(Editor’s note: The author of the following item is vice president of logistics and a board member of Medical Reserve Corps-Georgia East Metro. She has a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from Roosevelt University in Chicago, a law degree from Georgia State, and a master’s of law degree from Emory University. –eeb)
By Judee Levinson
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. | Just imagine that a disaster has just happened. What will you do?
Levinson
It could have been a tornado or hurricane, a radiation emergency, a chemical spill, or a seasonal flu epidemic. Why, it could even be a Covid-19 pandemic! The local public health department, with only a few hundred employees, will be quickly overwhelmed and in dire need of surge capacity. It may take emergency responders precious time to arrive. What will you do?
When disaster strikes, the men and women of the Medical Reserve Corps-Georgia East Metro (MRC GEM) are Gwinnett, Newton, and Rockdale County’s best kept secret superheroes! These volunteers learn and practice how people should be safe in times of disaster, extend safety and security to family, friends, and neighbors, and make themselves available to help others when called upon.
MRC GEM recruits, vets, equips, and trains ordinary people…your friends, neighbors, and colleagues…maybe you???… to help address emergency situations. It’s an all-volunteer non-profit organization made up of medical professionals as well as others from every walk of life. Its members range in age from 18-year-old high school seniors to retirees, and include a number of multi-generational family groups.
MRC GEM is uniquely tailored to address the needs of the local tri-county population of over one million people. A bit of historical perspective: The unit evolved from a national network that includes hundreds of community-based units throughout the United States. In the aftermath of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks, many volunteer workers had to be turned away because there was no means of organizing and processing them so they could help. In response, the government-created Citizens Corps gave birth to the Medical Reserve Corps. Fourteen years ago, MRC GEM was established by founder and executive director, Sherwin Levinson.
MRC GEM helps prepare for disasters and strengthen community resiliency by providing support staffing when called upon. MRC GEM members train each month to learn and reinforce their skills and build collegiality. Its toolbox includes emergency first aid, psychological first aid, CPR/AED, radiation response, team building, triage, and shelter setup and operation.
In addition, it has members proficient in over 80 foreign languages and dialects, plus American Sign Language, potentially useful abilities in stressful situations. During the ongoing Covid 19 pandemic response, it has supplied over 17,000 hours of volunteer assistance, including testing, vaccination, and public education. If, instead, public health employees had been hired, those hours would have cost over $720,000! You may have met some of those volunteers when you went to get vaccinated.
So, who can wear those supercool MRC GEM T-shirts? Who can be a member of the Medical Reserve Corps? The door is open to anyone who can pass a background check and is interested in helping to build community strength.
In addition to the competing family and professional obligations, which are a fact of all our lives, burnout is a factor for volunteers as well as paid staff; therefore, MRC GEM is always looking to increase its ranks. Most training sessions are held at the East Metro Health District, 2570 Riverside Parkway, Lawrenceville, GA. 30046. Sign up to become a volunteer at mrcgem.com/join; learn more at mrcgem.com, or email membership@mrcgem.com.
And because more volunteers mean more T-shirts, and because those cool T-shirts cost us money, not to mention other supplies and equipment, all donations are gratefully acknowledged and tax-deductible, as it is a 501(c)(3) non-profit.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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