About the Medical Reserve Corps
The Miami-Dade County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is a part of the Florida MRC Network which is supported by the Florida Department of Health. The MRC is a national network of local groups of volunteers committed to improving the public health, emergency response, and resiliency of their communities. This national network is sponsored throughout the country by the Office of the US Surgeon General and is housed in the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps.
Many medical and healthcare volunteers offered their skills after the September 11, 2001 attacks. These attacks underscored the need for a more organized approach to using medical and health volunteers during an emergency. It also became clear that without coordinated training, credentialing and support, volunteers can initially hinder the response and/or put themselves in danger. It is critical to prepare volunteers prior to an emergency response effort.
The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services officially launched the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in July 2002 to support those health and medical needs. While created nationally, the MRC is a network of local groups, meeting the specific needs of their communities.
The MRC is dedicated to the pre-identification, advance preparation and credentialing of local health and non-health professionals to respond in large-scale medical or public health emergencies such as disasters, disease pandemics or acts of terrorism and other vital public health activities.
Miami-Dade MRC Mission
The mission of the Miami-Dade County Medical Reserve Corps is to pre-identify, train, credential, and support dedicated medical and non-medical professional volunteers for an all-hazards emergency response in Miami-Dade County.
How do MRC volunteers help in disasters?
In Miami-Dade County, the Medical Reserve Corps is coordinated by the Florida Department of Health - Miami-Dade County, where both medical and non-medical volunteers are trained, prepared and ready to respond to community health emergencies in a structured way. MRC volunteers are called upon to serve alongside public health, medical, and emergency services professionals during public health emergencies. Some examples of response activities include serving at an evacuation center during a hurricane, assist in the mass dispensing of medication/vaccination operations, and disease outbreak investigations.
Benefits of Joining the MRC