The Board of Health is once again looking to bolster its volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, which joins with Caritas Norwood Hospital next month for a drill.
The reserve corps deploys in a medical emergency, with volunteers doing everything from screening and registering patients to providing crowd control.
Following training sessions later in the month, volunteers can act as patients or staff members during a drill for a pandemic flu. During that exercise, the reserve corps will work with Caritas Norwood Hospital, which will set up an alternative care site to be used by people too sick to remain at home, but not sick enough for hospital care.
"What the hospitals are doing is forging partnerships with local communities so they can call the MRC (Medical Reserve Corps) members," Health Director Linda Shea said yesterday.
Training sessions are scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 18 at Milton Hospital, 7 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 25 at Caritas Norwood Hospital and 8 to 9 a.m. on Sept. 25 at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Needham.
The hospital, Westwood and other towns are working with the Harvard School of Public Health to develop the drill. Shea did not give specifics about the drill.
"We haven't had a pandemic flu in the United States in approximately 40 years, so there's not a lot of experience in running a facility like this," said Michael Flanagan, emergency preparedness manager for Caritas Norwood Hospital. "This will provide us with an opportunity to gain experience, to learn where we can improve plans, and develop things such as job action sheets and optimize performance should a pandemic ever strike."
Shea said Westwood will accept any volunteers looking to join the reserve corps. For new and existing members, an orientation session takes place tonight from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Senior Center, 60 Nahatan St. Members new to the corps can complete applications and existing members can confirm the information on their applications.
All members must attend an orientation to learn about the program and when the corps would be used. A second session is scheduled for Monday, from 10 to 11 a.m., also at the Senior Center.
In December, Shea said the Board of Health plans to put the Medical Reserve Corps to a test with the flu shot clinic. Scheduled for Dec. 8, the clinic will put the volunteers in an incident command system with clear chain of command to act on various tasks.
Westwood's reserve corps works with the towns of Canton, Dedham, Milton, Needham, Norwood and Wellesley to obtain grants and funding.
The Board of Health has applications to join the corps on the town's Web site, www.townhall.westwood.ma.us. The page for the Board of Health contains links for emergency preparedness and volunteer medical information, which contain the application form.
Residents of other towns should check local health departments for opportunities to volunteer, as many communities are looking to increase membership in their own Medical Reserve Corps.
Daily News staff writer Greg Duggan can be reached at 781-433-8355 or gduggan@cnc.com.
