Medical Reserve Corps

 

MRC recruits volunteers at a community Safety Fair

 

What is the MRC?

 

The MRC is part of the USA Freedom Corps, a family of volunteer support groups that serves throughout the nation. Communties organize MRC units with local volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources.

 

Who are MRC volunteers?

 

MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as nurses, physicians, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians and epidemiologists.. They also include volunteers without medical backgrounds, for example interpreters, legal workers, librarians and anyone with an interest in volunteering.

North Idaho's MRC has 865 volunteers. It is the largest MRC per capita in the nation.

 

	Mission:   Recruit   Train   Respond
MRC Volunteers

 

What we do

 

• Recruit healthcare professionals and other citizens into member service.
• Train healthcare professionals and the necessary support staff in order to respond more efficiently and to be prepared to function in a public health emergency.
• Respond as needed in a public health emergency.
• Sustain the interest and commitment of its members.

 

Training

 

MRC volunteers have no training requirements to meet. However, plenty of training opportunities are offered. All are optional and free. Many are FEMA-based. North Idaho's MRC and the American Red Cross recently teamed up to offer a training course in Psychological First Aid and are planning to work together on several other trainings in the near future. Personal Protective Equipment, Basic Family Preparedness and many other trainings are offered on a continual basis by Panhandle Health District. FEMA courses in Incident Command and the National Response Plan are frequently offered in North Idaho as well.

North Idaho MRC holds its orientations at designated Points of Dispensing (PODs) in the five northern counties at a rate of one per POD per year. PODs are central sites for the distribution of medication and services to the public during a public health emergency. There are eight PODs in the five northern counties.

 

Join

Click here for an MRC Application to start the process in your own community. Print it, sign it and mail it to MRC, 8500 N. Atlas Rd., Hayden, ID 83814. After your questions are answered and you're ready to start volunteering, you'll enter your information into the Volunteer Idaho (click) database .  Volunteers in the Volunteer Idaho system have the option of being available for local, state and/or nationwide disasters.