Volunteers

Vermilion County Medical Reserve Corps

Mission

Enhance the emergency preparedness and response capabilities in Vermilion County by recruiting and training a medical, non-medical, and public health volunteers to assist in response to a public health emergency including mass dispensing/vaccination.

Goals

Coordinate the identification, recruitment, registration, credential verification, training, and engagement of volunteers to support the Vermilion County Health Department’s response to incidents of public health significance.

Objectives

• Coordinate volunteers
• Notify volunteers
• Organize, assemble, and dispatch volunteers
• Demobilize volunteers

About the Medical Reserve Corps

The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps is to establish teams of local volunteer medical and non-medical individuals, public health professionals, and others, who can contribute their skills and expertise throughout the year as well as during times of community need.

For more information about the MRC, please feel free to visit the website: https://mrc.hhs.gov/HomePage 

The Vermilion County Medical Reserve Corps is coordinated by the Vermilion County Health Department.

Volunteering for the Medical Reserve Corps

Who can volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps?

• Practicing, retired, or otherwise employed medical professionals, such as doctors, nurses, emergency medical technicians, pharmacist, nurses’ assistants, and others.
• Public health professionals. Community members without medical training are encouraged to volunteer to assist with administrative and other essential support functions.
• To be a part of the Vermilion County Medical Reserve Corps, you must be 18 years of age or older.

What do MRC volunteers do?

It varies, depending on the nature of the emergency and the ongoing need for community health outreach and education.

What we do know is that major emergencies can overwhelm the capabilities of our first responders, especially during the first 12 to 72 hours. Medical and other health volunteers can provide an important “surge” capacity during that critical period. They can also augment medical staff shortages at local medical and emergency facilities. In short, communities often need medically trained individuals to fill in the gaps in their emergency response plans and to improve their response capabilities overall.

What training will I need?

Emergency preparedness and response is a highly coordinated effort that allows communities to maximize their capabilities during times of extraordinary disorganization and stress.

You may already know how to perform some of the medical and health functions we so desperately need. In most cases, your training as an MRC volunteer will focus primarily on your learning your local emergency and health procedures, trauma response techniques, use of specialized equipment, and other methods to enhance your effectiveness as a volunteer.

How do I become an MRC Volunteer:

To be a part of the Vermilion County Medical Reserve Corps, you must complete the application process and complete and maintain a level of training. This includes getting a background check, taking online courses, and other forms of continued education training.

There are two applications that must be filled out.  Their first one is an online application through Illinois Helps, www.illinoishelps.net.  Next you will need to fill out the Medical Reserve Corps Application.   Once both applications have been filled out and a background check has been completed, you will be notified and asked to go through Orientation and take a few FREE online courses.  The Vermilion County Medical Reserve Corps shall not discriminate because of race, creed, color, national origin, religion, ancestry, marital status, age, sex, or physical or mental disability. We do reserve the right to not accept applications that do not meet all needed requirements.

For more information about the Vermilion  County Medical Reserve Corps, please contact our Emergency Planning and Response Coordinator