Worcester Regional Medical Reserve Corps (WRMRC)
The WRMRC was created through the Worcester Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS) in March of 2006 and is overseen by the Worcester Public Health Division.
Massachusetts is divided into 7 emergency preparedness regions that allow communities to pool resources. We recruit and train volunteers and respond to emergencies in the 74 towns in Region II, which covers central Massachusetts. (see Service Area)
Our volunteers include medical professionals (physicians, nurses, EMTs, pharmacists, etc.) and people with no medical background (school teachers, security guards, translators, social workers etc.).
What is the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)?
- The MRC was founded after President Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. It is a specialized component of Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Citizen Corps, along with AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps, are all part of the President's USA Freedom Corps, which promotes volunteerism and service throughout the nation.
- The MRC is a national system that is run on the local level to meet the unique challenges of local areas, and brings together people who have skills related to health care as well as citizen volunteers. At this time, MRCs are housed in City and Town health offices, hospitals, universities and emergency medical services locations. Most of the MRCs work with other local and regional emergency preparedness groups.
- MRC volunteers are trained and prepared to respond to emergencies in their communities. They function as part of their local emergency preparedness teams, supplementing existing emergency and public health resources and agencies such as fire, police, and ambulance services. They also provide education, outreach and various health services throughout the year. The result is a collaborative effort that is prepared for large scale public health crises.