Whatcom County Medical Reserve Corps
Dedicated to establishing teams of local medical and public health professionals to volunteer their skills and expertise throughout the year as well as during times of community need.
Swine Flu Information
Partners from Whatcom County, City of Bellingham, and St. Joseph Hospital have activated a Unified Command structure to monitor and respond if necessary. At this time, the Medical Reserve Corps has not been activated but is included in regular updates. MRC members are encouraged to promote good respiratory hygiene and hand washing practices in their communities. As always, new members are welcome to join the MRC by completing the application found on this website.
Washington State Department of Health has issued this downloadable fact sheet (versión en español). Additional information can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/swineflu/ and at http://www.co.whatcom.wa.us/
Mission
The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to allow local volunteer medical and health professionals to contribute their skills and expertise throughout the year as well as during times of community need. Our Medical Reserve Corps unit is made of medical and health volunteers who can assist our community during emergencies, such as an earthquake or influenza epidemic.
Benefits to the Community:
Major local emergencies can overwhelm the capability of first responders, especially during the first 12-72 hours. Having citizens who are prepared to take care of themselves, their families and others during times of crisis will allow first-responders to focus their efforts on the most critical, life threatening situations.
An organized, well trained Medical Reserve Corps unit means that volunteers can effectively respond to an emergency, are familiar with their community's response plan, know what materials are available for their use, know who their partners in the response are, and know where their skills can be utilized to their best advantage and in a coordinated manner.
An Organized Team Approach
During an emergency, Whatcom County and the City of Bellingham (and other jurisdictions) will activate their Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). This plan defines how emergency personnel (fire, law enforcement, emergency medical services, and others) will respond to and manage the emergency. Spontaneous volunteers may hinder rescue efforts because they may not be familiar with local plans or procedures.
By creating a Medical Reserve Corps unit that is linked to Whatcom County's Health Department Emergency Response Plan the members of the Medical Reserve Corps can truly benefit the community by knowing what their role is during an emergency, how they fit into the emergency plan, and how best to respond so that they are a positive support structure for the first responders. Learn more about the History of the MRC.