Pomperaug Health District Hosts Free Disaster Management Training

Pomperaug District Department of Health, the housing agency for this area’s Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit, will sponsor a free training session for current and prospective MRC volunteers Saturday, May 21, 2011 from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the Hearth at Southbury, a premier senior living facility located at 655 Main St. South, Southbury.

The Health District has secured the services of Tom Ashmore Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Woodbury and specializing in trainings, drills and exercises, with regard to disaster management, response and recovery.  The half-day event focuses on the Incident Command System (ICS), which is used extensively throughout the United States to manage Homeland Security events of all size and scope as part of the National Incident Management System (NIMS).  MRC volunteers will complete introductory level courses in both ICS and NIMS (ICS 100 and IS 700 respectively).

 NIMS is a unified national framework used by responders from different jurisdictions and disciplines to manage natural and man-made disasters, including acts of terrorism. 

The Homeland Security Presidential Directive 5 (Management of Domestic Incidents) requires federal departments and agencies to adopt NIMS in its planning efforts; Pomperaug Health District’s preparedness grant-funding (which benefits the towns of Southbury, Woodbury, and Oxford) is contingent upon its NIMS compliance.  (For mass vaccination/emergency response efforts, the town of Middlebury also falls within Pomperaug Health District’s jurisdiction.) 

In addition to its Emergency Preparedness contracts administered through the CT State Dept of Public Health, Pomperaug Health District was granted approval from the US Surgeon General’s Office last year to organize and oversee a Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit.  MRC volunteers come from all walks of life (many do not have medical backgrounds); they are asked to complete basic ICS and NIMS training as part of a core-competency training program.

There are currently 941 Medical Reserve Corps units strategically located throughout the US; each unit has its own vision, but all volunteers work toward the Surgeon General’s common goal of stronger public health, emergency response, and community resiliency. Many of Pomperaug Health District’s volunteers have assisted with seasonal flu clinics and H1N1 vaccination efforts, but the May 21 event at the Hearth is their first training session as an MRC unit. 

Pomperaug Health volunteers were offered priority registration for the upcoming training session/luncheon, but limited seating is now available to local residents who have an interest in emergency preparedness.  Public health partner agencies, such as local fire departments, ambulance squads, and long-term health care facilities also will be in attendance.

A light breakfast and buffet lunch will be provided to all participants, and ICS and NIMS certificates will be available upon successful completion of the training program(s).  To register, please call MRC Unit Leader Robin Lucas at (203) 264-9616 ext. 7.  For MRC information, please visit www.medicalreservecorps.gov.