Ronica Shannon
With January’s ice storm, May’s tornado and the national H1N1 virus epidemic, it is more important than ever to have a community prepared for disaster, according to Carol Gilliam, unit leader of Madison County’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC).
Basic training to become a MRC volunteer begins Saturday and will be conducted from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 2007 Corporate Drive in Richmond.
The training counts as four hours of continuing education credit for nurses and social workers, and lunch will be provided.
The MRC is made up of about 40 volunteers from various areas of the medical profession, including doctors, veterinarians, nurses, dentists, pharmacists and mental health care professionals.
Non-medical volunteers also are welcome, Gilliam said.
Volunteers can help with clerical duties and traffic control in the case of a mass clinic, she added.
The Medical Reserve Corps was created in Madison County on May 16, 2006, in an effort to be proactive instead of reactive, she said.
“It’s to have a reserve of local response (volunteers) to support public health in the event of an emergency or an unusual event,” Gilliam said.
The training also ensures that local volunteers already are qualified to serve people in an emergency situation.
“They learn about how to become part of the incident command structure so they know how they need to report and conduct themselves,” she said. “We also emphasize personal preparedness. That’s the most important thing, for people to take care of themselves.”
Gilliam said getting new volunteers is important because during any given emergency, only about 20 percent of the MRC will be able to respond at one time.
Aside from an interest in helping the community, MRC members also need to be flexible, have a level head and able to prepare themselves on short notice, she said.
All volunteers who successfully complete training must undergo a criminal background check and then be issued proper identification, which allows them to work as a part of a government agency in the case of an emergency.
“It’s a really big benefit to know that when we have a task that’s really bigger than what our regular staff can accomplish, like a natural disaster or outbreak, that we have people who can help us do the work or get the word out to people,” said Christie Green, spokesperson for the Madison County Health Department. “The really good thing about the MRC program is that a person gets to come in and get some training about volunteering and understand how public health organizes itself.”
The MRC has helped the health department with several initiatives, including the 2007 drive-thru flu shot clinic where 1,000 doses were administered, Green said.
Visit www.medicalreservecorps.gov or call 626-4259 for more information about the MRC.
Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 624-6608.
