Online Courses
SNS Federal Medical Station Orientation eLearn: The SNS FMS eLearn is designed to familiarize public health partners and stakeholders with an overview of the FMS mission, capabilities, and formulary, as well as an orientation to the 50-bed and 250-bed FMS cache configurations, components of an FMS bariatric kit, and facility and logistical support requirements to successfully conduct FMS operations, and components of an FMS bariatric kit.
Course ID#1093806
Training from the Strategic National Stockpile for the COVID-19 Response
A Federal Medical Station (FMS) is a deployable healthcare facility that can provide surge beds to support healthcare systems anywhere in the U.S. that are impacted by disasters or public health emergencies.
FMSs are not mobile and cannot be relocated once established. Each FMS comes with a three-day supply of medical and pharmaceutical resources to sustain from 50 to 250 stable primary or chronic care patients who require medical and nursing services.
An FMS may be staffed using local or regional providers; providers operating under an Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC); or federal providers, primarily from theU.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps. An FMS may be used to:
- Provide temporary holding and care for patients to decompress a local hospital, increasing beds available for patients with disaster-related trauma or illness
- Receive patients from nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities who were forced to evacuate due to the disaster
- Provide low acuity care for patients with chronic illnesses whose access to care is impeded due to the disaster
If an FMS is being established for patients, social distancing and PPE requirements may necessitate the establishment of an Alternate Care Site using the FMS. The Alternate Care Site (ACS) Toolkit contains detailed information for what should be considered in selecting a site, coordinating wraparound logistical support services, PPE, and staffing needs in a during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The following list of videos are designed to assist in the assembly and/or operation of key components and equipment in the FMS deployment cache.
SNS Training Video: Bariatric Bed Assembly - New Medline Model
SNS Training Video: Bariatric Bed Assembly - Legacy Model
SNS Training Video: Bariatric Lift Assembly
SNS Training Video: General Use Bed (GUB) Assembly
SNS Training Video: Hospital Bed Assembly
SNS Traing Video: Westcott Bed Assembly
SNS Training Video: Pallet Jack Operation
Contact Us
For further questions or information about the Strategic National Stockpile, please email us at
sns.ops@hhs.gov