NACCHO ended the fourth project year supporting the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps on July 31. NACCHO begins the fifth and final year of this cooperative agreement on August 1.
During the month of July, NACCHO MRC staff completed closeout of PY4 deliverables, including the communications audit of NACCHO’s MRC communications efforts. NACCHO will begin implementing the recommendations from the audit beginning in PY5. NACCHO continued work on the development of the MRC Connect application and update of the NACCHO MRC Volunteer Core Competencies, as both projects will continue into PY5. Fifty MRC unit leaders pilot tested MRC Connect July 7-21 and provided helpful feedback to NACCHO about their experience. Overall, the feedback was very positive and NACCHO will work with Rallyware to implement suggested changes.
Staff conducted more site visits to meet with local MRC units and discuss their needs and challenges. These visits included the Wisconsin Disaster Medical Response Team MRC, Greater Prince William MRC (VA), Tulalip Tribes MRC (WA), and Fairfax MRC (VA). NACCHO MRC staff also had a strong presence at NACCHO Annual 2014, with a presence in the exhibit hall and a poster presentation. Staff surveyed local health department representatives in attendance to determine if they had an MRC and any barriers to forming a unit.
Staff also began planning for the 2014-2015 NACCHO MRC awards process, which will open in the fall. Visit mrcnaccho.org for information on planning for the awards and updates from previous challenge award winners.
