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Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps. Liz Foley, Coordinator. Worcester Regional MRC. What is the MRC?. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country.
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Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps Liz Foley, Coordinator
What is the MRC? The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. The program is federally recognized and operates under direct control of the Surgeon General’s office. Why the MRC? The MRC provides the structure necessary to pre-identify, credential, train, and activate medical and public health volunteers. Engages volunteers to strengthen public health, emergency response, and community resiliency Worcester Regional MRC 3 9/14/2014
What is the MRC? • 985 MRC Units in the United States • 46 Units in MA • 91.16% of population covered • 73.69% of US area covered Worcester Regional MRC 4 9/14/2014
Who is the MRC? Over 204,759 volunteers nationwide • Pharmacists • Mental Health Professionals • EMTs and Paramedics • Epidemiologists • Health Educators • Social Workers • Non-Medical Professionals • Physicians • Physician Assistants • Nurse Practitioners • Registered Nurses • Dentists • Veterinarians • Clergy Worcester Regional MRC 5 9/14/2014
Volunteers of Public Health Worcester Regional MRC
The Worcester Regional MRC(WRMRC) Created by the Worcester Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) in 2006 The WRMRC is overseen by Worcester Division of Public Health 3 Units Cover 74 towns in the Massachusetts Public Health Region 2 Recruits medical and non-medical professionals to volunteer to assist in the event of a local or regional emergency Worcester Regional MRC 7 9/14/2014
Cities and towns covered by WRMRC Worcester Regional MRC 8 9/14/2014
Other MRCs in this Region Worcester Regional MRC 9 Wachusett MRCP.O. Box 555Hubbardston, MA 01452 978-928-4086 wachusettmrc@juno.com Greater Grafton MRC 30 Providence RoadGrafton, MA 01519508-839-5335 ext.128 www.town.grafton.ma.us 9/14/2014
Worcester Regional MRC Mission: Provide public health volunteer medical services that supplement existing resources in case of disaster Key Areas: promote public health and safety 1. Public Health Emergencies 2. Mass Casualty Incidents 3. Community Service Activities Worcester Regional MRC 10 9/14/2014
Worcester Regional MRC • MRC volunteers agree to deploy after they have fulfilled their obligations to • Their families • Their work
What We Offer Worcester Regional MRC • Monthly orientation • Monthly training (core competency) • Orientation • Basic First Aid • BLS CPR/AED or BLS for Healthcare Professional • ICS-100 (Incident Command System) • NIMS-700 • Emergency Dispensing Sites (EDS) Operations • Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) • Mental Health Aspects of Emergencies and Disasters for Non-Mental Health Professionals
Core Competencies Worcester Regional MRC 13 • Objectives • Personal Preparedness • Chain of Command • Role of local MRC Unit • Volunteer Communication • Mental Health impact of events • Procedures • Volunteer roles and limitations 9/14/2014
Public Health Emergencies Worcester Regional MRC 14 Preparedness and Response • Drills/exercises • Real events 9/14/2014
Mass Casualty Incidents Worcester Regional MRC 15 Medical volunteers may be asked to assist with triage and treatment of victims at the scene of a mass casualty incident. Non-medical volunteers can assist with dispensing equipment at the scene. 9/14/2014
Community Service Worcester Regional MRC 16 Blood pressure screening/preventive health events Health fairs First aid tents 9/14/2014
Deployment/Activation Details WRMRC will receive a request for assistance Automated alerting system will be activated Volunteers will follow directions given by the automated system. Or Volunteers will be notified by E-mail with specific instructions Worcester Regional MRC 17 9/14/2014
Deployment/Activation Details Id badges provided to all volunteers Volunteers must be personally prepared: Appropriate clothing, any personal items that are needed including medications and personal snacks. Typically a debriefing will take place after large scale incidents Worcester Regional MRC 18 9/14/2014
Personal Preparednesswww.ready.gov Worcester Regional MRC 19 • Be prepared to exist for first 72-hours after a disaster • Plan kit according to individual and family needs • Are you elderly? Do you have a baby? Other special considerations? • Inventory contents every 6 months; make changes as necessary • Seasonal changes, expiration dates 9/14/2014
“Go Kit” Contents Water Food First Aid Tools Household Supplies Clothing Bedding Flashlight/Radio Medication Batteries Comfort Items Specific Needs Worcester Regional MRC
Additional training and resources Worcester Regional MRC 21 • Memorandum of Understanding with the Red Cross • Shelter Operations/Shelter Simulations • Courses hosted by other MRCs • Other courses and training events at state and national level • MRC “handbook” 9/14/2014
Liability Protection Massachusetts Department of Public Health Volunteers and Liability Handout • Federal Volunteer Protection Act • 42 U.S.C 14501. • Doctors and Nurses Working in Public Health Programs • Mass. General Laws, Chapter 112, 12C • Good Samaritan Laws • Various provisions of Mass. General Laws • Protection for EMS Personnel • Mass. General Laws, chapter 111C, 21 • Protection for Public Employees • Mass. Tort Claims Act, General Laws, chapter 258 Worcester Regional MRC
Liability Protection Deployment Expectations: • Follow the chain of command. • Stick to assigned duties. • Don’t do anything you aren’t comfortable with – no matter who asks you. • Working with other MRCs in the State to lobby for expansion of the coverage of the Good Samaritan Act Worcester Regional MRC
MA Responds Statewide Database - Created to pre-register, manage, mobilize existing clinical and non-clinical volunteers - Helps responding to all types of disasters efficient. • Volunteers have the opportunity to create a profile • Website has the ability to send various notifications (message, email, call, text) • CORIs/SORIs done and Credentialing will be kept current Worcester Regional MRC
Each volunteer will receive a badge. The badge will be color coded by professional category. Medical Personnel - Red Basic Medical Personnel (medical personnel that are not able to administer medications i.e. EMT's, physical therapists, occupational therapists, etc.) - Blue Mental Health Personnel - Purple Non-Medical Personnel- Green Badging Worcester Regional MRC
Should you become a volunteer with the MRC? • Flexible time commitment • Free trainings • Opportunities to participate in community events • Ability to volunteer should you wish during large scale emergencies and disasters Worcester Regional MRC
Finally... • We can never have too many volunteers! • Disasters are never what you expect! • We need to be prepared for severe weather events! Worcester Regional MRC
Find out more… Websites WorcesterRegionalMRC.org MAmedicalreservecorps.org Medicalreservecorps.gov Social Media Facebook - Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps (WRMRC) Twitter - @WRMRC Worcester Regional MRC
Questions? Worcester Regional MRC
For More Information… • Visit website: WorcesterRegionalMRC.org • Or contact: Liz FoleyWorcester Regional Medical Reserve Corpsc/o Department of Public Health25 Meade St. Office 206 Worcester, MA 01610 (508) 799-8470 Efoley@worcesterregionalmrc.org Worcester Regional MRC