FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, Nov. 1, 2002
Contact: HHS Press Office - (202) 690-6343
Oregon Disaster Medical Team to Receive $50,000 to Create Local Medical Reserve Corps Unit
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the Oregon Disaster Medical Team will receive $50,000 to begin building a local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit that will help local citizens prepare and respond in the event of a public health emergency.
The Oregon Disaster Medical Team is among 42 organizations nationwide that were selected to participate in this nationwide demonstration project. There were nearly 200 applicants for the approximately $2 million in initial year funding. 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. “This award will help empower the citizens of Lane County to plan and establish local citizen-centered volunteer Medical Reserve Corps units.
“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.
“As we continue to prepare for all health contingencies, the Medical Reserve Corps draws from the best and brightest of each community,” U. S. Surgeon General VADM Richard Carmona said. “These citizens from the Oregon Disaster Medical Team, through their spirit and expertise, continue to exemplify the best of America in their service to their neighbors.”
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.