MRCSA

Improving the health, emergency response and resiliency in our communities. 

MRCSA News //

COVID-19 Medical

Volunteer Registration

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Registration at AZ ESAR-VHP is required for all Medical Volunteers!

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https://www.esar-vhp.health.azdhs.gov

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Coming Events!

National Vaccine
Month of Action
Made to Save, a national education and grassroots campaign working to save lives by increasing access to the COVID-19 vaccines, has launched a month-long mobilization effort in support of the Department of Health & Human Services’ We Can Do This campaign to ensure as many people as possible receive at least one COVID-19 vaccine shot by July 4th. All month long, there are events and actions you can take — phone banks, text banks, and in-person events—to increase access, confidence, and equity for the COVID-19 vaccines across the country. Find an event near you here.

 

COVID-19 Resources

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COVID-19 Outbreak Tracker.  Johns Hopkins

https://gisanddata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/opsdashboard/index.html#/bda7594740fd40299423467b48e9ecf6

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World Health Organization (WHO)

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

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US DHHS National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Library of Medicine (NLM) COVID-19 Resource Page

https://www.nlm.nih.gov/index.html#Novel_Coronavirus

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MRCSA Milestones

 

  • Founded, September 30, 2002

  • One of 50 original MRC units

  • Established as a 501 (c) 3 non-profit, 2003

  • Hurricane Katrina Evacuee Shelter, August, 2005

  • Authorization of HB-2599, November, 2005

  • Measles Outbreak, 2008

  • Student MRC Established, 2008

  • H1N1 Influenza Pandemic response, 2009

  • MRC-UA established, 2010

  • Tenth Anniversary, 2012

  • Emergency Civilian Casualty Care, 2014

  • Power Outage Roundtable, 2014

  • Ebola and All-Hazards Forum, 2014

  • MRCSA State Coordinators Meeting, February 2015

  • MOU signed with AZCHER, April 2015

  • Renewed MOU with Red Cross, June, 2015

  • Power Outage Roundtable - Next Steps, November 2015

  • Southern Arizona MRC Alliance, 2016

  • Affiliation with Southern Arizona Interagency Peer Support Team, June 2017

  • Pima County LOOP Opening, March 2018

  • Pima County Mass Care Exercise, May 2018 

  • Cochise County Hepatitis A Response, Summer 2019

  • MIRT Team, October 2019

  • First Annual Brain Health Conference, November 2019

  • Public Health Team, February 2020

  • TUS Mass Casualty Exercise - March 10, 2020

  • COVID-19 Disease Investigation - March 16 - October 16, 2020

  • COVID-19 PODs December 17, 2020 - ?

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Community Partners

Arizona HOSA - Future Health Professionals

Tucson Osteopathic Medical Foundation

Pima County Medical Society

International Center for Vasectomy Reversal

Kachina Business Systems

Hilton Tucson East

Northwest Medical Center

Tucson Fire Department

Arizona Healthcare Coalition - South

Tucson Medical Center

Southern Arizona Chapter of American Red Cross

Physicians for Social Responsibility

Arizona Poison and Drug Information Center

Kindred Hospital - Tucson

Southern Arizona Interagency Peer Support Team

Integrated Community Solutions to Active Violence Events (ICSAVE)

Pima County JTED EMT Program

NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador

Southern Arizona COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster)

U of A Flying Samaritans

 

 

 

 

MRCSA welcomes licensed health and medical personnel, including nurses, nurse practitioners, veterinarians, pharmacists, doctors, chiropractors, physician assistants, behavioral health professionals and dentists. 

Volunteers with active licenses as well as retired health professionals and students in healthcare career tracks are the Medical Reserve Corps of Southern Arizona.

MRCSA Community Roles and Responsibilities

MRCSA volunteers are prepared to provide surge capacity in local disasters, including but not limited to assisting with medical and non-medical functions at mass prophylaxis and vaccination clinics; exercise and drill planning and participation; staffing call centers and phone banks; post-event incident follow-up; supporting continuity of operations for hospitals and clinics during public health emergencies; assisting community long-term recovery efforts through outreach and assistance; data collection and entry; general and post crisis education; foreign language education and interpretation; information technology support; local resource dissemination; and other logistical support at public clinics. Non-emergent activities address daily community health needs.


 

Board of Directors

The Board of Directors is responsible for the management and oversight of the non-profit corporation. They review and approve all MRCSA documents and initiatives. The Board is responsible for community outreach to ensure sustainability and recommends methods to build and grow the organization. They would also be at the forefront of any legislative action that may be required for growth or sustainability. 

Our 2021 Board of Directors:

Keith Boesen PharmD, President

Sheldon Marks MD, Vice President

Steve Nash, Treasurer

Mary Stebbins RN

Cynthia Dowdall PhD

Bruce Whitney

Harry McDermott MD

Sean Elliott MD

Lois Marecek

Mike Carter

Jenna Wild
 

Advisory Council

An Advisory Council, comprised of members of the medical community, educational institutions, and cooperating agencies and organizations, offers advice and support to the organization. Advisory board members do not vote and do not have policy making authority.

MRCSA Program Planning Team
Brainstorming with Mask

Established in 2015, the MRCSA Leadership Team has been reconstituted for 2020 as the Program Planning Team. The Team is comprised of members who are devoted to the professional growth and development of the program through training and other educational and community outreach opportunities. 

The Program Planning Team develops the training and exercise calendar which is posted on our web calendar. Click on the tab above to view the calendar.

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MRCSA Public Health Team

The Public Health Team supports the mission of the Pima County Health Department. Members have participated in back to school immunization clinics, Influenza vaccination clinics, Epidemiology case investigation and, currently, COVID-19 Points of Dispensing. 

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MRCSA Mass Incident Response Team

MIRT is a team of specialists who are trained to support local, state and federal agencies in response to a significant mass casualty incident. MIRT was founded in 2019.

Disaster Distress Hotline

CDC Managing CoVID-19 Stress

Poison Centers Resource

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https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline

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https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019- ncov/prepare/managing-stress-  anxiety.html

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https://poisonhelp.hrsa.gov/poison-centers

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From the United States and its territories, call 1-800-985-5990 to connect with a trained crisis counselor, 24/7.Spanish-speakers can call the hotline and press “2”for 24/7 bilingual support. Callers to the hotline can also connect with counselors in over 100 other languages via 3rd-party interpretation services.

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To connect with a live Disaster Distress Hotline crisis counselor 24/7 text “TalkWithUs” for English or “Hablanos” for Spanish to 66746.

Coping with COVID Vaccine Anxiety

Thanks to our partners at the University of Arizona for these resources

Coping with COVID Vaccine Anxiety -

UA Campus Health Services

https://youtu.be/E3-G1dYzZ6k

3 Minute Breathing - UArizona Life & Work Connection

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP-xhpDY1Kc

May is Mental Health Awareness Month

For more information, go to the National Alliance on Mental Illness: https://www.nami.org/Get-Involved/Awareness-Events/Mental-Health-Awareness-Month

Call 520.445.7035​