In This Issue:

Tips

MRC/NACCHO Connections

Announcements

CALENDAR

12/10-12/11 - Capacity Building Award Workgroup Meeting (Invite Only)

New Orleans, LA

12/31 -

Capacity Building Award Notification

LINKS

Medical Reserve Corps

MRC at NACCHO

Building Strong Partnerships

Partnerships are vital to the success of a MRC unit.  A recent survey contracted by NACCHO found that more than 90% of respondents agreed that MRC units should pursue and maintain strong partnerships with local health departments.  Along with local health departments, units have partnered with other volunteer organizations, emergency responders, the Red Cross, state health departments, local businesses, military, hospitals, schools, and universities. Partnerships can be informal or formalized by the adoption of memorandums of understanding (MOUs).

Jennifer Freeland, State Coordinator of Virginia and former unit coordinator for two units, is a strong proponent of partnering with other local organizations. She says, “The #1 partner for a MRC unit is their local health department (LHD). Units that have not partnered with their LHD tend to struggle more, while stellar units have fully integrated.  When staff members at the LHD are educated about and support the MRC, it makes it easier to recruit volunteers, promote the MRC, and support both public health needs and the Surgeon General’s priorities.” Freeland also says that the new trend being promoted in Virginia is for units to develop stronger partnerships with local institutions of higher education.

Steven Guillot of the Middle Tennessee MRC agrees that partnerships are crucial for expanding the reach of your MRC. "Partnerships encourage collaboration and standardization, reduce duplication, and increase the general preparedness of the community. When the partnership is outlined in a MOU, agencies will incorporate you into their emergency response plans. This allows you to not only know your responsibilities, but also to plan and train with the organization.” The Middle Tennessee MRC has decided to only maintain formal partnerships as they deploy frequently and are more likely to be covered for liability and malpractice under this type of agreement.

Tips

• Before approaching organizations about possible partnerships, know your unit’s status, goals, abilities, and be prepared to promote the benefits of this particular partnership. This also means knowing about your potential partner organization and their needs.
• Consider the pros and cons of partnering with a specific organization, and whether it is better suited to be informal or formalized through a MOU.
• Use existing connections to gain face time with decision makers. Phone and email can be good ways to initially make contact, but nothing replaces a face to face meeting.
• Prepare a promotional kit or other materials to leave behind with your proposed partner.
• When developing formal partnerships, ask your partner organization or other MRC units if they have a draft template for MOUs already created.
• Be on the lookout for sessions on developing partnerships at regional and national MRC conferences or other trainings that you attend.
• Once a partnership has been established, share resources, knowledge, and training experiences. Live up to the agreements you made when developing the partnership.
• Support events and activities of your partner organization. Partnerships require a two-way connection.
• Keep your partners informed of what your unit is doing. Examples of ways to do this include regular reports, newsletters, presentations, or meetings.

MRC/NACCHO Connections

Project Public Health Ready

Project Public Health Ready (PPHR) is a collaborative activity with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and part of NACCHO’s Preparedness portfolio.  The goal of PPHR is to ensure that local health departments (LHDs) are fully integrated into their response community and prepared to respond to any emergency.  An approved set of Criteria is utilized to review LHDs applying for PPHR recognition.  The PPHR Criteria are the only known national standards for public health preparedness and are updated annually with the latest federal preparedness initiatives.

LHDs must demonstrate a capacity to assimilate volunteers into reponse operations as part of the evidence required in order to fulfill the PPHR Criteria. LHDs often use MRC units as a mechanism to assimilate volunteers.  MRC volunteers may be utilized in a number of different capacities including epidemiological investigation, mass prophylaxis, disaster behavioral health response, and mass patient care.  NACCHO offers a number of resources around incorporating MRC volunteers into the preparedness planning and response at LHDs. Click here for more information about PPHR.

Announcements

Scholarship Availability

Scholarships are available for both the 2009 Public Health Preparedness Summit being held February 18-20, 2009 in San Diego, CA and for four Psychological First Aid (PFA) Train-the-Trainer Workshops.  The deadline to apply for PFA scholarships is November 21. The deadline to apply for Summit scholarships is November 28. Click here to access applications and criteria.

Notification of Capacity Building Awards

MRC units that applied for a Capacity Building Award should receive notification of their status by December 31, 2008.

World Record Set by MRC Unit

Members of the University of Minnesota MRC helped to shatter the Guinness World Record for the most flu shots given in a single day by dispensing 11,538 flu vaccines on October 28. Want to do more for your community this flu season? MRC unit members can serve as role models and receive flu vaccinations. Units can also promote the benefits of vaccination to the community and get involved in effors to administer the vaccine.