Orange County NC Website
i~ <br />needs and problems. During the ice storm at the beginning of this year, the OCHD worked <br />closely with the local chapter of the American Red Cross to staff shelters, but meeting the needs <br />of all involved citizens was difficult due to a shortage of nurses and trained volunteers. The <br />Orange County Chapter of the American Red Cross establishes the shelters but does not provide <br />staff or volunteers for Disaster Health Services. Instead, OCHD nurses are mandated to staff all <br />emergency shelters, and a MRC unit is desperately needed to provide additional surge capacity <br />to meet the needs of the community during times of need, <br />Organizational Structure <br />With creation of the Medical Reserve Corps underway, a planning body will be <br />established under the auspices of the Orange County Board of Health (Appendix K - <br />Membership Roster) and direction of the Health Director, Rosemary Summers (Appendix L - <br />biographical sketch), This planning body will include representatives from the MRC and the <br />Personal Health Services and Health Promotion and Education Divisions of the OCHD, <br />Representatives from the followixxg entities will also be encouraged to join the planning body: <br />Orange County American Red Cross, Orange County Departments of Emergency Management <br />and Social Services, LTNC Schools of Nursing and Pharmacy, the Latino community, the <br />Disability Awareness Council, and the public at-lazge, <br />The Medical Reserve Corps Volunteer Coordinator will be a Public Health Nurse I <br />position (Appendix M -Job Description) and will report to the Public Health Preparedness <br />Coordinator once that position is supported by the County, Tn general, the Volunteer <br />Coordinator will be responsible for continued volunteer recruitment, credential verification, <br />development of volunteer role descriptions, training, activation and deployment, program <br />