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Volunteers still needed for Medical Reserve Corps

Date: 12/14/2009

By Kaitlyn Schroyer

Staff Intern



EAST LONGMEADOW - Throughout Western Massachusetts and the rest of the nation, Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) are springing up. They are units specially formed to help in disasters, both locally and nationally.

Formed as a unit of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, MRC was founded after President George W. Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he urged all Americans to volunteer to support their country. Charted under the East Longmeadow Board of Health, the town's unit is the newest to be nationally certified in Hampden County. It will join nine others in Western Massachusetts: Agawam, Chicopee, Greater Westfield and Western Hampden County, Holyoke, Longmeadow, Monson, Springfield, West Springfield and Wilbraham.

The mission of the corps is to establish teams of local volunteer medical and public health professionals who can contribute their skills and expertise throughout the year and during times of community need.

On Dec. 16, the East Longmeadow unit of the MRC will be hosting an informational meeting and the corps is looking for volunteers.

"Not everyone has to be medical. Help can be as basic as giving shots such as H1N1 or helping during a disaster when people are hurt," Frank Morrisino, the town's MRC director, said. "For every medical person, you can need as much as six non-medical people to assist."

A unit that is much like the Citizen Corps, the local MRC unit will assist the community in various tasks and not all are emergencies. They can also be called to aid the nation during disasters; however, members of the corps are not required to participate in helping during these disasters.

"We need everybody," Morrisino stated. "You volunteer when you can. Retired doctors and nurses are especially helpful."

Depending on the group's size, meetings are flexible. A good sized unit can meet as often as once a month and smaller units can meet as little as every three months. Training is included.

Those who have signed up for the town's H1N1 clinics can still sign up for the MRC. Participating in the clinics will not affect volunteering or paid status under the Board of Health.

Those interested in the East Longmeadow MRC may attend the informational meeting on Dec. 16 at 7:30 p.m. at the East Longmeadow Fire Station on Somers Road. If unable to attend the meeting, sign up forms can be picked up in the selectman's office at Town Hall.

For more information on the MRC in Hampden County, contact Kathleen Conley Norbut at kcnorbut@yahoo.com.