1

Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps

Activities we currently have scheduled for September 2013:

Health VRC Full Scale Exercise

ICS 100 In Person Training for Citizen Corps Volunteers

Family Preparedness Training for the Community

Emergency Preparedness Survey for Volunteers

FCPH Rabies Vaccination Clinic

MRC In Person Orientation

9/11 Flag Memorial at the Statehouse

Westerville Kids and Cops Day

MRC Language Team Semi Annual Meeting

We are always looking for more outreach events

so feel free to contact me with ideas or

opportunities. Registration to participate in these

events will be in our normal Friday emails.

T he Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps (FC&C MRC) is dedi-

cated to establishing teams of professional and medical volunteers to contrib-

ute their skills and expertise during disasters, as well as throughout the year for com-

munity health promotion.

On June 12th, 2013 at 10:15am the

FC&C MRC did its semiannual call down drill. We had almost

500 individuals respond within the allotted time frame. Some

quick stats below:

In the first 15 minutes we had 272 volunteers respond

In the first 30 minutes we had 313 volunteers respond

In the first hour we had 359 volunteers respond

THANKS to everyone who participated!

Regional MRC Updates

Currently we have 13 MRC units in 15 counties in the

Central Ohio region. Which is a WONDERFUL number!

Both Pickaway County and Hardin County are working

on establishing a local unit for their county. Look for a

unit in both their counties within the next year.

As regional MRC liaison for the Central Ohio Region the

FC&C MRC participates on the Central Ohio Regional

Healthcare Coalition representing volunteerism. This

coalition focuses on bringing local coalitions and

community healthcare partners together.

We are in the process of securing funding for another

regional MRC Training Summit like we did in 2012. We

hopefully will be able to do it in 2014.

To check out and familiarize yourself

with our MRC Handbook and Code

of Conduct. All FC&C MRC

volunteers are held to these

standards. To read them please go

to www.volunteermrc.org and click

on the “Join Now” star to access the

correct links. Thank you!

2

Below is a highlight list of events/exercises and

trainings the MRC participated in over the past few

months:

Franklin County EM&HS and CEPAC Full

Scale Exercise

Badge and T-shirt Sessions

MRC In Person Orientation

Columbus State Nursing School

Orientation

Safe Routes to School Training and

Weekly “Walk and Roll” Mondays

Safe Routes to School

Bike Safety Event

Cost of Poverty Simulation

MRC Leadership Team Recognition

Dinner

Agent of Change Awards-HandsOn

Central Ohio

Language Team Family Preparedness

Training

MRC Leadership Team

Conference Calls

MRC Call Down Drill

Preparedness Partner’s Webinar

Columbus Regional Airport Authority

Full Scale Exercise

Rabies Vaccination Clinic Exercises

I just want to take a quick moment to THANK all of you for your participation, interest and time these past few

months. I am excited and motivated by the number of new volunteers we have not only in our unit but as

members of our “teams” as well. Every day we take steps to increase our community’s safety and health

through training, exercising and outreach activities. Every day YOU make a difference by being a part of our

organization. Thank you for representing the MRC so well and thank you for your time. Lets make this year’s

National Preparedness Month the best ever!

Tessa Fite, FC&C MRC Coordinator

Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps

Heroes aren't born, they volunteer.

3

Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps

Heroes aren't born, they volunteer.

We engaged and trained almost 800 volunteers

We participated in 18 different events

We gave over 1100 volunteer/training hours

We recruited over 30 new volunteers for our unit

Safe Routes to School & MRC Partnership The end of May concluded the Spring 2013 season of

Safe Routes to School (SRTS), a program out of

Columbus Public Health that uses volunteers to safely

walk children to school at Avondale Elementary.

Three of our MRC volunteers participated in

Monday’s walk in roll activity for 3 months. In

addition they attended trainings and a bicycle

safety event. The partnership between the programs

worked so well that the SRTS Ohio program advocate

interviewed our local SRTS coordinator because of

her high praise of our partnership and the MRC

volunteers that participated. Look for more

opportunities to get involved next fall with an

expansion of the program into new schools!

HandsOn Central Ohio will be partner-

ing with the MRC and the health de-

partments to set up a VRC exercise in

September of 2013. Keep your eyes

open for more details!

ARC hosted a health services class for

MRC nurses in March 2013– look for

more classes coming up!

Every year MRC nurses help support the Franklin

County Public Health seasonal flu clinics. The

immunization team is currently undergoing some

changes to their schedule and how they structure

their clinics. Keep your eyes open for information later

this summer about trainings and clinic times.

On June 20th, 2013 MRC volunteers participated in

the Regional Airport Authority’s full scale exercise at

Rickenbacker Airport. Volunteers were victims,

“family members” and leadership MRC volunteers

were volunteer controllers. Over 100 MRC volunteers

participated in the day long exercise. The volunteers

simulated a plane crash, were triaged by EMS

professionals and sent to hospitals to be processed

through their emergency departments. Shaddy

Swade from HandsOn Central Ohio was the lead

volunteer controller for this exercise. Thanks to the

many volunteers whose participation made the

scenario realistic and better enabled first

responders and partner agencies to test their

emergency plans.

4

Leadership Team: This team continues to meet/coordinate on a monthly basis either in person or via conference call. The

purpose of this team is to encourage leadership among volunteers and to get feedback from active volunteers

on the direction of the FC&C MRC. Leadership Team members will be eligible for leadership roles in a large

scale emergency and have the opportunity to participate in additional volunteer opportunities that do not go

out to the general MRC group. Leadership positions are currently open.

Next Team Meeting will be: July 23rd, 2013 6pm at Columbus Public Health

Mental Health Team: Mental health is an important part of an emergency response. Our mental health volunteers take a

Psychological First Aid training and support both the health departments and partners in the community during

a response. We partner with ADAMH and the Red Cross. We have recently developed Just-In-Time Training

materials and Job Action Sheets. We will begin meeting on a semi annual basis starting fall of 2013. Members of

this team include (but not limited to); LSWs, RNs, Psychologists, Psychiatrists, School Counselors and more.

Next Team Meeting will Be: August 20th, 2013 6pm at Columbus Public Health

Language Team: Are you fluent in another language in addition to English? Are you willing to volunteer to help with language

capabilities during a disaster? We would love to have you serve on a language team. This team does outreach

in the community year round through participation in festivals and training. We meet on a semi annual basis.

Next Team Meeting will be: September 17th, 2013 6pm at Columbus Public Health

POD Team: A POD, or Point of Dispensing, is a method of response in a public health crisis requiring the widespread

distribution of medication. In the event of such an emergency, multiple PODs may be set up throughout the

community to offer medication to many people. Clinical volunteers such as pharmacists, nurses, paramedics,

and physicians are encouraged to join as well as non-clinical members in a support role. POD team members

can participate in several trainings, drills and exercises per year. Completion of POD101 online is a

requirement.

Franklin County & Columbus Medical Reserve Corps

Heroes aren't born, they volunteer.