The Rappahannock-Rapidan Medical Reserve Corps (RRMRC) was established in 2004. Our mission is to serve the counties of Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock by establishing local teams of trained volunteers to strengthen the public health infrastructure and improve emergency preparedness and response.
The Medical Reserve Corps augments the community’s capacity to respond to public health emergencies. The MRC program was created after 9-11 to address the opportunities and challenges of receiving and managing spontaneous volunteers during disasters. The MRC ensures a professional, coordinated and effective response through credentialing, training, exercises, and participation in real events. Training opportunities include:
- Incident Command System– a standardized approach to the command, control, and coordination of emergency response
- Epidemiological Response– supporting the health department to track large communicable disease outbreaks
- Mass Prophylaxis and Vaccination– providing medicines to the public in a pandemic or bioterrorism incident
- Psychological First Aid– an evidence-informed modular approach to help children, adolescents, adults, and families in the immediate aftermath of disaster and terrorism
- Community Preparedness and Resilience– Learn how to prepare yourself, your family, and your communities for any kind of hazard, from natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes, to chemical emergencies, opioid overdoses, or active shooter events
The RRMRC recruits, trains and pre-credentials volunteers in Culpeper, Fauquier, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock counties. We welcome volunteers of all backgrounds and skill sets who are interested in public health and in protecting their communities during public health emergencies. We partner closely with area voluntary agencies, volunteer programs, hospitals, local governments and emergency services to ensure that our volunteers complement, rather than replace, existing response efforts.
RRMRC participates in a variety of activities based on our community’s needs. Some examples of our many possible roles during an emergency include:
Epidemiological Response Team:
- Volunteers who have completed the epidemiology response training would support the District Epidemiologist during a major disease outbreak by:
- Conducting interviews and testing.
- Answering questions and gathering information from a public information phone line.
- Working with community healthcare providers to identify new cases.
Shelter Response Team:
- Clinical volunteers would assist in triaging at registration to ensure that community members go to the appropriate shelter site and be on-hand to provide basic first aid to shelter residents.
- Volunteers with training in environmental health would assist the Environmental Health Specialists to assess the shelter site for safety.
- RRMRC Veterinarians, Veterinary Technicians and RRMRC volunteers trained in pet shelter response would assist in checking all incoming animals for vaccinations; provide vaccinations for unvaccinated animals, if available; and register animals for sheltering.
Behavioral Health Team:
- A diverse, multidisciplinary team of mental health clinicians, community leaders, and clergy, with a shared understanding of disaster behavioral health and community trauma
- Volunteers utilize Psychological First Aid and Skills for Psychological Recovery to provide support to survivors of traumatic community events and empower the community to build resources to promote resilience
Mass Dispensing Response Team:
- Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, and other RRMRC volunteers would assist with aspects of mass dispensing of antivirals, antibiotics and other medications in response to a bioterrorist attack, pandemic flu or other event requiring mass dispensing.
- Nurses, Physicians and Nurse Practitioners would assist with mass vaccination.
- Volunteers trained in Points of Dispensing Sites would assist by helping community members to fill out forms; provide rumor control; explain the process of mass dispensing; and answer questions from the public.