The St. Mary’s County Health Department has partnered with Assisted Management Solutions and Data Research Group to launch the St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps.
The Corps is a new opportunity for community members to develop skills in public health emergency preparedness and response, explore their interests in a public health career, and give back to their community as a public service volunteer.
“For many generations, our exceptional community has been one in which neighbors pitch in to help neighbors,” St. Mary’s County Health Officer Dr. Meena Brewster said in a news release. “The new local Public Health Corps builds upon this spirit by giving us a way to get trained and ready for future public health needs while also developing a pipeline for our own local healthcare and public health workforce. The St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps is about jobs development, public service and community resiliency.”
Assisted Management Solutions and Data Research Group has developed a technology platform to support the St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps.
“It has been a pleasure working with the SMCHD team on this development effort,” Assisted Management Solutions President Lisa Gregory said in the release. “SMCHD staff have demonstrated an extraordinary commitment to this project and we hope community members wishing to volunteer or engage in the health profession will find this new platform user-friendly and beneficial.”
According to the St. Mary’s health department website, The Medical Reserve Corps was created after 9/11 “due to a lack of vetting of medical personnel. Many individuals who offered to help in the aftermath were turned away because their credentials and backgrounds could not be verified quickly enough. Today, the MRC Network consists of dedicated responders ready to volunteer their skills, expertise, and time to support government agencies like SMCHD and assist first responders in emergencies.”
It added that the St. Mary’s County Health Department “organized the first local unit of the MRC, the St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic,” and added that “many of the people who volunteered their time and skills to the agency during that time became valued members of the COVID-19 response staff full-time, and others continue to volunteer today.”
Community members can register as volunteers and begin learning and contributing to their county.
The health department will offer training opportunities to volunteers to develop their skills in topics such as emergency preparedness and response and will mobilize volunteers to assist local public health needs, including for special events or community emergencies.
A technology portal tracks training and service hours completed by Public Health Corps members, includes in-app license (certification) and skills verification, is compatible with smartphones and tablets and has an easy sign-up and communication process.
To register for the St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps, volunteers must be at least 18 years old. No medical experience is necessary, though there are specific volunteer categories for volunteers who have different types of clinical training and free training will be provided through the technology platform and in-person. Work is volunteer-hour eligible.
For more information about the St. Mary’s County Public Health Corps, go to www.smchd.org/phc.
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