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Coordinating: Action Steps Checklist

The checklist of possible action steps below follows the basic outline of this particular technical assistance topic. It is important to remember that these are only suggestions. They serve as a quick reference guide to stimulate your thoughts of the complexities you may face in your Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) unit. You may choose to follow a different approach. If so, the Office of the Civilian Volunteer Medical Reserve Corps welcomes your best practices.

A Partnering Primer

Use your knowledge of building relationships to establish working relationships with community partners.
Identify the areas in partnering that are typically overwhelming. Strengthen these areas through practice.

Understanding Your System

Create a chart showing all the potential individuals or groups with whom your MRC might partner.
Ask others to help complete the chart and brainstorm with you. Be as inclusive as possible.

Establishing and Sustaining Contact

List your most significant or likely partnering prospects.
Make telephone calls and set up appointments for preliminary discussions. Remember, you only want to discuss the possibility of working together. Neither party has to agree to anything beyond a conversation.
Be persistent. People often are busy, and it may take time for them to understand how they might benefit from partnering with the MRC.
Maintain ongoing communication and welcome future partnering possibilities.

Identifying Needs and Negotiating Differences

Clarify what you can offer your partner and what you would like in return.
Be flexible if it is likely to benefit both parties in the long run.
Agree to less than you might have hoped for if you see a chance to gain more in the future as the partnership develops.
Follow up conversations with letters outlining your understanding of the agreement.
Ask partners for letters of intent once you have reached a consensus, explaining that these letters help with other fundraising and networking.

Resolving Conflicts

Approach conflicts head-on, rather than avoiding them.
- Nothing produces more anxiety and mistrust than a conflict that all involved are aware of but do not resolve.
Let the resolution unfold provided that constructive discussions are occurring.
- Premature resolutions typically indicate that one party has given in or that both sides want to resolve the conflict before reaching an agreement. This postpones resolution and may foster bitterness and mistrust.
Use a neutral mediator if a stalemate occurs; sometimes it helps to have an outside point of view.

Optimizing Shared Resources

Be aware of the resources in your network of partners and seek opportunities to share them when possible.
- Often, partners have surpluses that can be redistributed easily and willingly once there is a network of open communication, goodwill, and trust in the community.

Developing a Community Network

Build a network that fosters communication with key stakeholders in your community: response partners, local government officials, community champions, neighborhood representatives, etc.

Possible Points of Contact

Work with your local Citizen Corps council and with other volunteer-based organizations.
Maintain open communication with public health, medical, and emergency response organizations in your area.
- These might include public health departments, EMS agencies, hospitals, emergency management agencies, fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs). Networks devoted to state wide or regional health, medical and/or emergency management efforts also may provide important linkages.
Seek local government officials, other individuals, or corporations that can serve as community champions.
Approach faith-based organizations, groups that work with the elderly or disabled, agencies that work with non-English-speaking populations, neighborhood representatives, etc.
Contact representatives of Federal-level programs such as Metropolitan Medical Response System (MMRS), Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), and National Disaster Medical System (NDMS) when appropriate.

Developing Shared Missions and Objectives

Identify shared missions, complementary or similar activities, and needs for supplementary services that your MRC might provide.
Identify overlaps that might signal unnecessary duplication of services or perceived competition for resources.
Leverage common resources when possible, particularly when developing community objectives.

Avoiding Political Feuds

Avoid conflicts between two or more of your network partners, but maintain contact.
- Your job is to be a cooperative group member, not a mediator.
Remember that a realistic history of community conflicts that may be longstanding. They can take time to be resolved, and some of them may remain unresolved.
Lead other partners by demonstrating your commitment to a larger vision and mission

Non-Governmental Partners

Approach non-governmental organizations (NGOs) whose mission might overlap with or complement your MRC.
Determine if there are any businesses in your community that may support your MRC (e.g., pharmacies, transportation facilities, health and medical supply companies, restaurants, food suppliers, and printing companies).

Working With Response Partners to Understand Risks, Needs, and Resources

Cooperate with local response partners to conduct a risk and needs assessment that extends your first assessment.
Revisit your assessment periodically, and ensure that it remains an ongoing part of your community planning efforts.

Assessing Local Risks and Needs

Identify the status and resolution of your recognized risk or problem. Allow your plan to logically connect start and end points.
Be realistic about your proposed solution.
Consider the most likely risks in your area and the most likely available resources.
Examine your community’s past experiences. What has been successful and unsuccessful? What can be replicated and what needs improvement?
Start with the most important risks and use what you learn from these successes to expand your scope of response gradually.
Track the method or procedure used for your assessment process to avoid reinventing it in the future.
Review any risk assessments previously conducted by organizations in your community, such as those included in your community’s emergency operations plan or hazard mitigation plan.
Review capability assessments conducted by hospitals, public health agencies, and other healthcare institutions in your community to determine if there are gaps or limitations that your MRC unit can address.
Use existing assessment instruments to measure relevance to your MRC’s vision.

Planning and Resource Sharing

Include a concise description of your community’s risk and needs assessment results in your MRC utilization plan.
Outline existing benefits that address these risks or problems, including what is needed to supplement them.
- Note the structure of the current emergency and public health response system and capabilities in your community and state (including plans for medical triage, medical evacuation, backup referrals to other health facilities, alternatives for additional bed capacity and staffing, quarantine and decontamination measures, evidence preservation, etc.).
Outline the contributions made by your MRC volunteers. If possible, include individual volunteers, their expertise, and an organizational chart of your MRC unit that illustrates its chain of command.
Designate clear roles and responsibilities for all response partners, including a system for communicating and decisionmaking.
- Clearly state any legal or professional practice restrictions governing the participation of your MRC volunteers. Ensure your volunteers understand these distinctions prior to their utilization.
Specify methods for transporting MRC volunteers to and from staging areas and emergency incidents.
Describe the processes and mechanisms related to voluntary out-of-area deployments for MRC volunteers.
Provide an inventory of available supplies and equipment, their locations, and how to obtain access.
List key community leaders and organizations, including complete contact information.
Agree on a clear procedure for activating your local MRC unit, including the names/titles of individuals with the authority to activate.
- Learn the existing communication, command, or deployment systems of your response partners.
Develop a comprehensive communications plan with backup (including both a unified communication system and redundant systems, such as amateur radio operators).
Devise a method for evaluating the effectiveness of the utilization plan—in particular, its utilization of MRC volunteers.

Communicating During and After an Incident

Understand the communications role and responsibilities of the MRC unit during an emergency or engagement that might utilize MRC volunteers.
Be prepared to stand by—at times, the MRC’s most important role may offer the security of backup support. Similar to a safety net, your backup may not always be used.
Conduct a thorough after-action review following each incident, regardless of whether MRC volunteers were utilized. Clarify what was successful and unsuccessful.

Identifying Activities During Non-emergency Periods

Maintain ongoing planning efforts with response partners. Establish periodic reviews to update your utilization plan as necessary.
Expand the scope of your network by reaching partners who might utilize MRC volunteers during non-emergency periods.

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Last Updated on 12/12/2007