Washington, DC, March 20, 2023— The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments, is pleased to announce the 2023 Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Operational Readiness Awards (ORA). These awards, made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response’s Medical Reserve Corps Program Office, will build the operational readiness capabilities of MRC units to meet the emergency preparedness and response needs of local, regional, and statewide stakeholders. The awards, totaling $1.255 million, will support 146 units to build MRC response capabilities (Tier 1) or strengthen MRC response capabilities (Tier 2).
The MRC is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC network comprises approximately 200,000 volunteers in roughly 800 community-based units located throughout the United States and its territories. In COVID-19 response alone, from March 2020 through March 2022, MRC volunteers contributed approximately 3.8 million hours of service, resulting in a workforce savings of $132 million.
According to the 2020 Network Profile of the Medical Reserve Corps, ORAs were the largest funding source for 29% of units that year.
- Tier 1 Awards ($5,000) – Build MRC Response Capabilities: These awards provide funding for units to build capabilities to meet local response needs. This funding may support units that are smaller in size, are targeting a specific need, are newly formed, or are rebuilding their MRC units if previously inactive or underutilized.
- Tier 2 Awards ($10,000) – Strengthen MRC Response Capabilities: These awards provide funding for units to strengthen current capabilities for primary or evolving response missions. This funding is intended for units that have an established volunteer management structure, have the capacity to further expand their unit response capabilities, have a demonstrated record of supporting public health emergency responses, or have a record of supporting multiple natural disaster response missions.
2023 MRC Operational Readiness Awards granted to each of the following local MRC units:
Tier 1 Awards – $5,000
Arizona – La Paz County MRC
Arkansas – Marion County MRC
California – San Mateo County MRC
Colorado – CO Radiation Response Volunteer MRC, Lincoln County MRC
Idaho – Central District Health MRC
Illinois – Crawford County MRC, DuPage County Health Department MRC, Madison County MRC, Northwest Illinois MRC
Louisiana – Jefferson Parish MRC
Maryland – Maryland Responds MRC
Massachusetts – Brookline MRC, Central Middlesex MRC, Greater Fall River MRC, Greater New Bedford MRC, Greater Taunton MRC, Middleborough Area MRC, Mystic Valley MRC, North Shore-Cape Ann Emergency Preparedness Coalition MRC, Northern Essex County MRC
Missouri – Northeast Missouri MRC
Nebraska – Southeast Nebraska MRC
Nevada – MRC Washoe County
New Jersey – Somerset County MRC
New York – Greene NY MRC, Rockland County MRC, Sullivan MRC
Ohio – Darke County General Health District MRC, Geauga County Health District, Greene County MRC, Hocking County MRC, Mercer County Health District, Paulding County MRC, Pike County MRC, Seneca County MRC
Texas – Brown County MRC, Coastal Bend MRC
Utah – Bear River MRC- Box Elder County
Vermont – Northwest Vermont MRC
Tier 2 Awards – $10,000
Alabama – Dallas County MRC
Arizona – Animals and Humans in Disaster, Maricopa County Public Health MRC, Santa Cruz County MRC of Arizona, Yavapai County MRC
Arkansas – River City Ministry of Pulaski County MRC
California – California Veterinary MRC, Lake County MRC, Long Beach MRC, Marin County MRC, Sacramento MRC, San Bernardino County MRC, Ventura County MRC
Colorado – Colorado Muslim Society MRC, Colorado Veterinary MRC-West, MRC of El Paso County
Connecticut – Capitol Region MRC, Middletown MRC, Naugatuck Valley MRC
District of Columbia – Capitol City Pharmacy MRC
Illinois – Bond County MRC, Kane County MRC, Macoupin County MRC, Monroe County MRC
Iowa – North Iowa CERT & MRC, Johnson County MRC
Kansas – Jefferson County MRC
Louisiana – Louisiana State Animal Response Team Veterinary MRC
Massachusetts – Berkshire MRC, Duxbury Bay Area Regional MRC, Franklin MRC, Massachusetts Task Force, Middlefolk MRC, Norfolk County-8 MRC, Upper Merrimack Valley MRC, Wachusett MRC
Minnesota – MRC of Hennepin County, MRC of Ramsey County, MRC of Scott County, Minnesota Veterinary MRC, University of Minnesota MRC
Missouri – Bollinger County MRC, Cape Girardeau County MRC, Macon County Community Volunteer Corps, MRC of Greater Kansas City, Schuyler County MRC, South-Central Missouri MRC
Nebraska – Central Nebraska MRC, West Central Nebraska MRC
New Hampshire – Central NH MRC, Lakes Region MRC
New Jersey – Mercer County MRC, Middlesex County MRC
New Mexico – Southern New Mexico MRC
New York – Livingston County MRC
Ohio – Butler County MRC, Clark County MRC, Fairfield County MRC, Hancock County MRC, Lorain County MRC, Medina County MRC, Portage County MRC, Union County MRC, Wood County MRC
Oklahoma – Oklahoma MRC Nurses, Oklahoma Statewide MRC, OKMRC - Tulsa County MRC, OKMRC District 1 MRC – Northwest, OKMRC District 10 MRC- Norman/Cleveland County, OKMRC District 8 MRC, OKMRC Oklahoma County MRC, OKMRC District 5 MRC - Southwest OK, OKMRC Stress Response Team
Oregon – Linn County MRC
Pennsylvania – Bucks County MRC, Chester County MRC, Philadelphia MRC, South Central Pennsylvania MRC
Puerto Rico – MRC of Puerto Rico
Rhode Island – Rhode Island Junior MRC, Rhode Island Veterinary MRC, Rhode Island MRC
South Carolina – South Carolina Veterinary Reserve Corps
Tennessee – Northeast Tennessee Regional MRC
Texas – Alamo Area MRC, Dallas County MRC, Galveston County MRC, The University of Texas at Austin MRC
Utah – Summit County Utah MRC, Utah County MRC
Vermont – MRC of SW Vermont
Virginia – Fairfax MRC, Loudoun MRC, Peninsula MRC, Rappahannock MRC, Three Rivers MRC, Blue Ridge Health District MRC
Washington – Bainbridge Island MRC, Kitsap County MRC, Pierce County MRC, Vashon Island MRC
West Virginia – Mid-Ohio Valley MRC
Wisconsin – Saint Croix Valley MRC
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About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local governmental health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.
