Health District

The primary responsibility of the Washoe County MRC is to respond to local incidents. In the event of a regional or national incident, if a request is made for assistance from our units, members may be deployed elsewhere only when they are not needed locally.

As part of the new member orientation, you will learn how to develop a disaster plan for your family. Family members should be included in planning and decision-making, preparing an emergency kit, and gathering appropriate resources to activate the plan in the event of an emergency.

When an incident occurs for which the MRC will be deployed, appropriate members will be contacted via e-mail and telephone. Notices will also be posted on this website.

Our goal is to build our volunteer membership to over 150; we are always looking to expand our membership.

The MRC welcomes individuals from medical and non-medical professions. Medical practitioners include physicians, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, nurses, mental health professionals, respiratory therapists, and veterinarians are needed to provide emergency services during disasters.

Public Health professionals, including administrators, epidemiologists, health educators, and communicable disease and environmental health specialists are needed to help promote community health during non-emergency situations, as well as during disasters.

Non-medical volunteers are needed to fill many key support roles, including managers, clerical personnel, interpreters, drivers, food service workers, messengers, security staff, and laborers.

Retirees from medical and non-medical careers fill both clinical and support roles in the MRC, as do medical and health professions students.

Membership is voluntary, and you are not required to assist in any particular response effort. Within a short period after an incident occurs, you may be contacted by MRC staff and asked to assist. Your ability to respond to a request will not affect your continued membership in the MRC.

Potential risks depend upon the type, magnitude and duration of the incident. The orientation session, trainings, and exercises prepare MRC members to protect themselves while working in the response efforts. A member always has the opportunity to decline deployment if he or she is uncomfortable with the assignment, without affecting continued membership in the MRC.

Each member is encouraged to have a signed memorandum of understanding with his or her employer to acknowledge that the employee has committed time to the MRC and the employer understands the employee may be unable to fulfill job responsibilities if deployed in response to an incident.

Depending upon the scope of the incident, you should expect to work one 8 hour shift per each 24 hour period, for three to five days.

Members who will fill supervisory roles can expect to spend approximately 28 hours in training the first year. Members who will fill non-supervisory roles can expect to spend approximately 20 hours in training the first year (23 if they need CPR/First Aid training.) Training time in subsequent years will vary, depending upon the member`s role. Additionally, all members will be expected to participate in an eight-hour exercise each year.

Much of the training is in the form of online courses which can be completed on your home computer, at your own pace, at whatever time is convenient for you. All training is provided at no cost to the volunteer.

The Washoe County MRC requires members to have current vaccinations for, or immunity to:

• Influenza (seasonal, Oct. - March)
• Hepatitis B

Required vaccinations are provided at no cost to volunteers.

Measles, Mumps and Rubella; Varicella (chickenpox); Tetanus, Diphtheria and Pertussis vaccinations and TB Screening are recommended but not required for membership.

The concept of just-in-time training is to provide training at the time it is most needed. In emergency management, just-in-time training incorporates information specific to the type and magnitude of the incident. The MRC uses just-in-time training for its members immediately after deployment to issue assignments and equipment necessary for their role in the incident.

A member’s role will depend upon the following factors:

• Type, magnitude, duration, and severity of the incident
• Roles identified by incident command staff as necessary for the response effort
• Member’s skills, interests, and licensure

MRC staff will make role assignments based on resource needs and availability. You can be assured that you will not be asked to perform a role that you are not prepared for.

Background checks for all members, and licensure verification for healthcare practitioners are completed to protect both MRC members and the public they will be serving.

In the event of an incident, time and resources are simply not available to process, train and manage spontaneous volunteers. The MRC registers and screens members, verifying medical licenses in advance to ensure a rapid, coordinated response. Spontaneous volunteers often present a hindrance to incident management and may be turned away. If you want to be part of disaster response effort, become a member of the MRC now so you can be deployed quickly when an emergency occurs.