medical reserve corps

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Medical Reserve Corps - Northern NH Unit
North Country Health Consortium
7 Main St., Ste 7
Whitefield, NH 03598

After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, there was an outpouring of support for emergency relief efforts. Many Americans asked, "What can I do to help?" Medical and public health professionals wanted to volunteer their services, but many were not able to do so. While public health and medical volunteers have important skills and knowledge, they could not be used because they were not identified, credentialed or trained in advance.

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. MRC trains and organizes medical and public health professionals to volunteer in their communities. MRC volunteers offer their expertise throughout the year by supporting local public health initiatives. In an emergency, MRC volunteers work in coordination with existing local emergency response programs.

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.

In 2003, the North Country Health Consortium received funding from the Office of the Surgeon General to begin a Medical Reserve Corps Unit in the North Country. The Medical Reserve Corps - Northern NH Unit is advised by the Region 5 Northern New Hampshire EMS Council and coordinates with local emergency responder agencies, municipalities and health care provider agencies.

The Mission of the Medical Reserve Corps - Northern NH Unit (MRC-NNHU) is to work collaboratively with other responder organizations and health providers to plan for coordinated volunteer response to any public health emergency. A trained volunteer contingent will support public health and safety professionals and participate in community public health projects when not active in an emergency.

The Vision of the Medical Reserve Corps - Northern NH Unit (MRC-NNHU) is that the organization will be able to contribute significantly to the overall public health improvement initiatives of the North Country Health Consortium and its partner organizations while preparing to assist health and safety workers in any kind of emergency that may overburden the established response systems in the northern tier of NH.

For more information about how to volunteer email or call Nicole LaPointe, MRC-NNHU Coordinator at 603-837-2643 ext. 225.

For more information about Medical Reserve Corps, link to the MRC Website. For updates about volunteer deployment, click on the icon 'Hurricane Katrina Response' on the right hand side.