Region 2 Medical Reserve Corps

What is the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)?
The Medical Reserve Corps is a national network of volunteers organized locally, engaging their communities to strengthen public health, reduce vulnerability, build resilience, and improve preparedness, response and recovery capabilities. Medical and non-medical volunteers who dedicate their skills, expertise, and time to support ongoing public health initiatives and health emergencies.

Mission
The mission of the Region 2 Medical Reserve Corps is to provide trained and prepared individuals, who will respond to public health emergencies and other health related community needs, in an effort to save lives and reduce the threat of disease and injury.
Region 2 is made up of 7 MRC Units that work together to improve prepare MRC volunteers to respond in emergency and non-emergency times. Shoreline MRC serves as the Region 2 MRC Lead. Information on each of the MRC Units can be found on their websites:

Region 2 MRC Unit Points of Contact

  • Chesprocott MRC - Lily Pawloski

    • What do MRC Volunteers do?
    The responsibilities of MRC volunteers vary, depending on the nature of the needs in their community. MRC volunteers can:

    • Assist during emergencies: Major emergencies can overwhelm the capabilities of first responders, particularly during the first 12 to 72 hours. Medical and other health volunteers can provide an important "surge" capacity during this critical period. They also can add to medical staff during shortages at local medical and emergency facilities. In short, communities often need medically and non-medically trained individuals and others to fill in the gaps in their emergency response plans and to improve their response capabilities overall.
    • Assist with public initiatives: MRC volunteers also strengthen the overall health of Americans by participating in general public health initiatives such as flu vaccination clinics, diabetes detection programs, and preventative health screening.
    • Get involved with ongoing community health outreach and education efforts: The U.S. Surgeon General has outlined their priorities for the health of individuals and the nation as a whole. MRC volunteers are encouraged to work toward the prevention of disease and injury, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness.

    Additionally, MRC units work to actively improve and protect their community’s public health by supporting:

  • Efforts to provide medical services to at-risk populations.
  • Communicable disease outbreak response.
  • Volunteer emergency preparedness training and exercises.
  • Local, state and national response to terrorism attacks and disasters; providing staffing support for medical services, emergency shelters, mental health outreach, dispensing sites for medications and vaccinations, disease investigations and environmental health efforts for food and human safety.

    • Why volunteer?

  • Volunteering can give the great satisfaction of helping others by providing a sense of purpose and meaning.
  • Volunteering can provide opportunities for social interactions with fellow volunteers while supporting an important activity in the community.
  • Volunteering can also have a significant effect on your own health. Research presented by the Corporation for National and Community Service shows a strong relationship between volunteering and health: those who volunteer have lower mortality rates, greater functional ability, and lower rates of depression later in life than those who do not volunteer.

    • What might I be asked to do?
    Volunteers may be asked to contribute in several different ways, such as providing medical treatment or evaluation, assisting with volunteer management, providing education, administering vaccines, or distributing medication. We do our best to ensure that the role you are asked to play is appropriate for your level and area of expertise. Volunteers may:

  • Apply medical care (within your level of expertise)
  • Dispense medication
  • Provide language and interpretation services
  • Offer administrative support
  • Support vaccination clinics (provide assistance)
  • Assist with community health education
  • Provide help at health fairs and community events

    • What can you expect from the MRC?

  • Training and educational opportunities
  • Networking opportunities with other community members and professionals
  • Valuable experience in public health awareness
  • The ability to serve your community in a time of need
  • MRC volunteers gain valuable knowledge, skills, and abilities through classes, trainings, exercises, drills, and real-world disaster response

    • Upcoming Trainings and Events:

  • Virtual Joint Shoreline/QVHD MRC Unit July 2023 Meeting July 12th at 5 PM (Register here!)

    • Examples of Regional Training Opportunities:

  • Opioid Awareness/ Harm Reduction
  • Adult Mental Health First Aid
  • Hurricane Preparedness
  • Stop the Bleed
  • Bloodborne Pathogens Training

    • Virtual Training Opportunities:

  • Personal and Family Preparedness
  • Personal Safety
  • IS-100.C: Introduction to the Incident Command System
  • IS-200.C: Basic Incident Command System for Initial Response
  • Risk Communication in Public Health Emergencies
  • ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
  • You are the Help Until Help Arrives
  • Cultural Awareness: Introduction to Cultural Competency and Humility