KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, LouisianaMedical Reserve Corps seeks volunteers

Medical Reserve Corps seeks volunteers

By Theresa Schmidt

In a hurricane or pandemic flu, medical volunteers could play a key role providing emergency health care and first aid. Calcasieu Parish now has its own medical corps for such emergencies and they are looking for volunteers.

Hurricane Rita helped to identify a number of ways to improve and better coordinate the delivery of emergency services in a disaster. One important such service is medical care and having the people who can deliver such care when and where it's needed.

That's why the Calcasieu Medical Reserve Corps has been created. It's doctors, nurses and others as well as non-medical volunteers who all make it work. Corps spokesman Angela Jouett says having volunteers pre-certified will be a huge advantage in an emergency.  "In a disaster you have a lot of spontaneous volunteers that come aboard, so we would be able to get them credentials and get them to work as soon as possible. The big thing we try to do now is get everyone pre-credentialed to be a volunteer because that way we can check their background, their medical license, and have them ready to go in case something does happen."

 Corps volunteers are not all waiting for a disaster to serve the community. Many have helped with flu shot clinics around the area. Though Jouett says a terrorist attack or flu pandemic are other situations where the medical corps could one day fill a vital role. "If something bad was to happen in the world in which we live, it would be really important for us to have this backup. Just for example the hurricanes or a terrorist attack. It would be very vital to have as many resources as we can have in our grip to help."

She says they held a mass vaccination in October during which they gave 2000 shots. It served as a drill. "Just in case to see, if there were a pandemic flu, how it would be handled and how many people could be vaccinated an hour." Besides preparing for disasters, the corps is also helping to provide community health education on topics ranging from safety belt use to safe sleeping for infants.

Anyone interested in volunteering with the Calcasieu  Medical Reserve Corps may call 475-3217 for more information. As well the corps will provide flu shots to citizens at its last clinic this year. It's from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. Friday, December 21 at the Multi-purpose Center at 2001 Moeling street. For more information on the medical corps  click here.