News & Events
E-News
Update (November 1, 2002)
Medical Reserve Corps Units To Receive $2 Million From U.S. Department Of Health And Human Services To Better Prepare Communities For Local Public Health Emergencies
Medical Reserve Corps, a Citizen Corps program, will provide local communities with medical volunteers who can assist health professionals during a large-scale local emergency (e.g., pandemic influenza or a hazardous materials spill. Furthermore, the volunteers' responsibilities may include emergency response, logistical planning, records keeping, assisting public health and awareness campaigns, and public communications.
Practicing and retired health care professionals will be on a medical reserve list, ready to be called up to duty in the event of an emergency. In addition to playing an important role during a large-scale local emergency, Medical Reserve Corps volunteers would also be active in promoting the public health of their communities.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Nov. 1, 2002
Contact: HHS Press Office
tel: (202) 690-6343
HHS ANNOUNCES CREATION OF MEDICAL RESERVE CORPS UNITS
Grants To 42 Community Groups Will Support New Volunteer Medical Response Teams
Health and Human Services secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced 42 grants totaling $2 million to community-based organizations to begin building local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units that will help local communities prepare and respond in the event of a public health emergency.
The local MRC units are comprised of local citizens, volunteers who are trained to respond to health crises. The volunteers' responsibilities will include emergency response, logistical planning, records keeping, assisting in public health and awareness campaigns, and public communications.
"The Medical Reserve Corps gives Americans an opportunity to help out in their community. All of us have talents and skills and there is no better place to use those talents then in service to the local community," secretary Thompson said. "These awards will help empower our communities to plan and establish local citizen-centered volunteer Medical Reserve Corps units which will include not only physicians and nurses but also a broad range of skills in health and other fields."
"The USA Freedom Corps was created to enable more Americans to make a difference in their communities," said John Bridgeland, Assistant to the President for USA Freedom Corps. "Through the Medical Reserve Corps, health care professionals will have new opportunities to contribute to the safety and well-being of their communities through their volunteer service."
Each local MRC unit will be established, activated, and operated by the local community, in concert with established emergency response and public health systems. They will be an important additional resource to address health problems that a local community might incur because of a natural disaster or other catastrophic event. In addition, volunteers may help with local health campaigns - such as immunizations - and health education and awareness in the community throughout the year.
The MRC initiative will provide the local organizational framework, including training, locally agreed procedures and processes, and partnership building among local organizations, including local government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (e.g., faith-based groups, hospitals, health professions organizations, the American Red Cross, academic institutions and others).
President Bush, in his State of the Union address in January 2002, announced that he was launching the USA Freedom Corps to foster an American culture of citizenship, service, and responsibility. He formed the Citizen Corps initiative, of which the MRC is a part, to give individuals the opportunity to serve their neighbors by making our communities safe from threats of all kinds.
The Medical Reserve Corps is led by the Office of the Surgeon General in HHS. For more information including, the MRC guidance document "Medical Reserve Corps - A Guide for Local Leaders," information on training resources, and the monthly MRC newsletter please log onto www.medicalreservecorps.gov or call the Office of the Surgeon General at (301) 443-4000.
A list of the grantees follows:
| Grantee | Location | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Health and Human Services | Anchorage, AK | $50,000 |
| Volunteer Center of Maricopa County | Phoenix, AZ | 50,000 |
| Volunteer Center of Tucson | Tucson, AZ | 50,000 |
| City of Fresno | Fresno, CA | 49,546 |
| Morgan Hill Police Dept. | Morgan Hill, CA | 41,830 |
| Self-Help for the Elderly | San Francisco, CA | 50,000 |
| Larimer County Dept. of Health and Environment | Fort Collins, CO | 50,000 |
| Yale New Haven Health System | New Haven, CT | 50,000 |
| Delaware Health and Social Services | Dover, DE | 47,240 |
| Broward Emergency Management Agency | Fort Lauderdale, FL | 50,000 |
| Lee County Health Dept. | Fort Myers, FL | 50,000 |
| Florida Dept. of Health, Pasco County | New Port Richey, FL | 50,000 |
| Dekalb Co. Board of Health | Decatur, GA | 50,000 |
| Kane County Health Dept. | Geneva, IL | 50,000 |
| Dept. of Public Health | Oak Park, IL | 49,500 |
| American Red Cross of Central Illinois | Peoria, IL | 48,421 |
| Winnebago County Health Dept. | Rockford, IL | 50,000 |
| Marion County Health Dept. | Indianapolis, IN | 50,000 |
| Shawnee County Health Agency | Topeka, KS | 50,000 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency | Louisville, KY | 50,000 |
| Institute for Human Services and Public Policy; Louisiana State University | Shreveport, LA | 50,000 |
| Fairview Hospital | Great Barrington, MA | 50,000 |
| Church of the Nazarene | South Dennis, MA | 50,000 |
| Western Maryland Area Health Education Center | Cumberland, MD | 50,000 |
| Franklin Memorial Hospital | Farmington, ME | 46,364 |
| Hennipin County Community Health Dept. | Minneapolis, MN | 50,000 |
| Metropolitan Planning Organization Mid-America Regional Council | Kansas City, MO | 50,000 |
| Citizen Corps Council of Yellowstone County | Billings, MT | 50,000 |
| Bayonne Medical Center | Bayonne, NJ | 49,019 |
| County of Middlesex New Jersey | New Brunswick, NJ | 50,000 |
| Bergen County Dept. of Health | Paramus, NJ | 50,000 |
| Clark County Health District | Las Vegas, NV | 50,000 |
| Broome County Health Dept. | Binghamton, NY | 50,000 |
| Nassau County Dept. of Health | Mineola, NY | 50,000 |
| Livingston County Dept. of Health | Mt. Morris, NY | 36,900 |
| Northern Metropolitan Health Care Foundation | Newburgh, NY | 50,000 |
| Tulsa Project Impact Foundation | Tulsa, OK | 50,000 |
| Lane County Medical Society | Eugene, OR | 50,000 |
| Multnomah County Health Dept. | Portland, OR | 50,000 |
| Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology | Lancaster, PA | 50,000 |
| Harris Co. Hospital District | Houston, TX | 50,000 |
| Southwestern Vermont Health Care | Bennington, VT | 50,000 |
| Total of Grant Awards | $2,068,820 |
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news
Visit the websites of Citizen Corps partners: Department of Justice, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, USA Freedom Corps