Schuyler County MRC is the recipient of a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) COVID-19 Respond, Innovate, Sustain, and Equip (RISE) Award given by the National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO). NACCHO represents the country’s nearly 3,000 local health departments.
These awards, made possible through a cooperative agreement with the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response’s Medical Reserve Corps Program Office, will provide resources to the MRC network to support COVID-19 response efforts. Awards totaling $9.5 million will support 186 units and state coordinators to build the capacity for the MRC to respond, innovate to evolving requirements, sustain staffing requirements, and equip units with resources needed to support their missions. Schuyler County MRC received a Tier 1 award in the amount of $25,000.
“COVID brought us many things as problems, but the silver lining was the expansion and empowerment of the Medical Reserve Corps here in Schuyler County,” said Interim Public Health Director Dr. Nancy King. “These thoughtful, kind, and very talented people helped us all throughout the pandemic and are still active today. We want our wonderful volunteers to gain new skills and we are hoping more community members will join – this grant will help.”
The MRC is a national network of volunteers, organized locally to improve the health and safety of their communities. The MRC network comprises approximately 200,000 volunteers in roughly 800 community-based units located throughout the United States and its territories. During the 2020 COVID-19 response, MRC volunteers contributed approximately 840,000 hours of service, resulting in a workforce savings of nearly $24 million. Currently, the MRC reports approximately 3 million volunteer hours to support COVID-19 local response efforts, and the numbers continue to grow.
According to NACCHO’s 2020 Network Profile of the Medical Reserve Corps, more than half of units (63%) expressed that additional unit funding was their greatest need. Funding for these awards comes through the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and is a direct result of NACCHO’s advocacy work to expand support for the Medical Reserve Corps.
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