Thank you MRC!
National Volunteer Week Recognizes and Celebrates Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Volunteers across the country. The MRC is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC was formed after 9/11 during a time of a national need to bring communities together and help each other during emergencies.
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) defines disaster as follows:
Plan and Prepare for Disasters. Preparedness is defined by Department of Homeland Security (DHS) /FEMA as “a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, exercising, evaluating, and taking corrective action in an effort to ensure effective coordination during incident response.”
When you think about FEMA’ s definition above clearly defines what the Threat Preparedness department does on a daily/yearly basis. The Preparedness Coordinator is constantly striving to adapt and learn new ways to make sure Cabell-Huntington Health Department is trained to handle and demonstrate Threat Preparedness tasks and activities. We do so by the following:
Planning
We work along side our local emergency responders and coordinate exercises on a routine basis to test our capability to respond.
- Fatality Management
- Mass Care
- Medical Surge Capacity
Find out more about the Local Emergency Planning Committee and link webpage.
Prevention
We work with local hospitals to detect and prevent emerging outbreaks of disease.
Communication
We utilize interoperable radios and use a notification system to notify the public and staff in the event of a disaster.
Response
Cabell-Huntington Health Department has developed many plans to respond in the event of an outbreak or a community threat. We train and alter these plans on a routine basis to make sure we are ready to respond when needed.
How you can help? Click here to join today or sign up at www.wvredi.org.
Our Unit 1201
The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC network comprises approximately 180,000 volunteers in roughly 860 community-based units located throughout the United States and its territories.
MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals, as well as other community members without healthcare backgrounds. MRC units engage these volunteers to strengthen public health, improve emergency response capabilities, and build community resiliency. They prepare for and respond to natural disasters, such as wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, blizzards, and floods, as well as other emergencies affecting public health, such as disease outbreaks. They frequently contribute to community health activities that promote healthy habits. Examples of activities that MRC volunteers participate in and support include:
- Emergency Preparedness and Response Trainings
- Mass Dispensing Efforts
- Emergency Sheltering
- Vaccination Clinics
- Responder Rehab
- Health Education and Promotion
- Disaster Medical Support
- Outreach to Underserved Community Members
- Disaster Risk Reduction
- Community Event Support
- Medical Facility Surge Capacity
- Healthy Living
- First Aid During Large Public Gatherings
- Engaging Youth in Public Health Activities
- Planning, Logistical & Administrative Support
- Health Screenings
- Veterinary Support and Pet Preparedness
For more information:
Joe Reckard, Threat Preparedness Coordinator
(304) 523-6483
