Volunteers Building Strong, Healthy,

and Prepared Communities

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

VBMRC Mission:

The Virginia Beach Medical Reserve Corps, or VBMRC, exists to provide trained professional medical and healthcare volunteers to serve as a health care resource for the City of Virginia Beach and the surrounding areas. The VBMRC will assist the community in emergency preparedness and response, disaster preparedness education, health education, and preventive health services for the citizens of Virginia Beach.

 

Why was the Medical Reserve Corps created?

The MRC program was created after President Bush’s 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. The MRC is comprised of organized medical and public health professionals who serve as volunteers to respond to natural disasters and emergencies. These volunteers assist communities nationwide during emergencies and for ongoing efforts in public health.

The need for trained supplemental medical and public health personnel to assist with emergency operations was highlighted after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Many medical and public health professionals sought to support emergency relief efforts, but there was no organized approach to channel their efforts. The MRC program provides the structure necessary to deploy medical and public health personnel in response to an emergency, as it identifies specific, trained, credentialed personnel available and ready to respond to emergencies.

The Virginia Beach Medical Reserve Corps unit is one of over 700 units and over 150,000 volunteers that are part of the national Medical Reserve Corps. program under the direction of the Office of the U. S. Surgeon General.