Washington, DC, March 14, 2024 – The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO), the voice of the country’s over 3,300 local health departments, is pleased to announce the 2024 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 $1.26 million, will support 153 units to build MRC response capabilities (Tier 1) or strengthen and sustain 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. According to the 2022 Network Profile of the Medical Reserve Corps, MRC units dedicated a total of 1,114,618 volunteer hours to emergency and non-emergency activities with 603,587 hours to COVID-19 in 2022 – equating to an economic value of over $35 million.

• Tier 1 Awards ($5,000) – Build MRC Response Capabilities: Tier 1 provides 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 and Sustain MRC Response Capabilities: Tier 2 provides funding for units to strengthen and sustain 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.

2024 MRC Operational Readiness Awards granted to each of the following local MRC units:

Tier 1 Awards – $5,000

• Arizona – La Paz County MRC
• California – California Health MRC, San Mateo County MRC
• Connecticut – Chesprocott MRC, Housatonic Valley MRC, Quinnipiack Valley MRC
• Florida – Nassau County MRC
• Georgia – MRC of West Georgia
• Idaho – South Central Idaho MRC
• Illinois – Adams County MRC, Jo Daviess County Health Department Emergency Volunteers MRC, McHenry County MRC, Peoria City/County Health Department, South Central Illinois MRC
• Indiana – MRC of Monroe County, MRC of Morgan County
• Kentucky – Western Kentucky MRC
• Louisiana – Jefferson Parish MRC
• Massachusetts – Duxbury Bay Area Regional MRC, Greater Fall River MRC, Greater Taunton MRC, Massachusetts Task Force, Mystic Valley MRC, Northern Essex County MRC
• Missouri – Bollinger County MRC
• Nebraska – Eastern Nebraska MRC, Three Rivers Public Health MRC
• Nevada – Northern Nevada Public Health MRC
• New Jersey – Salem County MRC
• New York – ServSTEUBEN MRC, Sullivan MRC, Ulster County MRC
• Ohio – Defiance County MRC, Greene County MRC, Pike County MRC, Preble MRC, Warren County MRC
• Oklahoma – OKMRC District 10 MRC - Norman/Cleveland County
• Texas – Alamo Area MRC, Brown County MRC, Coastal Bend MRC, Pearland Area MRC, Tarrant County MRC, West Texas MRC
• Utah – Bear River MRC - Cache County
• Virginia – Fairfax MRC, Lord Fairfax MRC, Near Southwest MRC, Peninsula MRC, Rappahannock MRC, Southwest Virginia MRC, Three Rivers MRC
• Washington – Chelan-Douglas MRC
• Wisconsin – Juneau County MRC

Tier 2 Awards – $10,000

• Alabama – Black Belt MRC
• American Samoa – American Samoa MRC Unit
• Arizona – Apache County CISM Peer Support Team, Maricopa County Department of Public Health MRC, Yavapai County MRC
• Arkansas – River City Ministry of Pulaski County MRC
• California – ALCO MRC, California Veterinary MRC, Sacramento MRC
• Colorado – Colorado Radiation Response Volunteer MRC, Rocky Mountain MRC of Colorado
• Connecticut – Capitol Region MRC, Shoreline MRC
• Georgia – East Central Health District MRC
• Hawaii – Big Island MRC, Kauai MRC, Oahu MRC
• Illinois – Bond County MRC, Cumberland County MRC, Douglas County Health Department MRC, Macoupin County MRC, Madison County MRC, Monroe County MRC, Sangamon County MRC, Skokie MRC, St. Clair County MRC, Winnebago County MRC
• Iowa – Johnson County MRC
• Massachusetts – Central Middlesex MRC, Metro East MRC, Norfolk County 8 MRC, Upper Merrimack Valley MRC, Wachusett MRC
• Minnesota – MRC of Hennepin County, University of Minnesota MRC
• Missouri – Cape Girardeau County MRC, MRC of Greater Kansas City, Pleasant Hill MRC
• Nebraska – Central Nebraska MRC, Panhandle MRC, West Central Nebraska MRC
• New Hampshire – Central NH MRC, Lakes Region MRC
• New Jersey – Mercer County MRC, Union County MRC
• New Mexico – NM Integrative Wellness MRC, Southern New Mexico MRC
• New York – Dutchess County MRC, GO Health VALOR MRC, Monroe County MRC, Schoharie County MRC
• North Carolina – Capital MRC
• Ohio – Butler County MRC, Cincinnati-Hamilton County MRC, Clark County MRC, Fairfield County MRC, Holmes County MRC, Lake County MRC, Lorain County MRC, Mercer County Health District, Portage County MRC, Richland County MRC, Seneca County MRC, Union County MRC
• Oklahoma – OKMRC - Tulsa County MRC, OKMRC Stress Response Team
• Oregon – Cannon Beach MRC
• Pennsylvania – Bucks County MRC
• Puerto Rico – MRC Puerto Rico
• Rhode Island – Rhode Island Behavioral Health MRC, Rhode Island Junior MRC, Rhode Island MRC, Rhode Island Veterinary MRC
• Tennessee – East Tennessee Regional MRC, Mid-Cumberland Regional MRC, Northeast Tennessee MRC, Shelby County MRC
• Texas – Brazoria County MRC, Dallas County MRC, Fort Bend MRC, Galveston County MRC, Harris County MRC, University of Texas MRC
• Utah – Summit County Utah MRC
• Vermont – MRC of SW Vermont, Southeastern Vermont MRC
• Virginia – Eastern Shore MRC, Greater Prince William MRC, Loudoun MRC
• Washington – Jefferson County MRC, Pierce County MRC, Snohomish MRC, Thurston County MRC
• West Virginia – Mid Ohio Valley MRC, Mountaineer MRC
• Wisconsin – Eau Claire County MRC, Greater La Crosse Area MRC, Sawyer County MRC, St. Croix Valley MRC

To view more information for each MRC unit, visit the ASPR MRC unit directory.

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About NACCHO

The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the country’s over 3,300 local 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.