Medical Reserve Corps
MISSION
The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.
OVERVIEW
- The MRC was founded after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union
Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their
country. It is a partner program with Citizen
Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown
security. Citizen Corps, along with AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace
Corps are part of the President's
USA Freedom Corps, which promotes volunteerism and service nationwide.
- MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize
and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to
prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout
the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health
resources.
- MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as
physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and
epidemiologists. Many community members—interpreters, chaplains, office
workers, legal advisors, and others—can fill key support positions.
- MRC units are provided specific areas to target
that strengthen the public health infrastructure of their communities by the
U.S. Surgeon General. These are outlined priorities for the health of
individuals, and the nation as a whole, which also serve as a guide to the
MRC. The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, and in support of
this, he wants us to work towards increasing disease prevention, eliminating
health disparities, and improving public health preparedness.
- MRC volunteers can choose to support communities in need nationwide.
When the southeast was battered by hurricanes in 2004, MRC volunteers in the
affected areas and beyond helped communities by filling in at local
hospitals, assisting their neighbors at local shelters, and providing first
aid to those injured by the storms. During this 2-month period, more than 30
MRC units worked as part of the relief efforts, including those whose
volunteers were called in from across the country to assist the American Red
Cross (ARC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
During the 2005 Hurricane Season, MRC members provided support for ARC health services, mental health and shelter operations. MRC members also supported the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) response and recovery efforts by staffing special needs shelters, Community Health Centers and health clinics, and assisting health assessment teams in the Gulf Coast region. More than 1,500 MRC members were willing to deploy outside their local jurisdiction on optional missions to the disaster-affected areas with their state agencies, the ARC, and HHS. Of these, almost 200 volunteers from 25 MRC units were activated by HHS, and more than 400 volunteers from more than 80 local MRC units were activated to support ARC disaster operations in Gulf Coast areas.
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