Hamilton County

Historical Perspective

• Freedom Corps established by President Bush after 9/11• Asking Americans to support their county by

volunteering• Problems encountered during 9/11 included

• Lack of emergency preparedness at the local level

• No organized approach to channel emergency relief efforts

Historical Perspective

• Part of the Freedom Corps is the Citizen Corps Council

• Groups under the Citizen Corps Council are:• C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response

Training)• MRC (Medical Reserve Corps)• USA on Watch (Neighborhood Watch) • VIPS (Volunteers in Police Service)• Fire Corps

Goal

• Provide structure necessary to deploy volunteers to assist medical and public health personnel in response to an emergency.

• Identify specific, trained, and credentialed personnel who are ready to respond.

• Coordinate the skills of practicing and retired physicians, nurses and other health, dental and pharmacy professionals as well as other citizens that want to help their community.

Who Can Volunteer?

• Physicians• Physician

Assistants• Nurses• Dentists/Dental

Techs• Pharmacists/

Pharmacy Techs

• EMT’s• Veterinarians• Mental Health

Professionals• All Other

Interested Citizens

Medical Volunteer Roles

• Triage• Emergency Medical Care• Physician Consultant• Medical Screening and Evaluation• Medication and/or Vaccine Preparation• Medication and/or Vaccine Dispensing• Medical Dispensing Assistant• Mental Health / Crisis Counseling

Non-Medical Volunteer Roles• Stocking Supplies• Clerical Support - registration, inventory, etc.• Health Education• Security/Safety – traffic flow, parking, etc.• Translation Assistance• Administering Vaccinations• Dispensing Medication• Transportation• Greeter• Kitchen Workers• Runners - relay messages, refill supplies, etc. 

Tailored Membership

You can make choices about your membership and change them when necessary.

Volunteers can…• Choose their membership level• Choose to serve in any specific member

community or all of them• Choose to deploy outside the area or stay local.

Tailored Activity Level

• Active – Heavily involved in training and activities

• Limited – A lesser pace of training and activities

• Emergency Only – Minimum training and use during emergencies/disasters only

MRC Volunteers May Be Called Upon To:

• Help during an emergency• Provide education on family emergency

preparedness• Assist with health fairs & flu clinics• Offer First Aid at Special Events• Staff community events• Provide support during outbreaks• Help at community distribution sites• Assist with state required drills

Reasons to Activate the MRC

Assignments are based on what you have told us as to where you would prefer being assigned to.

Reasons for activation or response could be…

Infectious Disease Outbreak

Flood

Tornado

Terrorism Event

National Disaster

Transportation Mishaps

Volunteers May Choose To Deploy Outside of Area to Assist With National Disasters such as Katrina

and Rita in 2005

Why you need to be an MRC Volunteer

• You’re pre-registered and can start volunteering right away• Little to no wait times, which can feel and be crucial to

response efforts

• Satisfaction• Keeping your skills sharp• Broaden social networks• Health benefits• To keep your community safe & prepared

Liability

• Under the federal Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, people who volunteer for governmental entities cannot be held liable for any harm that they may cause while engaged in volunteer activity (except for a harm caused by operation of a motor vehicle or a harm caused by criminal conduct or gross or reckless misconduct)

• There are also Good Samaritan Laws that are in place to protect all volunteers

MRC Facts

• There are currently 995 Medical Reserve Corps units in the United States

• These units are made up of 207,944 volunteers

Hamilton County Health Department Volunteer Needs

Area population ----------------------------------------------------------------8,368

Professionals/Volunteers needed to staff Distribution Sites ---------- 108

Hamilton County Area ---------------------------------------- 436 square miles

Goals and Partnerships

• Goal - train registered volunteers• Partnerships

• Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH)• Illinois Emergency Management Agency (IEMA)• Illinois Terrorism Task Force (ITTF)• Illinois Emergency Services Management Agency

(IESMA)

Training Recommendations

• MRC Orientation

• Distribution Site Orientation

• Family Disaster Preparedness – Online

• First Aid/CPR

• Participation in drills/exercises and practices

Training Recommendations

• FEMA Online Courses

• IS-100 – Introduction to ICS (Incident Command) (optional for non-leadership members)

• IS-200 – ICS (optional for non-leadership members)• IS-700 – Introduction to NIMS (National Incident

Management System)• IS-800 – National Response Plan• http://www.fema.gov/emergency/nims

Advanced Training Recommendations

• IS-300 – Intermediate ICS (for leadership only)• IS-400 – Advanced ICS (for leadership only)

Be prepared and help your community!

Become an ACTIVE MEMBER of the

Hamilton County MRC!

For More Information Contact

Clark Griffith, Director or

Pat Scarbrough, Coordinator

Hamilton County Medical Reserve Corps

618-842-5166OR

cdgriffith@wchdil.com

pscarbrough@wchdil.com

www.HamiltonCountyHealthDept.org