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2005 Hurricane Response and Recovery Effort

More than 50,000 people nationwide volunteered to help their fellow Americans as members of the MRC. Many of these public health and medical professionals and others without health backgrounds cared for the victims and evacuees from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Some were deployed on missions to the disaster areas with their state agencies, the American Red Cross, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Even more remained home to help those who have fled to their state, teaching emergency preparedness to neighbors, filling in for others who were deployed to the Gulf region, raising funds for those who have lost everything, and recruiting more medical professionals who can be credentialed, trained, and prepared for future disasters in their hometowns or elsewhere.

These dedicated and determined volunteers are members of more than 400 MRC units in 49 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam. These units were primarily designed to strengthen their local public health infrastructures and improve the emergency response capabilities of their communities. However, they were called on by the the U.S. Surgeon General to serve as an auxiliary component of the U.S. Public Health Service and to help identify MRC members who would be willing and able to provide care outside their local area when our nation needs help.

As of October 3, 2005, the mission assignments for the MRC at both ARC and HHS have mostly been met. Therefore, unless the needs change drastically, we will no longer be asking you to develop rosters or have your MRC members submit applications to ARC. Any new MRC-ARC applications received will not be processed. MRC members who have submitted applications to ARC and indicated an availability date beyond October 9, 2005, will not be needed; we hope to accommodate the others and will notify them soon of their status. Further national-level activations with HHS are not expected. Both the MRC-ARC and MRC-HHS liaison desks are now closed. If you have any additional questions, please contact the MRC Program Office directly (301-443-4951 or MRCcontact@hhs.gov).

Related Links to Hurricane Response and Recovery Efforts

For information about HHS-wide hurricane response efforts, please see Disasters and Emergencies: Hurricanes.

USA Freedom Corps provides information for those interested in finding ways to participate in Hurricane Relief Efforts.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides key information on hurricane threats to health for volunteers. CDC also has provided the following:

To learn more about how you can become involved in relief efforts, make a donation, and more, please visit the American Red Cross.

USA.gov provides a portal of information and links related to hurricane response and recovery.

Last Updated on 8/8/2007