Bridgeport Medical

Reserve Corps

752 East Main Street

Bridgeport, CT 06608

203-576-7024

Email: bridgeportmrc@ci.bridgeport.ct.us

What is the Medical Reserve Corps?

The Medical Reserve Corps at the Bridgeport Health and Social Services Department is a team of trained volunteers, who, when called upon during a disaster, will support and enhance a local, regional or statewide community response.

Who can volunteer for the Medical Reserve Corps?

Even though the word “Medical” appears in the name, all non-medical volunteers are valuable. Everyone can volunteer for the Bridgeport Medical Reserve Corps. Whether you are a licensed professional or not your services are very valuable to the Bridgeport Medical Reserve Corps.

United States citizenship is not required to be part of the MRC. Non-citizen, legal U.S. residents also are welcome to volunteer and contribute their time, knowledge, and skills to protecting and improving their communities.

What do MRC Volunteers do?

The responsibilities of MRC volunteers vary, depending on the nature of the needs in the community. Bridgeport MRC volunteers can assist during emergencies and assist with public initiatives and ongoing community health outreach and education efforts. Bridgeport MRC volunteers also strengthen the overall health of Americans by participating in general public health initiatives such as flu vaccination clinics.

What Training will I need as a volunteer?

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

Perhaps the most important part of your training will be learning to work as part of a team. An organized, well-trained MRC unit will be familiar with its community's response plan, will know what materials are available for use, will know its response partners, and will know where its skills can be put to best use and in a coordinated manner.

All volunteer training will be done by lecture or on-line computer training. Some examples of volunteer trainings will include: Introduction to Public Health, CPR, First Aid, and the National Incident Command System.

The need for trained supplemental medical, non-medical and public health personnel to assist with emergency operations was highlighted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many medical and public health professionals sought to support emergency relief efforts, but there was no organized approach to channel their efforts. The MRC program provides the structure necessary to deploy medical and public health personnel in response to an emergency, as it identifies specific, trained, credentialed personnel available and ready to respond to emergencies.