It should be comforting to know that hundreds of residents of Cape Ann are ready to pitch in at a moment's notice in case of a disaster.

The Medical Reserve Corps, explained Margaret Whittaker, the North Shore Cape Ann Emergency Preparedness coordinator, is a group of medical and nonmedical persons who have agreed to volunteer for duty if an emergency occurs.

"These are people who can help out on a range of activities, from flu to hurricanes," Whittaker said. Members' professions range from doctors, nurses and veterinarians to insurance brokers and stay-at-home moms. "Anyone who wants to be involved in emergency preparedness and has a few hours to dedicate can join," she said. About 350 local residents are on the MRC list. Volunteers are commonly notified by e-mail when participation in an event is needed, and if they are available, volunteers are given instructions regarding where to report.

Part of a the larger North Shore Cape Ann Medical Reserve Corps, Gloucester's group, like the 700 to 800 other such units across the country, was created after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. "These started in reaction to 9/11, because they did not have enough manpower to manage the scope of that disaster," Whittaker said.

The local Medical Reserve Corps has been activated twice since its inception, once after a fire at an elder-care facility, and again after the Mother's Day flooding in 2006. In these instances, Corps members helped shelter the displaced individuals.

The Corps includes medical personnel, but for each medical member of the Corps, there needs to be at least two administrative helpers to support services such as triage and to ensure that paperwork is completed, Whittaker said. These volunteers can greet people, help with forms, serve food and water, and in general, "guide people through clinics and clear the path before the doctor gets to patients." Whittaker added that the Corps is especially in need of members who can speak Spanish and Portuguese, so "anyone who can do some translating could be very helpful."

There are eight core competencies that are expected of each volunteer, she continued, and "a whole range of activities people could do." There are two training sessions that concentrate on teaching participants the federal "lingo" of disaster response, and another two on incident management systems ("vocabulary lessons," says Whittaker). In addition, there is an overview of the role of the Medical Reserve Corps, and behavioral health training, which Whittaker referred to as "psychological first aid." Training sessions for volunteers are held locally and usually last 1¬½ hours.

The Corps also recommends training in physical first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation, and provides information about bioterrorist agents such as anthrax. "That's the one we've been planning for, but this covers anything that can be launched at us that would have an immediate effect," Whittaker said.

Another important training session refers to pandemic flu awareness, and understanding how the district would respond to an outbreak. Whittaker expects to convene the Corps this fall to ensure that flu vaccinations are dispersed on schedule. This year, two vaccines will be administered to at-risk persons, one for seasonal flu, and another to prevent the H1N1 (swine flu) strain. Flu clinics are expected to be very busy, so Corps members will be called upon to assist with the operation of these events, both by delivering the vaccine and by participating in a variety of other clinic tasks.

Nearly two-thirds of the local and national Corps is comprised of registered nurses (RNs) and licensed practical nurses (LPNs), which "will be quite a valuable asset in terms of giving vaccines," Whittaker confirmed. However, non-medical volunteers are strongly encouraged to register as there is a great need for help in administrative and support positions.

For more information about the Medical Reserve Corps or to register as a volunteer, please visit https://www.nscalert.org/Gloucester/ or call Margaret Whitaker at the Gloucester Health Department at 978-281-9771.

This article is part of a regular health education series provided by the Gloucester Health Department and Addison Gilbert Hospital.