| The Kit Carson County CERT, a part of the Kit Carson County County Health and Human Services, is being developed to help Kit Carson County, a sparsely populated county located 170 miles from Denver and bordering Kansas along I-70. Kit Carson County CERT deals with surge capacity in a local disaster, including assisting mass prophylaxis/vaccination clinics or other major public health needs. The unit is partnered with the Red Cross, VOAD, County mental health services, OEM, Citizen Corps, RSVP, MRC, and other County resources to develop a coordinated response to a disaster. It is limiting recruitment to licensed health and medical personnel, including nurses, nurse practitioners, veterinarians, pharmacists, doctors, chiropractors, physician assistants, and dentists, and other community resources in the county. This unit is recruiting members for its CERT by making presentations and/or delivering brochures to its 3 medical clinics, 1 county hospital, 1 sattelite of Morgan Community College, Citizen Corps meetings, meetings of professional organizations, mailings, health fairs, and other community gatherings. The unit has a core of about 100 volunteers and has developed a core curriculum based on the suggested CERT core competencies. These MRC volunteers will be included in exercises being planned by the Kit Carson County Health and Human Services.
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