Agenda - 12-01-2003-9b - Laserfiche WebLink

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~~}ac.l,~.~F 3 I a Medical Reserve Corps Grant Proposal Orange County Health Department Hillsborough, NC 27278 Project Summary Funding in the amount of $50,000 is requested from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist with development of a volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (M1tC) in Orange County, North Cazolina, The MRC will utilize motivated volunteers to strengthen Orange County's capacity to respond to emergency events and to strengthen the local public health infrastructure. The MRC unit of Orange County will coordinate with existing community emergency response systems by providing adequately trained and appropriately credentialed volunteers during emergencies. The volunteer corps will also help respond to local disease outbreaks and help address public health needs and problems throughout the year, The volunteer MRC will consist of medical professionals (i.e. nurses, phazmacists, physicians, physician assistants, laboratory technicians, dentists, veterinazians, and health educators) and non-medical community members (i.e. retired seniors, clergy, childcare workers, and security guards). Orange County's geographic location within the State of North Carolina places it at risk for natural disasters such as hurricanes and tornadoes, Snow and ice storms also pose significant risk for the County, and because they occur so rarely, the County is not equipped to sufficiently respond, An ice storm at the beginning of this year left thousands of citizens without electricity for nearly two weeks. Orange County Health Department nurses staffed emergency American Red Cross shelters but found it difficult to provide needed services due to inadequate manpower, Orange County is also home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which provides a wealth of resources and potential volunteers, but it also creates risks for the