Panhandle Health District
8500 N. Atlas Road Hayden, Idaho 83835
www.phd1.idaho.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Date: April 11, 2011
Contact: Released by: Lora Whalen, Director
Cynthia Taggart
Public Information Officer
(208) 415-5108
(208) 818-7288 (cell)
Hundreds of Volunteers Ready for Disaster
Hayden – Volunteers throughout the nation are being honored this week and Panhandle Health District (PHD) has 792 to add to the celebration.
The 792 volunteers are members of the North Idaho Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which stays trained and ready to respond to any emergency in the five northern counties.
“The Medical Reserve Corps is a vital part of response,” said Judith Scarborough, who coordinates the MRC for the health district. “They definitely helped during H1N1. They’re a real asset to the community in times of need.”
In 2010, 40 nurse practitioners, nurses and support workers helped with a free-screening clinic in Coeur d’Alene for people with no medical insurance. MRC volunteers operated a first-aid booth in Wallace for the 100th anniversary of the Great Fire of 1910; taught children the importance of an aquifer at the North Idaho Fair; provided medical screenings for veterans at the Vets’ Stand Down; and gave flu shots and took vital signs and medical histories at Homeless Connect, a gathering of services for homeless people.
Half of MRC volunteers are doctors, nurses, pharmacists, mental health specialists and emergency medical technicians. The rest of the volunteers have no medical licenses and provide support wherever it’s needed.
Training is provided free of charge to volunteers. For information on the MRC, visit www.phd1.idaho.gov; MRC is a subcategory under Public Health Preparedness, or call Judith Scarborough at 208-415-5185.