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Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey unveils the medical reserve corps program. In the background, from left to right, are Jamie Moore, Adi Pour and Nick Steinbach of HyVee. |
Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey Friday unveiled The Metropolitan Omaha Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps as a way to prepare citizens to assist in large-scale emergencies such as bioterrorism, epidemics, or natural disasters. The announcement was made in the Durham Research Center on the UNMC campus.
“This is an exciting new opportunity for Omaha area medical professionals to help serve the citizens of Omaha and further strengthen this region’s ability to quickly and professionally respond in an emergency situation,” Fahey said.
The effort will provide some direction and order in the event of a large-scale emergency, Fahey said, citing Thursday’s train bombings in Madrid, Spain. “No city or town could be prepared for that, but this is an attempt to fill the void and have some direction for citizens,” he said.
Applications are being accepted for the volunteer corps, which will consist of retired and active medical professionals such as nurses, physicians, pharmacists, veterinarians, social workers, dentists, emergency medical technicians, counselors, therapists, psychiatrists, phlebotomists and psychologists. Organizers also are seeking such non-medical professionals as clergy, interpreters and police officers, as well as concerned citizens who are willing to volunteer their skills and knowledge.
“There is a place for everyone,” said Jamie Moore, vice president of volunteer and community services for the United Way of the Midlands, the organization that will recruit, train and manage the program.
The medical reserve corps is a partnership of the City of Omaha, United Way of the Midlands and the Citizen Corps, which is under President Bush’s Freedom Corps. The Freedom Corps was formed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Disaster preparedness is important, Moore said, because communities are often on their own and without government assistance for the first 24 to 72 hours after an emergency. “We want to have people who can hit the ground running and not have a disaster within a disaster,” she said.
The medical research corps is one of 170 operations nationwide and the first in Nebraska, Moore said. The volunteers will serve Douglas, Sarpy and Cass counties in Nebraska and Pottawattamie and Harrison counties in Iowa. In addition to disaster relief, the volunteers may also assist health departments with public health matters and education efforts.
Organizers hope to recruit and train 200 medical volunteers in the first year.
Adi Pour, Ph.D., director of the Douglas County Health Department, said the volunteer corps would play a critical role in helping health department officials effectively and efficiently respond in a large-scale emergency.
“This new program is yet another fine addition to the vast array of voluntary, medical and governmental emergency services our community has established to provide for citizens,” Fahey said.
Applications are available at area Hy-Vee stores and Great Western Bank branches. Health professionals interested in offering their services should contact Vickie Stevens at the United Way of the Midlands at 522-7970 or vstevens@uwmidlands.org. Other volunteers should contact Kirsten Pearson at 522-7940 or e-mail kpearson@uwmidlands.org.