Massachusetts System for
Advance Registration (MSAR) is a statewide, secure database of pre-credentialed health care professionals who are interested
in volunteering their services in the event of a public health emergency that has been declared by a state agency or the governor.
Connect and Serve is the statewide volunteer web portal that connects citizens
with volunteer organizations in their communities. Connect and Serve is the Commonwealth's initiative to increase volunteering
in Massachusetts.
The Local Public Health Institute of Massachusetts was created in April 2005.
Its focus is emergency preparedness training for the diverse local public health workforce in the Commonwealth: health officers
and agents, sanitarians, public health nurses, board members, and other local staff and volunteers.
Department of Homeland Security's "Be
Ready" Recommendations—www.ready.gov
DOJ Emergency Preparedness Manual—Find
information on emergency planning and about DOJ's response to the terrorist attacks, including AG Statements, Legal Documents,
and Victim Compensation—www.usdoj.gov/jmd/ps/dojepm.htm
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)—www.fema.gov
The National System of Centers for Public
Health Preparedness established by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention—www.bt.cdc.gov/training/cphp/
MRC-TRAIN, ATTENTION- ALL MEMBERS and Future Members!! What
is the importance of MRC-Train? Well, it gives us a chance to screen and review hundreds of courses on public health and emergency
preparedness from many sources from across the country, narrowing down the list to a few that are related to being a member
of the medical reserve corps.
If you go to the site and create an account entering
Wachusett MRC as your organization, (free registration and does not ask for anything more that what you would find in a phone
book) and then go to 'Courses' you will see at the bottom of the list 'Training Plan'. When you open this up you should
see the Wachusett MRC Training Plan. Click on this and it will give you a list under topics that line up with the three domains
for MRC competencies. All of the courses are free and many are from the University of Minnesota and the University of
Albany, which are two excellent resources for information. But many of the courses chosen are also authored by other
MRC groups and worth a review.
Once you sign in, a record will be forwarded to Wachusett
MRC so that you will get credit for your efforts.