220342 Community Vaccination: Engaging Medical Reserve Corps Volunteers

Monday, November 8, 2010

SAM Schaffzin, MPA , Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps, U.S. Public Health Service, Rockville, MD
Local health departments may encounter staffing, logistical, and operational challenges when planning to vaccinate their communities. Utilizing Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) volunteers in vaccination efforts can benefit communities not only by increasing staffing but also by fostering community resiliency, strengthening partnerships, and engaging community members in an active way. MRC volunteers can play an integral part in carrying out public health initiatives beyond their well-known preparedness and response roles. The mission of the MRC is to engage volunteers to strengthen public health, emergency response and community resiliency. MRC units are community-based, and MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources. MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists. Many community members - interpreters, chaplains, office workers, legal advisers, and others - also fill key MRC volunteer positions. More than 75 percent of MRC units focus on supporting daily public health initiatives in addition to preparedness and response activities. This session will demonstrate how MRC units can be involved in vaccination campaigns. Presenters will highlight examples of their participation in community vaccination initiatives against novel H1N1 influenza A virus in 2009/2010.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Protection of the public in relation to communicable diseases including prevention or control

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the session, participants will be able to: (1) Strengthen the local public health infrastructure by forming partnerships with existing Medical Reserve Corps units and/or starting new units in areas where there is not currently an MRC presence. (2) Plan a vaccination campaigns in which MRC volunteers are utilized for staffing, including in both provision of shots and for administration needs. (3) Engage MRC volunteers in other public health initiatives, including staffing special needs shelters, health screenings, epidemiological surveillance activities, and community events.

Keywords: School-Based Programs, Community

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Lieutenant Samuel Schaffzin serves as a Program Officer for the Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps (OCVMRC) in the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General. He is responsible for helping to coordinate programmatic and operational activities in support of MRC units nationwide and conducts national level outreach efforts on behalf of the OCVMRC. Previously, LT Schaffzin served as the National Technical Assistance Coordinator for the OCVMRC. In this role, he coordinated the outreach and sustainability efforts of the 10 Regional Technical Assistance Coordinators working in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) regions. He also served as the MRC Regional Coordinator for DHHS Region III (DE, MD, PA, VA, WV, DC) by providing ongoing technical assistance and outreach to developing and existing MRC units. Before joining the OCVMRC, LT Schaffzin worked for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross as Disaster Health and Mental Health Services Coordinator. He has additional experience in program development, grant writing, health advocacy, and health promotion. LT Schaffzin holds a Bachelors degree from Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ, and an M.P.A. in Health Policy and Management from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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