What you need to know about being a member of New Mexico’s Health
Preparedness Team

 This Orientation Module contains some of the basic information you need to know as a member of New Mexico MRC Serves, including:
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Where does MRC fit into the bigger picture
What volunteers will do during an emergency
How volunteers will be activated and notified
What volunteers can do now to prepare
What volunteers can do to prepare themselves and their families
How you can help grow NM MRC Serves
How to contact NM MRC Serves and get more information

 NM Department of Homeland Security and
Emergency Management is the lead organization however…
 No disaster or emergency can be managed by only one agency
– Might need the assistance of such partners as: Utility
Companies, Federal Reserve, State and Local Police, Fire,
EMS, NM Department of Transportation, American Red
Cross, Department of Education, State and Federal
Governments, FEMA, Homeland Security, CDC, private partners, and more

 All disasters and emergencies utilize the
Incident Command System
– Standardized way of structuring a response
– Used nationwide
– Systematic approach
– Imposes a command structure

Responsible for overall management of incident
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Single Command: IC solely responsible for incident
Unified Command: All agencies having a jurisdictional responsibility at a multi-jurisdictional incident contribute to
– Determining overall incident objectives
– Selecting strategies
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Ensuring for joint planning
Maximizing use of all resources
– Developing overall Incident Action Plan

Responsible for overall management of incident
 Incident commander
 Public Information Officer
 Safety Officer
 Liaison Officer

 Operations
 Planning
 Logistics
 Finance/Administration

 Read the handout: ICS for Holiday Dinner
Use the ICS handouts to plan this event.
 Things to consider:
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Who is in charge?
What are the logistics – chairs, food?
Who will do the cooking?
– Are there any safety issues?
– Who will be responsible for the clean-up?

 DHSEM is the primary organization in
Disaster and Emergency Responses
– Oversees all emergencies, large and small
– Part of New Mexico government
– Located in downtown Santa Fe
– Watch Command
– Emergency Operations Center

 NMDOH manages health emergencies and disasters and works in partnership with
DHSEM
 Lead agency on:
 H1N1
 Anthrax exposure
 SNS/POD
 Public Health emergencies
 NM MRC Serves is housed in NMDOH

September 11 th attack made it clear that we need to find a way identify, organize, and credential volunteers in the event of an emergency or disaster.

 2002 State of the Union – President Bush called for all Americans to offer volunteer service in their communities
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Senior Corps
Peace Corps
– Citizens Corps
 Medical Reserve Corps
 Civilian Emergency Response Team
 Volunteers In Police Service
 Fire Corps

 975 MRC Units
 50 states, Washington DC, Puerto Rico,
Palau, Guam, American Samoa, Saipan and the U.S. Virgin Islands
 205,341 volunteers

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The NM Department of Health’s (NMDOH), NM
Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Serves, enhances
New Mexico’s emergency preparedness by organizing a:
– pre-identified
– pre-credentialed and
– pre-trained group of volunteer health professionals that can rapidly mobilize to assist during a large-scale health emergency

 Free specialized disaster and emergency trainings
 Experience in disaster management and public health emergencies
 Assisting your own community in times of need

 During a health emergency, NM MRC Serves
Volunteers:
– will be used to supplement the work of NM first responders and healthcare personnel
– will only be activated when requested by the NM DOH or
NM DHSEM
– may be called upon to assist the with mass sheltering operations, due to wildfires or frigid temperatures
– may be called upon to assist with a medical or pandemic surge, as during an influenza outbreak

 As a volunteer you may be asked to fill a number of different roles depending on your specific licensure and qualifications, including
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Medical evaluation, patient education, “psychological first aid,” patient “flow monitoring,” triage, screening, vaccination, or distribution of medication
 Licensure requirements and standards of care may be altered during large emergencies, potentially changing the standard roles and responsibilities of a given profession

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Exercises
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Full scale exercises – e.g. Anthrax exercise, Mass Feeding
Exercise, Mass Casualty exercise, Full Scale POD exercise
Table top exercises – e.g. Bomb and Blast Injuries Exercise
Use of Public Health events
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H1N1
PODs
Flu shot clinics
– First Aid Stations
Learning “best practices” from other localities

 Albuquerque-University of New Mexico
 City of Gallup
 Pueblo of Zuni
 Southern New Mexico
 New Mexico Health Initiative
 47TH Medical Company NMSG
 San Juan County

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New Mexico was the first state with a Jr. MRC Unit
6 NM Jr. MRC Units
Incorporates public health and medical education into the school curriculum
Serves as a pipeline program for students interested in health sciences
Students in units under Medical Direction, are permitted to practice under their licensure on school grounds
Replace school nurse
Onsite for afterschool events

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NM MRC Serves volunteers, requested to render volunteer services, are entitled to the liability protections of the New Mexico Tort Claims Act
(TCA).
Licensed health care professionals are covered for professional liability as a result of negligence.
Lay volunteers are entitled to immunity from tort liability (if not waived under the TCA) or to liability coverage (if immunity waived) for their negligence.

 NM MRC Serves volunteers are not employed by the NMDOH
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Deployed licensed healthcare professionals are covered for workers’ compensation benefits for volunteer services
Lay volunteers are not covered by workers’ compensation

 Volunteers will be officially activated and assigned by the NMDOH using a web-based notification system, ESAR-VHP, using the contact information provided
 Volunteers should never self-deploy
 Volunteers will receive specific mission assignments, and all necessary briefings and instructions at their emergency work site
 NMDOH will coordinate with hospitals for emergency deployment of hospital-based volunteers

 Annual Notification Tests are generally conducted between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. on weekdays
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Volunteers receive e-mails to the email addresses on file (as applicable)
To respond, you must reply to the email and follow the instructions

 Professional Licenses must be kept current
 Keep contact information in the ESAR-VHP up to date!
 Trainings
– Attend Orientation training
– Take FEMA online courses
ICS 100b http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/IS100b.asp
ICS 700 (NIMS) http://training.fema.gov/EMIWeb/IS/is700a.asp

In person trainings offered:
– MRC 101, Introduction to the Medical Reserve
Corps. To register, please visit: http://www.wejoinin.com/sheets/ldnub
– Volunteer Training Summit, February 8-10,
2013 in Albuquerque, NM. Contact staff for more information.

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All volunteers are expected to have a Family
Emergency Plan.
Includes information about:
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Where you and your family will meet
Who will be your contact person
What you will do in case of an emergency
Important phone numbers and other information

 Family Plan templates are available through the following web sites
– NMDOH website at http://nmhealth.org/hem/documents/Family-Emergency-
Preparedness-Guide.pdf
– US Department of Homeland Security at http://www.ready.gov/

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Decide where your household will reunite after a disaster. Identify two places to meet: one right outside your home and another outside your neighborhood, such as a library, house of worship.
Identify all possible exit routes from your home and neighborhood.
Designate an out-of-state friend or relative that household members can call if separated during a disaster. If phone circuits are busy, long-distance calls may be easier to make. Text messaging may also be efficient.

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Account for everybody's needs, especially seniors, people with disabilities, and non-English speakers.
Ensure that household members have a copy of your household disaster plan and emergency contact information to keep in their wallets and backpacks.
Practice your plan with all household members.
When developing your family's disaster plan, you should assemble and make copies of vital contact information for each family member.

 Information for parents about preparing their children for emergencies is available from:
– The American Academy of Pediatrics at http://www.aap.org/family/frk/aapfrkfull.pdf
– UCLA Center for Public Health Preparedness at http://www.cphd.ucla.edu/pdfs/standardbaby.pdf

Prepare: “Go-Bags” and “Home Kits” contain important supplies you may need in an emergency
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Most supplies for the “Go-Bags” and “Home Kits” can be purchased at drug stores, discount stores such as Target, or home improvement stores such as Home Depot
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Complete “Go-Bags” and other supplies are available for sale through the American Red Cross Store at https://www.redcrossstore.org/
 Similar backpacks are available at http://www.herringtoncatalog.com/w453.html

 Work in your group to make a list of all the items you think are important to keep in your go bag.
 Choose one person to be the scribe to write your list and to report back to the whole group.

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Poncho thermal blanket; personal hygiene and medical first aid kits; signal mirror and whistle; compass and magnifying glass; leather work gloves; writing tablet and pen; multi tool
3-day supply of food and water
Over the counter medications
Copy of prescriptions and prescription medications
Copies of important documents, such as passports, credit cards, drivers license
Cash waterproof cash and document bag

 All NM MRC Serves volunteer information is stored in the ESAR-VHP database
– Volunteer credentials to be verified every 6 months
– Allows volunteers to indicate interest in serving
State as well as local MRC
– With user ID and Password, volunteers can update their records

To update your profile, including contact information, emergency contacts, and license information please visit: http://nmmrcserves.org/
Or call Bobbie MacKenzie at 505-476-8302

How do I get more information about NM MRC Serves?
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 http://nmmrcserves.org/
FAQs
Everything you need to know about the MRC and the volunteer experience.
Volunteer Deployment Manual
MRC Brochures can be downloaded from the website and shared with colleagues and employers
Core competencies
Determined by the national MRC program and represent the skills and knowledge all volunteers should possess to carry out their responsibilities

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Share MRC program materials with colleagues or your professional society
– Interested colleagues may contact the MRC staff for more information
At your invitation, the MRC may come to your school, professional society, or hospital to make a presentation to groups of health professionals and/or interested volunteers

 Staff Contact Information
– Ashley M. Vander Jagt
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Medical Reserve Corps State Coordinator
Phone: 505-272-4523 email: amcconnell@salud.unm.edu
Bobbie MacKenzie
ESAR-VHP State Coordinator
Phone: 505-476-8302 email: Bobbie.MacKenzie@state.nm.us
Website: http://nmmrcserves.org/