# Presentation: 675223

## Maryland Volunteer Corps

**Lisa May, Dr.P.H.**
**Director, Emergency Preparedness and Response**
**Medical Reserve Corps Conference**
**July 8, 2004**

## Mission

**To identify medical volunteers rapidly so that they may assist with a large scale emergency**

## Overview

**The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene in coordination with seven participating boards developed a volunteer database**
**Currently:  **
- Over 500 Physicians
- Over 2000 Nurses
- Over 1000 Pharmacists
- Over 300 Crisis Counselors

## Background

**The anthrax attacks of October 2001 inundated the local health departments (LHDs) with over 3,000 residents to be treated.**
**Some LHDs did not have a pharmacist on staff**
**State resources such as epidemiologists were overwhelmed as well receiving 150 to 200 phone calls per day from health care providers needing more information on anthrax. **

## Beginnings

**Upon identifying the surge capacity problem, DHMH approached the Board of Pharmacy to determine an interest in volunteering**
**Around 600 pharmacists offered their assistance**

## Legal Issues

**Two legal issues arose from the development of the Volunteer Corps.**
**Privacy**
**Liability**

## Privacy

**The Privacy issue was resolved by having the local health officer sign a form indicating the limited use of the Volunteer Corp list**

## Liability/§19-114(c)

**In 2002, Health-General Article was passed**
**Mandated the DHMH Secretary to “develop a process to license, certify or credential **_**health care practitioners**_** who may be needed to respond to a catastrophic health emergency.”**

## Liability/§19-114(f)

**MD Health-General §19-114(f)**
**Defined “Health Care Practitioner” as “any individual who is licensed, certified, or otherwise authorized under the Health Occupations Article to provide health care services”**
**Thus, only persons licensed may be credentialed by the Secretary to respond to a catastrophic health emergency.**

## Liability/EMAC

**Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EAMC)/MD Article 41, §§ 19-101 and 19-102**
**Persons licensed by other states are “deemed licensed, certified, or permitted by the state requesting assistance to render aid involving such skill to meet a declared emergency or disaster, subject to such limitations and conditions as the Governor of the requesting state may prescribe”**

## EAMC/Boards

**If DHMH needs to make an EMAC request, the Boards are still responsible for the coordination of their respective volunteers between the states**

## Participating Boards

**Physicians**
**Nursing**
**Pharmacy**
**Social Work**
**Professional Counselors**
**Psychologists**

## Certification

**A list of certified volunteers is kept and maintained by the participating boards**
**Monthly updates are made by the participating boards and sent to the coordinating officer at DHMH**

## Training

**All volunteers must complete (Phase I) training which covers**
**Possible Roles**
**Strategic National Stockpile**
**Biological Agents and Treatment**
**Liability Issues**
**Future training (Phase II & III) will be more specific to the volunteers area of expertise. **

## Volunteers

**A detailed questionnaire is completed by each volunteer**
**Information is gathered and entered into database by participating boards**

## Database

**The database includes:**
**Several types of contact information**
**Certification information**
**Agreed upon response area**
**Area of Practice**
**Employer**
**Language Skills**

## Resource Flow Chart

**Local Health Department**
**Health Care Facility**
**Local Emergency Manager, etc.**

- DHMH Emergency **Management** Coordinator

**Needs evaluated with DSPHS and others (internal and external)**

**MEMA**

- Federal Resources

- Activates other agencies

- Provides natural or intentional disaster resources/assistance

**DHMD Emergency Management Coordinator requests assistance**:

**Mental Health Disaster Coordinator**

*** Board Administrator**

**Resource Flow Chart**

- Calls to health care professionals and/or DHMH PIO notifies media

- Status reports to DHMH EM coordinator

- DHMH Staff

- Status reports to DHMH EM Coordinator

- Calls to Core Service Agencies, Board Administrations, and other credentialed volunteers

- Status Report to DHMH EM Coordinator

**Local Health Department**

- Secretary Authority to reassign LHD staff

- LHD staff assignments

- May activate MOU between LHDs

- Status reports to DHMH EM Coordinator

## Deployment of Volunteers

**All volunteers, once trained and certified receive a picture ID**
**The ID is easily identifiable to allow responders to enter the scene of an event**
**Volunteers will be contacted by either the boards or the DHMH EM coordinator and requested to respond**

## Event Specific Information

**The DHMH EM coordinator has a scripted checklist to be completed by the requestor**
**Questions/fields include:**
**Types of volunteers needed / specialty areas needed**
**Special precautions / special equipment or clothing**
**Anticipated patient load**
**Meeting Location**
**Length of time volunteers are requested to stay**

## Plans for Retention

**Quarterly, electronic news letters**
**Continuous training**
**Exercising**
**Incorporating the volunteer corps in currently scheduled exercises**

## Plans for the Future

**Interactive, secure website**
**DHMH plans to develop an interactive website that would remain secure to protect volunteer information**
**Website linked to the boards databases**
**Website would allow for instant updating and better accessibility for EM coordinators**

## CONCLUSON

**Emergency Managers can activate Health Care Volunteer resources through Local Health Officer to the DHMH EM Coordinator**
**Gail Wowk**
**(410) 767-6434**
- _[wowkg@dhmh.state.md.us](mailto:wowkg@dhmh.state.md.us)_