What is MA Responds? Volunteer registration system and website for - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

What is MA Responds? Volunteer registration system and website for registering as a public health volunteer in Massachusetts. Volunteers are a key part of many Emergency Operations Plans. •Medical and non-medical volunteers are needed • 6-8 non-medical volunteers needed for every 1 medical •Opportunity to register for more than one organization • Medical Reserve Corps (MRCs) • State Unaffiliated Volunteers • State of Massachusetts Animal Response Team (SMART) maresponds.org

Volunteers Are Needed for: • Assisting neighbors during natural disasters such as floods, ice storms, hurricanes • Improving community health by working to educate, prevent, and prepare • Supporting public health by helping in activities such as vaccination clinics when resources are strained by an event like flu or other outbreak

Bristol South Area Medical Reserve Corps Local Units • Greater Fall River • Greater New Bedford • Central Village • Acushnet • Fall River • Dartmouth • Somerset • Fairhaven • South Swansea • New Bedford • Swansea • Nonquit • Westport • North Dartmouth • Westport Point • South Dartmouth • Middleborough Go to: www.mamedicalreservecorps.org • Marion to find your MRC unit by zip code! • Mattapoisett • Rochester • Wareham

Bristol South Area Medical Reserve Corps 581 Health professionals and 176 Non-medical • Medical Reserve Corps Activities Include : • Disaster Shelter Operations www.mrcvolunteer.org • Flu and immunizations clinics • Substance Use program support Local unit leaders listed on website • Homeless Shelter Staffing • Suicide Prevention • Public Health Outreach

Volunteers in Action Fall River Project Reconnect Plainville Shelter Mobilization Drill Foxboro Emergency Dispensing Site Drill Norton Shelter Activation Drill

Why MA Responds? • Recent Events — Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions/Fires Event, “Until Help Arrives” Trainings, Long Island Bridge Closure, Blizzard of 2015, Boston Marathon, Hurricane Sandy, Ice Storm, H1N1, Flooding, Tornadoes • Strengthen communication • Mobilize volunteers from outside communities • Develop profile of the types of volunteers statewide • Goal: Rapid identification and utilization of volunteers in emergencies

Volunteers in MA Responds • More than 10,000 volunteers in MA Responds System • Over 75 medical professions represented • Over 100 non-medical professions represented • Over 50 languages represented

MA Responds Principles • Participation is voluntary • Choose when and where you want to volunteer • All volunteers must undergo MA Responds CORI checks and national VSOS background checks Secure Volunteer Information • 128/256-bit SSL Browser Encryption • Dedicated Servers • Encrypted Databases • SAS-70 Certified Secure Data Centers

Registration

Background Checks

Volunteers in Action Hepatitis A / H1N1 Clinics Deployment - Otis AFB Katrina Sheltering Nemo 2013 Sheltering Merrimack Valley Sheltering and BH Support Revere and Springfield Tornados Sheltering Fitchburg Shelter 2008

Volunteer Drills and Training Emergency Dispensing Site Drill Disaster Sheltering Drill CPR-AED Disaster Sheltering Drill

Available Resources for Volunteers • MA Responds online volunteer orientation course www.massmed.org/intro/maresponds • Social media sites; Facebook and Twitter Facebook.com/MAResponds Twitter.com/MAResponds • Trainings and community opportunities offered by individual MRC units

Bristol South Area MRC Information & Resources for Volunteers Social media sites; Facebook and Twitter Facebook.com/mrcvolunteer.org Twitter.com/LiisaJacksonmrc • Training opportunities www.mrcvolunteer.org/mrc-training---drills.html

www.mrcvolunteer.org https://MAResponds.org LiisaJackson@mrcvolunteer.org maresponds@state.ma.us Liisa Jackson Darryen Anderson MRC Coordinator/Director Program Coordinator 774-278-0059 617-624-5712