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1. What is the purpose of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)?

The purpose of the Memphis and Shelby County MRC is to assist the local community during a public health emergency by providing a rapid, coordinated, and specific response using locally recruited medical, mental health, public health, and non-medical support volunteers.

2. Why is the Medical Reserve Corps needed in Memphis and Shelby County?

There are six municipalities in Memphis and Shelby County and a population of nearly 1.2 million often swelling to an even larger number of commuters from surrounding counties that work, worship, and play in Shelby County. In response to a mass casualty event, Health Department personnel would require the assistance of thousands of trained medical and non-medical volunteers to support local response efforts.

3. Do I have to live in Memphis and Shelby County to be a MRC volunteer?

No. Memphis and Shelby County is a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and a Cities Readiness Initiative pilot site that is responsible for providing prophylaxis to surrounding counties that include: Fayette, Tipton, Crittenden, Marshall, Tate, and Tunica in a 48-hour time frame. In order to meet this challenge, volunteers are needed from surrounding areas.

4. How does MRC unit differ from other emergency organizations, like the American Red Cross?

All emergency support organizations have specific roles. The Medical Reserve Corps provides disaster medical response support including of dispensing medications and vaccinations to large populations in a specific time period.

5. What duties might MRC volunteers perform in response to a disaster?

There are many volunteer roles required during emergency response such as:

• Crowd control
• Inventory management
• Mental health counseling
• Registration
• Screening and dispensing
• Security
• Vaccination
• And a host of other non-medical roles

6. What other volunteer roles outside of disaster response could a volunteer do?

Volunteer participation could including but not limited to

• Administrative and office support
• Call center operators
• Database management
• Public health initiatives
• Volunteer recruitment

7. What are the age and training requirements for a MRC volunteer?

Volunteers with the Memphis and Shelby County Public Health Reserve / Medical Reserve Corps must be over the age of 18 years of age and willing to complete the following competencies:

• Orientation / personal and family emergency preparedness
• Volunteer mental health training
• Point of dispensing training
• IS-100.a - An introduction to incident command system
• IS-200.a - ICS for single resources and initial action incidents
• IS-700.a - National incident management system
• IS-800.b - National response framework (an introduction)
• Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) training

8. Will my volunteer participation interfere with my regular job?

No, as a volunteer priority will always be granted to your place of employment. You will have the flexibility to schedule activities in a way that does not conflict with normal job duties.

9. How can I become a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer?

Register online at TN Volunteer Mobilizer. This is a secured website. You will be asked a series of questions that include your street address, date of birth, specialized skills, and a contact number that you can be reached at 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For medical professionals, license number(s) and expiration date(s) will also be needed.This process takes about five to 10 minutes to complete.

10. What are the benefits of volunteering in the Medical Reserve Corps?

• Free emergency preparedness training
• Learn how to prepare yourself and your family for emergency response to a disaster
• Hands-on participation in emergency response drills / exercises
• Be among the first to receive medication / immunization for yourself and your household if an emergency is declared
• You can offer your skills as part of an organized response effort
• You can provide significant benefits to the community by augmenting existing public health efforts and providing emergency backup that would otherwise be unavailable
• Membership to a group with a strong sense of mission and purpose

11. If I register as a MRC volunteer, am I required to go if I am contacted?

Yes, all volunteers are expected to accept the emergency request. However, as a volunteer your deployments are strictly voluntary and participants have the right to decide whether or not to accept the emergency assignment if sent out of the area.

12. What about liability exposure as a Medical Reserve Corps volunteer?

In 1997, President Clinton signed into law The Volunteer Protection Act of 1997, which states that volunteers for governmental entities cannot be held liable for any harm that they may cause while engaged in that volunteer activity; except for a harm caused by gross negligence, willful or criminal misconduct, reckless misconduct, or conscious, flagrant indifference to the rights or safety of the individual harmed by the volunteer. As a Shelby County MRC volunteer, you are not exposing yourself to additional legal liability. For more information, read the Volunteer Protection Act of 1997.

13. Are there tax deductions possible for volunteering?

Yes, volunteers in the United States may receive tax deductions from the federal government with incurred costs associated with volunteering, such as mileage, parking, and other travel expenses. For more information, visit the IRS's Publication #526 - Charitable Contributions.