Volunteer Management
Topic Collection
July 9, 2021
Topic Collection: Volunteer Management
During large-scale disasters or extended health emergencies, healthcare facilities may need to augment their teams (including with volunteers) to continue to provide patient care or support patient care services. Protocols defining when and how volunteers will be used; preferred order of preference (e.g., staff from affiliated facilities, followed by coalition facilities, then federal / Emergency Management Assistance Compact clinical personnel, then Medical Reserve Corps, then spontaneous volunteer professionals); how appropriate volunteers will be identified and requested; how they will be credentialed and assigned; and how their work will be supervised and evaluated must be developed as part of an organization’s emergency response plan. The resources in this Topic Collection include guidance and strategies, targeted legal information, and planning templates to assist healthcare facilities with successfully incorporating volunteers into their disaster management plans. In addition, some key resources for professionals responsible for the day-to-day management of a public health/healthcare volunteer program including Medical Reserve Corps are listed that can fulfill a variety of missions depending on the need and community MRC mission capabilities.
Please refer to the Healthcare-Related Disaster Legal/ Regulatory/ Federal Policy Topic Collection for additional legal resources.
Each resource in this Topic Collection is placed into one or more of the following categories (click on the category name to be taken directly to that set of resources). Resources marked with an asterisk (*) appear in more than one category.
Must Reads
This plan describes Arizona’s approach to coordinating the credentialing, verification, recruitment, activation, notification, deployment, movement, and demobilization of volunteers using its Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) program. The plan structure and issues considered may be helpful to healthcare facilities in the development of plans to manage disaster volunteers.
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This toolkit consists of a series of fact sheets and executive overviews focused on key concepts regarding emergency response volunteers, including types of volunteers; federal and state laws governing or affecting volunteers; and volunteer registration, licensing, credentialing, and privileging.
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This document defines four key functions for Volunteer Management: Recruit, coordinate, and train volunteers; Notify, organize, assemble, and deploy volunteers; Conduct or support volunteer safety and health monitoring and surveillance; Demobilize volunteers. Although written for public health departments, some of the tasks noted are also applicable to the development of healthcare facility volunteer plans.
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The aim of this guide is to provide an overview of volunteers and liability, including: a summary of the law and liability, sources of liability protection (e.g., volunteer acts, and Good Samaritan laws), and an explanation of risk management as it relates to liability. Also included are checklists that can be tailored by volunteer organizations.
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This document is a template policy for a hospital to use to accept volunteers when its emergency plan is activated, and process their credentials when they do not have staff privileges at that hospital.
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The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Training Plan is a suggested guide for training MRC Volunteers at the local level. It presents a “menu” of options to guide MRC Unit leaders and volunteers with trainings that align with the Competencies for Disaster Medicine and Public Health.
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The resources on this webpage can help Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) members lead an MRC unit, recruit volunteers, report activities, and connect with other unit leaders.
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The authors of this short article discuss how spontaneous volunteers can be planned for and employed in the immediate aftermath of an incident. Volunteer typology and on-scene assessment/ triage models are also discussed.
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This article discusses ways to keep volunteers engaged in a program, namely: make them feel needed and appreciated; ask them to help in specific, actionable ways; inspire volunteers with the cause, not the organization; stay connected, and make sure communication channels go both ways; develop a community of volunteers; and show volunteers how they made a difference.
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This webpage describes the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) program, which provides standards and guidelines to assist states with setting up standardized volunteer databases to support public health and medical response during disasters. ESAR-VHP registries allow volunteers' identities, licenses, credentials, accreditations, and hospital privileges to be verified in advance of an emergency, facilitating more rapid deployment.
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This plan template can be tailored by emergency planners, incident commanders, and disaster volunteer groups, to help plan for and manage spontaneous volunteers. It may also be used as a general reference to guide development of a facility-specific volunteer plan.
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Education and Training
The authors from the Mississippi State University Extension created this course to supplement existing incident management training. They have pilot tested the course in Mississippi and report promising results.
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The national Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) program hosts monthly webinars on a variety of topics of interest to MRC Coordinators and others interested in volunteer management. The archived webinars cover a variety of topics including involving nursing students, recruiting and retention of volunteers, managing spontaneous volunteers, and training issues.
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Medical Reserve Corps volunteers work as units within their communities to strengthen public health, reduce vulnerability, build resilience, and improve preparedness, response and recovery capabilities. MRC units across the country are finding different ways to help their communities during COVID-19 response, including staffing call centers, drive through clinics, and more. Reach out to an MRC unit in your area to find out how you can help. Many units are currently responding, and unit leaders may or may not be able to respond to your inquiry immediately.
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This hour-long interactive training takes users through public health scenarios to learn how to: manage volunteer intake (affiliated and spontaneous); deploy volunteers based on their training and skill sets; and coordinate community public health, medical and mental/behavioral health system recovery operations.
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National Association of County and City Health Officials. (n.d.).
Deployment & Post-Deployment.
(Free registration required. Accessed 10/21/2019.)
This course teaches volunteers what to expect both during and after deployment and in various stages.
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National Association of County and City Health Officials. (n.d.).
MRC Pre-Deployment.
(Free registration required. Accessed 10/21/2019.)
This course covers a variety of activities that an MRC volunteer can do to prepare for an activation or deployment. Course activities include: Training Requirements and Resources, Preparedness Activities, Administrative Activities, and Health and Safety.
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These slides are from a webinar that provided an overview of Mission Ready Packages (MRPs) and examples of potential MRPs that MRC units could develop based on their local community response needs and the volunteer capabilities within their unit.
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The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Training Plan is a suggested guide for training MRC Volunteers at the local level. It presents a “menu” of options to guide MRC Unit leaders and volunteers with trainings that align with the Competencies for Disaster Medicine and Public Health.
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This 1.5-hour course provides an overview of public health law in emergency preparedness. Legal questions relating to the use of medical or public health volunteers during emergencies are addressed.
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This webpage includes links to resources from Massachusetts that support effective planning for safe operation of a volunteer management system based on the Incident Command System (ICS). In addition to a plan document, standard operating guide checklist, field guide, floor plan, and supply list, there is a four-part online training in how to plan for and manage a Volunteer Reception Center for spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers (SUVs).
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Incorporating Volunteers into Healthcare Disaster Response
This ASPR TRACIE tip sheet (which is part of a series) can help healthcare system planners incorporate issues related to security, volunteers, media affairs, and donations into their no-notice incident plans.
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The author examines research on spontaneous volunteerism and how to manage it.
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This document contains considerations for the use of volunteers during disasters, and may be used as a reference for developing a healthcare facility volunteer plan.
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This document defines four key functions for Volunteer Management: Recruit, coordinate, and train volunteers; Notify, organize, assemble, and deploy volunteers; Conduct or support volunteer safety and health monitoring and surveillance; Demobilize volunteers. Although written for public health departments, some of the tasks noted are also applicable to the development of healthcare facility volunteer plans.
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This template includes a range of concepts and considerations related to volunteer management and use. The authors note that in the rare event that federal responders may be deployed to assist, the procedures described in this document can be tailored to help integrate them into a healthcare organization’s response operations.
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The author synthesized expert opinion on the feasibility of developing self-sustaining volunteer emergency response programs to perform tasks associated with radiation emergencies (e.g., population monitoring) and help in other ways at hospitals, community reception areas, and other areas.
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This document summarizes the presentations and discussions from a workshop focused on identifying “the key resources, tools, and opportunities necessary to support the development of a robust, scalable, and regularly engaged disaster health volunteer workforce” to meet the anticipated needs of the future.
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This webpage includes links to several resources to help health centers apply for Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage for volunteers, including program information from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a webcast describing the process for obtaining coverage, and frequently asked questions document. (Note: Scroll down towards the bottom of the page for this section.)
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This document was developed in support of a national strategy for managing spontaneous volunteers during disasters. It includes principles of, and concept of operations for, managing spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers.
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This document defines best practices in the area of volunteer rights and responsibilities. These rights include: right to supervision, direction, and training; right to safe work environment; and right to clear expectations for volunteers.
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This article provides information on risk reduction strategies for organizations that use volunteers.
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The authors of this short article discuss how spontaneous volunteers can be planned for and employed in the immediate aftermath of an incident. Volunteer typology and on-scene assessment/ triage models are also discussed.
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This resource includes a series of questions a hospital may use to determine if and how it will use volunteer health professionals for disaster response as part of a tabletop exercise. It also includes “best practices” in response to each question that may be helpful to planners.
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This webpage describes the Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) program, which provides standards and guidelines to assist states with setting up standardized volunteer databases to support public health and medical response during disasters. ESAR-VHP registries allow volunteers' identities, licenses, credentials, accreditations, and hospital privileges to be verified in advance of an emergency, facilitating more rapid deployment.
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Disaster Medical Assistance Teams (DMATs) are an asset of the National Disaster Medical System (NDMS). DMATs are composed of professional and para-professional medical personnel, supported by pharmacists, logistical, and administrative staff that provide medical care during a disaster or other special events. The integration and use of federal personnel should be included in facility and coalition plans for staff surge capacity. Access this link for more information: https://www.phe.gov/Preparedness/responders/ndms/ndms-teams/Pages/dmat.aspx
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This document describes the Disaster Emergency Medical Personnel System (DEMPS) organized and managed by the Veterans Health Administration. DEMPS volunteers may be deployed for an internal VHA mission, or to an external location to support disaster response following a presidential disaster declaration.
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Legal Issues and Volunteers
This webpage provides information on which states have adopted the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act (UEVHPA), and which states have introduced legislation to do so. Links to the UEVHPA, a legislative information kit, and other resources are also available.
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This toolkit consists of a series of fact sheets and executive overviews focused on key concepts regarding emergency response volunteers, including types of volunteers; federal and state laws governing or affecting volunteers; and volunteer registration, licensing, credentialing, and privileging.
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This one-page quick reference guide summarizes concepts and issues pertinent to emergency volunteers. It also includes an overview of state and federal laws that provide liability coverage and/or immunity to volunteers, and notes when such protections would apply.
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This report provides an overview of the federal and state liability protections available to volunteer health professionals.
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The aim of this guide is to provide an overview of volunteers and liability, including: a summary of the law and liability, sources of liability protection (e.g., volunteer acts, and Good Samaritan laws), and an explanation of risk management as it relates to liability. Also included are checklists that can be tailored by volunteer organizations.
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The authors discuss the application of the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC) for volunteer deployment; gaps in the tort liability and workers’ compensation coverage it offers; and how the Uniform Emergency Volunteer Health Practitioners Act and other provisions address the limitations of protections under EMAC.
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This webpage provides information on the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC), a congressionally-mandated interstate mutual aid agreement that has been adopted by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Under EMAC, state assets (supplies, equipment, and/or volunteers) may be deployed to a requesting state. Reimbursement, liability, compensation, and licensure issues are also addressed. The website has links to training and education resources, as well as a document library, and information on deployable resources. The “Learn about EMAC” menu provides helpful documents for those not familiar with the agreement and process.
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This is the text of the Volunteer Protection Act, which provides volunteers of nonprofit organizations or governmental entities some liability protections for economic damages resulting from activities relating to the work of the organizations. It does not cover gross negligence, willful misconduct, recklessness, or acts committed by the volunteer while intoxicated or operating a motor vehicle. Volunteers must be licensed or certified, as required to fulfill their assigned duties. Civil actions against volunteers by the organization they work for are not precluded. It does not cover organizational entities of any type, or persons volunteering at private businesses. A declared emergency is not necessary for volunteers to receive protections under this Act. States may opt out of the Volunteer Protection Act.
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Lessons Learned
The authors surveyed members of Australian Disaster Medical Assistance Teams and identified human resource issues (such as ideal shift length and role clarification) related to their deployment that should be considered in the development of disaster volunteer plans.
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This report builds upon two previous Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Network Profile reports, highlighting the impact the MRC program has had on the nation’s health and safety
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The authors surveyed Canadian health professionals who volunteered in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake to assess the effectiveness of supports provided to them. They evaluated training strategies; safety and security supports; psychological and emotional supports; physical supports; team dynamics and effective team leaders; communication between the field and headquarters; and communication with the media. They concluded that improvements in training and provision of supports are needed to enhance volunteer effectiveness.
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This report details the successes and challenges associated with the deployment of Medical Reserve Corps volunteers during the response to Superstorm Sandy in 2012. The lessons learned related to communications are broadly applicable to the use of volunteers to support disaster response.
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The authors examined the effect of a newly-developed regional healthcare coalition (in south Central Pennsylvania) on six surge capacity-related objectives. In a two-year period, the healthcare coalition improved areas under all objectives. The authors also found that designating and training a coordinator for the state healthcare volunteer database contributed to a significant increase in volunteer registrations from the participating hospitals.
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The Volunteer First Responder (VFR) program was developed in Israel to help manage mass casualty incident triage and evacuation. The authors share lessons learned from three incidents and found that VFRs were consistently the first to arrive on the scene and significantly helped with the health response in all settings.
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The authors discuss survey findings that suggest a gender difference in readiness to deploy, as well as a correlation between positive attitudes about training and deployment. The research could be used to inform training for volunteers, as well as policies to support female disaster volunteers.
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Plans, Tools, and Templates
This plan describes Arizona’s approach to coordinating the credentialing, verification, recruitment, activation, notification, deployment, movement, and demobilization of volunteers using its Emergency System for Advance Registration of Volunteer Health Professionals (ESAR-VHP) program. The plan structure and issues considered may be helpful to healthcare facilities in the development of plans to manage disaster volunteers.
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This plan is an annex to the Monterey Operational Area Emergency Operations Plan (EOP), and establishes operational protocols for coordinating spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers, as well as affiliated volunteers for the Monterey County Operational Area.
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This detailed handbook for healthcare volunteers may be referenced by volunteer managers in the development of a similar handbook for their respective programs.
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The purpose of this document is to “provide a common operational framework, including guidelines and checklists, to guide the deployment of disaster healthcare volunteers” across operational areas in California during an emergency requiring medical resources. The deployment concepts in the manual may be helpful to volunteer managers in other states responsible for developing their own respective protocols for deployment of disaster healthcare volunteers.
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This template includes a range of concepts and considerations related to volunteer management and use. The authors note that in the rare event that federal responders may be deployed to assist, the procedures described in this document can be tailored to help integrate them into a healthcare organization’s response operations.
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This document is a template policy for a hospital to use to accept volunteers when its emergency plan is activated, and process their credentials when they do not have staff privileges at that hospital.
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This document identifies key planning and operational considerations for managing emergency volunteers in hospitals. It includes a planning checklist, templates, guidance, and resources for integrating emergency volunteers during a medical surge event.
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This document provides a tabletop exercise template to assist clinics with developing a plan to use volunteers during disasters. The guidance questions included may be referenced on their own for plan development.
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This webpage includes links to several resources to help health centers apply for Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) coverage for volunteers, including program information from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), a webcast describing the process for obtaining coverage, and frequently asked questions document. (Note: Scroll down towards the bottom of the page for this section.)
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This guide provides Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) leaders the tools to bolster their team capabilities. Tools are included under three categories: Volunteer Management, Develop Volunteer Capabilities, and Develop Unit Capabilities.
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This document lists commonly used terms and categorizes and defines them. There is a source for the definition listed at the end of every entry.
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In the event of a disaster, healthcare providers licensed in in the State of North Carolina do not need a license to volunteer, but they do have to complete this form to be considered a “temporary NC Medicaid provider.” Other states may choose to tailor this approach and/or form to their needs.
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This resource includes a series of questions a hospital may use to determine if and how it will use volunteer health professionals for disaster response as part of a tabletop exercise. It also includes “best practices” in response to each question that may be helpful to planners.
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This policy can be used as an example for hospitals interested in granting temporary privileges to volunteer medical providers to help care for patients in a surge situation.
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This plan template may be used by public health agencies or healthcare facilities to develop a Volunteer Reception Center Plan. The template includes Job Action Sheets and forms that may be used to process and credential spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers (SUVs).
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This plan template can be tailored by emergency planners, incident commanders, and disaster volunteer groups, to help plan for and manage spontaneous volunteers. It may also be used as a general reference to guide development of a facility-specific volunteer plan.
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The authors discuss survey findings that suggest a gender difference in readiness to deploy, as well as a correlation between positive attitudes about training and deployment. The research could be used to inform training for volunteers, as well as policies to support female disaster volunteers.
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Volunteer Program Management
While based on Australian disaster management principles, the information in this manual can be used by others to help develop and operationalize policies that support spontaneous volunteers during emergencies. Links to case studies from around the world are provided in an appendix.
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This detailed handbook for healthcare volunteers may be referenced by volunteer managers in the development of a similar handbook for their respective programs.
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The purpose of this document is to “provide a common operational framework, including guidelines and checklists, to guide the deployment of disaster healthcare volunteers” across operational areas in California during an emergency requiring medical resources. The deployment concepts in the manual may be helpful to volunteer managers in other states responsible for developing their own respective protocols for deployment of disaster healthcare volunteers.
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This resource describes the ISOTURE model, “a set of steps for organizations to help strengthen their volunteer programs and lead volunteers more effectively.” These steps are: Identification; Selection; Orientation; Training; Utilization; Recognition; and Evaluation and are a helpful framework for any organization developing a volunteer program.
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This quick reference describes general principles for successfully managing a volunteer program: having comprehensive volunteer management tools; ensuring that recruitment is “purposeful;” maintaining long-term volunteer engagement and consistent communication; and utilizing varied methods for volunteer acknowledgement.
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This document contains information to assist volunteer managers with developing their volunteer program, including defining a mission and vision; documenting volunteer roles and responsibilities; marketing and branding of the program; recruiting volunteers; and developing human resource policies for their volunteer program.
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This document serves as a tool for MRC unit leaders to explore emergency response missions that they are able to support, understand how to align their capabilities with emergency response plans, develop Mission Ready Packages (MRPs), and use the MRP template to train and prepare volunteers for specific emergency response roles.
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This guide provides Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) leaders the tools to bolster their team capabilities. Tools are included under three categories: Volunteer Management, Develop Volunteer Capabilities, and Develop Unit Capabilities.
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This fact sheet provides information on the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Core Competencies, organized into 4 learning paths. These core competencies define the baseline level of knowledge and skills for all MRC volunteers. A detailed training plan based on these core competencies and learning paths may be found on the NACCHO MRC webpage, as well.
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The Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) Training Plan is a suggested guide for training MRC Volunteers at the local level. It presents a “menu” of options to guide MRC Unit leaders and volunteers with trainings that align with the Competencies for Disaster Medicine and Public Health.
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National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. (n.d.).
VOAD Members.
(Accessed 5/11/2020.)
This document lists the members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NVOAD), along with a brief description of what each agency does. It may be used for partnership building among volunteer groups.
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The resources on this webpage can help Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) members lead an MRC unit, recruit volunteers, report activities, and connect with other unit leaders.
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The authors examined the effects of multi-modality training on DEMPS volunteers’ perceptions of the program. They found that “volunteers with multi-modal training who completed all 3 modes were significantly more likely to have positive attitudes about training, plan to continue as volunteers, and would recommend DEMPS to others.” This may have implications for other hospital systems developing similar programs.
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This article discusses ways to keep volunteers engaged in a program, namely: make them feel needed and appreciated; ask them to help in specific, actionable ways; inspire volunteers with the cause, not the organization; stay connected, and make sure communication channels go both ways; develop a community of volunteers; and show volunteers how they made a difference.
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Agencies and Organizations
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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response.
Medical Reserve Corps.
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