education
  The NNE MMRS encourages and provides assistance with regional education, training, and exercising among States and agencies, to ensure that best practices and skills are shared across the region.
• Cross-Border Coordination
  The NNE MMRS supports coordination of state-to-state activities in planning and response, primarily through the Steering Committee.
• Pharmaceutical Cache
  The NNE MMRS holds a pharmaceutical cache that is capable of treating victims of a biological or chemical incident during the first hours of the incident. The primary mission of the cache is to provide force protection, or prophylaxis or vaccination of individuals in critical services and first responders.
• Medical Task Forces
  Each State has a Medical Task Force composed of medical and non-medical volunteers, and equipped to provide support during an incident.

The National MMRS Program currently exists in the Office of Health Affairs, Department of Homeland Security. The National Program was designed to assist highly populated jurisdictions to develop plans, conduct training and exercises, and acquire pharmaceuticals and personal protective equipment, to achieve the enhanced capability necessary to respond to a mass casualty event caused by a WMD terrorist act. This assistance supports the jurisdictions' activities to increase their response capabilities during the first hours crucial to lifesaving and population protection, with their own resources, until significant external assistance can arrive.