Oregon AmeriCorps*VISTA/ Medical Reserve Corps and Public Health Accreditation Partnership Project is a statewide AmeriCorps*VISTA program administered through the Oregon Public Health Division (Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program). This project places AmeriCorps*VISTA members throughout Oregon in selected Medical Reserve Corps Units or in Local Health Departments. The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) program in Oregon currently has 14 units and over 1,400 Licensed Health Professional Volunteers, mostly housed in local health departments or in an non-profit organization (hospital/clinic or a medical society). The mission of the MRC Program is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers. The MRC Program is a national program, sponsored by the US Surgeon General's Office and includes over 936 MRC units in the US and US territories with over 210,440 MRC volunteers. VISTA members on our team also work on projects such as Project Connect and Public Health Accreditation.
All of the VISTA members will go through an intensive training program that includes current public health information, volunteer management, quality improvement, strategic planning, leadership, sustainable resource development, healthy and life-skills management and an overview of the MRC program, Public Health Accreditation and the Oregon Public Health Division. VISTA members serve as volunteer coordinators with local Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) units or in Local Health Departments and focus on indirect service activities such as capacity-building, volunteer management, strategic planning, community outreach and planning, training development, marketing strategies and sustainable resource development.
For more information, please contact
Akiko Berkman, Project Director
