Medical Reserve Corps

On this page:

• Overview
• Positions in the MRC
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Related Links

Overview

As part of the County's emergency planning and response system, the Department of Health Services has developed a community volunteer health service corps, known as the Medical Reserve Corps. This group consists of trained health care professionals, such as nurses, physicians, and pharmacists, mental health professionals, such as psychologists, social workers, family therapists, and psychiatric technicians, and non-medical community members, who desire to serve as volunteers in our community during health-related emergencies.

The primary mission of the Sonoma County MRC has been to recruit and train health care professionals for staffing mass vaccination and prophylactic medication dispensing sites in the event of a public health emergency. As the Sonoma County MRC prepares to enter its seventh year, its mission has broadened to include offering surge personnel to hospitals, alternate care sites, and others in the event of a large health emergency. Roles will be defined with the help of our community planning partners, and Public Health will facilitate training and exercises.

Positions in the MRC

Many skills and abilities are needed during a public health emergency. Volunteer positions with the Medical Reserve Corps are organized into four broad categories:

The Nurse Volunteer performs clinical evaluations in an emergency clinical setting. Tasks for volunteers in this category may include medical information counseling, patient screening, and assisting patients with completion of forms. These volunteers may also conduct physical exams and evaluations, and dispense medication under the supervision of a physician. These volunteers may conduct vaccinations and provide medical counseling to patients, or work with medical supply inventories. Licensed Clinician Volunteers may also be asked to perform non-clinical functions, such as providing general assistance to patients or stocking of supplies.

The Physician Volunteer performs a range of physician services in an emergency clinical setting. Tasks for volunteers in this category may include medical information counseling, patient screening, and assisting patients with completion of forms. These volunteers may conduct physical exams and provide diagnosis and treatment to patients. These volunteers may also conduct vaccinations, dispense medication, provide medication counseling to patients, and may consult with Public Health staff to determine the need for isolation. Physician Volunteers may also be asked to perform non-clinical functions, such as providing general assistance to patients.

The Pharmacist Volunteer performs pharmaceutical services in an emergency clinical setting. Tasks for volunteers in this category may include medical information counseling, patient screening, and assisting patients with completion of forms. These volunteers may package and dispense medication, provide patient counseling on medications, and consult with other medical volunteers. These volunteers may also consult with Public Health staff to determine the need for additional medications, or the need for isolation. Pharmacist Volunteers may provide inventory and security of medications, and may be asked to perform non-clinical functions, such as providing general assistance to patients.

The Support Staff Volunteer performs a wide variety of tasks in an emergency clinical setting. Tasks for volunteers in this category may include traffic control in parking areas and greeting people arriving to the clinic. They may provide general, non-medical information to patients, assist patients with completion of forms, or provide translation services. Volunteers may provide short-term childcare, and assist with materials stocking and set-up and take-down of workspace. Support Staff Volunteers may provide security services, or assist with any other tasks that may arise.

The Mental Health Volunteer (psychologist, LCSW, MFT, psychiatric technicians) performs tasks such as overseeing individual and overall staff health and mental health, maintaining safety of the workplace, evaluating and triaging individuals and staff for a higher level of mental health care, training other staff on assisting the "worried well" during medical and public health emergencies, and facilitating a Critical Incident Staff Debriefing (CISD) process for the emergency response workforce. Mental health volunteers may be asked to perform other licensed activities in other settings.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the volunteers?

Volunteers are licensed health professionals (nurses, physicians, and pharmacists), licensed mental health professionals (LCSW, MFT, psychologists, and psychiatric technicians) and non-medical community members.

What is the purpose of the MRC?

To draw local health professionals, mental health practitioners and community members into volunteer service; to train volunteers to respond to the needs of their community; and to provide surge capacity (extra staffing) for emergency response locations as deemed necessary by Public Health. The MRC is not a replacement for existing staffing resources.

What is required to become a MRC volunteer?

First, volunteers attend an orientation training. All volunteers are required to attend an orientation training where they learn how the MRC functions, what County emergency plans are currently in place, about their roles and responsibilities and any related biological and/or mental health preparedness responses.

After attending an orientation, participants become official County volunteer by completing and submitting a County volunteer application. As an official Sonoma County volunteer, all MRC volunteers are covered for service by the County's risk management for workers compensation and liability protection.

Volunteers are encouraged to attend ongoing training, drills and exercises held throughout the year. Trainings may include pandemic influenza preparedness, using safety needles, personal preparedness, and a variety of public health topics. Drills and exercises include participation in the setup of public health Points of Dispensing sites (PODs) and participation hospital emergency preparedness drills.

Volunteers are also encouraged to participate in community events. Community events include staffing annual community flu shot clinics, participating in the respiratory/hand hygiene etiquette program for elementary school children, and other community health education activities.

Finally, volunteers need to prepare their families for their absence during a health emergency by creating and maintaining a family emergency plan and supply kit. Volunteers need to prepare themselves to serve on short notice by creating a personal go-kit, packed in advance so that if a health emergency strikes, they can just pick up the kit and go!

What are volunteers asked to do and where?

In response to a public health emergency, volunteers are trained to serve in a variety of settings. These emergency field assignments may be at public health Points of Dispensing sites (PODs), hospitals, special emergency health facilities or other assignments as necessary.

How does the volunteer program communicate with its volunteers?

On a regular basis volunteers receive email messages with a web link to invitations to volunteer trainings, conferences, events and exercises. We also publish a quarterly online newsletter. Using email and our website is cost efficient and allows us to quickly communicate with over 80 percent of our volunteers!

For emergency notification and deployment, volunteers will receive a telephone notification call. Volunteers are contacted by an automated telephone system used by the County. The deployment message contains: 1) a greeting: "This is Sonoma County Public Health with a message for the Medical Reserve Corps;" 2) the date of the call; 3) the time of the call; 4) situational information and instructions; 5) where to report; 6) a list of what to bring; and, 7) any other pertinent information and/or instructions.

Related Links

Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California
Source: California Emergency Medical Services Authority.

Medical Reserve Corps Resource Site
Source: Office of the Surgeon General, Department of Health and Human Services.