Local Medical Reserve Corps Trains on Sept. 20 and 21, During National Preparedness Month
Omaha, Nebraska – As residents of the Gulf Coast struggle to recover from Hurricane Ike, volunteer members of the local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) will gather to train for disaster here in the midlands. The sessions on Saturday and Sunday will include training in the mass distribution of medication and a mass casualty triage simulation. Training will take place at the Bellevue Volunteer Fire Department Training Center, 3100 Cornhusker Highway.
MRC members are required to have training in certain essential disaster protocols, so they can work effectively with first responders in a crisis situation. The local Corps is made up of health professionals who are willing to step up in the wake of storms and other disasters; the unit includes doctors, nurses, EMTs, physical therapists, respiratory therapists, pharmacists and more.
The training will include:
NATIONAL INCIDENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS (NIMS) -- Provides the command structure and protocols used in response to a disaster
MASS MEDICATION DISTRIBUTION -- Provides the model used in the event of an emergency where mass administration of medication is needed
CPR/AED/FIRST AID
BLOOD-BORNE PATHOGENS -- Training on how to deal with/protect oneself from infectious blood
PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID -- Handling the emotional needs of victims and responders during a disaster
MASS CASUALTY/TRIAGE -- Disaster simulation/training on how to process victims according to seriousness of injuries. In the absence of real disaster victims, teddy bears will be tagged with physical descriptions of simulated trauma patients. (Sunday afternoon)
The Medical Reserve Corps is sponsored by the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and is a partner program of the Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. The local chapter of the MRC is coordinated by United Way of the Midlands.
United Way also hosts the 2-1-1 Call Center which stands ready to provide valuable community service information in good times and bad. It’s available to 1.3 million Nebraskans and the residents of eight southwest Iowa counties. Year-round, 2-1-1 provides fast and accurate referrals to local health and human service programs. During the June 2008 storms, the 2-1-1 call center also logged 1,600 calls on local property damage reports, and that data was used by emergency management agencies to file for disaster declarations.
United Way also set up Volunteer Processing Centers (VPC) to manage volunteers after the June storms. UW’s Volunteer Resource Center mobilized its pool of trained community volunteers to register and track people who turned out to help with response and recovery efforts. More than 800 citizens came through the centers in June.
The Medical Reserve Corps training falls during National Preparedness Month, a nationwide effort sponsored by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to raise public awareness about the importance of preparing for all types of emergencies. The coalition urges individuals and families to take four steps that will get them prepared for possible disaster:
1) Buy or make an emergency kit
2) Make a plan for evacuation and communications
3) Be informed
4) Get involved in Citizen Corps
There’s information on how to keep your family prepared at http://www.ready.gov/, and updates on the Medical Reserve Corps’ activities right here at uwmidlands.org
