ELKHART — Three people from the Elkhart County area have returned from assisting those who were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Kim Henke, Dean Stanage, and Tim Miller were deployed as one of 15 disaster medical assistance teams sent by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The DMATs assisted in medical shelters and hospitals in the New York City area.

Those who are part of a DMAT team can be “activated when a state requests federal assistance with an emergency,” according to the press release. A DMAT is part of the National Disaster Medical System under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.