There was an outpouring of support for
the emergency relief efforts after the terrorist attacks on September 11,
2001. Many Americans asked, “What can I do to help?” Medical and public
health professionals were among those who wanted to volunteer their
services, but many were not able to do so. Using public health and medical
volunteers in emergencies requires an organized approach and these
individuals were not known to the emergency management system. While they
may have had very necessary skills and knowledge, they could not be used
because they were not identified, credentialed or trained in advance.
The anthrax attacks in Fall 2001
reinforced the need for pre-identified and trained supplemental medical and
public health personnel to assist with emergency operations such as mass
antibiotic dispensing or mass immunization campaigns. The anthrax missions
provided medications to almost 40,000 individuals. If these events were much
larger, the Federal responders could have been overwhelmed and extra
personnel may have been required.
To help meet these needs, the Medical
Reserve Corps Program was formed in 2002, in cooperation with the White
House’s USA Freedom Corps, as one of the charter programs of Citizen Corps.
Pre-identifying, training and organizing medical and public health
professionals to strengthen their communities through volunteerism is at the
core of the MRC concept. MRC volunteers offer their expertise throughout the
year by supporting local public health initiatives, such as immunization and
prevention activities. When an emergency community need occurs, MRC
volunteers can work in coordination with existing local emergency response
programs.
Now, with the MRC in place, a formerly
untapped community resource – medical and public health volunteers - is
functioning and available for the community to access in emergencies and for
ongoing efforts in public health.
