Tippecanoe County Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)

The Tippecanoe County Medical Reserve Corps is a unit in Indiana that has been formed to assist the public health community. This unit will assist with major public health emergencies, natural and man-made and to help in non-emergency situations such as assisting with vaccination clinics, community disaster exercises, and public health education. The role of public health has changed and to enhance Tippecanoe County’s emergency preparedness and planning we will need a variety and a diverse group of people to be able to respond to these situations. The MRC unit is housed out of the Tippecanoe County Health Department.

State Collaboration

The Tippecanoe County MRC is under the leadership of the Indiana MRC Network, in collaboration with the Indiana State Department of Health. The MRC is a national network of local groups of volunteers committed to improving the public health, emergency response, and resiliency of their communities. This national network is sponsored throughout the country by the Office of the US Surgeon General and is housed in the Division of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps.

Lesson From Disaster

Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, many medical and healthcare volunteers sought to respond to the disaster, but were turned away because their skills were not readily identifiable. It became clear to the nation that coordinated training, credentialing, and support were necessary in order to prepare for emergency response at all scales.

The United States Secretary of Health and Human Services officially launched the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) in July 2002 to support those health and medical needs. While created nationally, the MRC is a network of local groups, meeting the specific needs of their communities.

The MRC is dedicated to the pre-identification, advance preparation and credentialing of local health and non-health professionals to respond in large-scale medical or public health emergencies such as disasters, disease pandemics or acts of terrorism and other vital public health activities.

How to Volunteer

Qualifications

  • Minimum of 18 years of age
  • Must speak and understand English
  • No medical background required

What Will be Expected of You

How to get Started

Please register as a member of the Indiana MRC Organization and as a part of the Tippecanoe County unit. Once your profile shows as 100% complete, and you are cleared by the MRC, you will be able to volunteer as a part of the Corps.

Already a Volunteer

You can view your SERVIN profile at any time. If you would like to volunteer with MRC but live outside of Tippecanoe County, please visit the National Office of the Civilian Volunteer’s website and search for the unit in your jurisdiction.

Training

  • Basic Training

    • Already Completed FEMA Courses

    Many workplaces, especially in the emergency response and healthcare field, require that employees complete the FEMA IS-100 and FEMA IS-700. If you have previously completed these courses, you do need to re-take them; you may upload your certificates to the SERV-IN profile.

    If you have misplaced your certificates, you can retrieve them from FEMA by completing a Transcript Request Form (PDF) and faxing it directly to FEMA.