The Michigan Health Care Volunteer Registry is Now Live!
Details on the Michigan health care volunteer registry, which is now live.
Keywords: volunteer registry
The Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), Office of Public Health Preparedness (OPHP) is pleased to announce that the web-based Michigan Volunteer Registry is now up and running and ready to accept volunteers!
The Michigan Volunteer Registry is an internet-based system that enables health care personnel and citizens to pre-register to volunteer their assistance during an emergency. The Registry assembles volunteers based on verification of their identity, credentials, and qualifications. Those interested in volunteering can securely enter their contact information on the web site. During an emergency, volunteer information will be gathered and appropriate volunteers contacted by authorized personnel. Physicians, nurses, behavioral health, emergency medical services personnel, ancillary support staff and all other individuals interested in assisting are encouraged to register.
The site, which can be accessed at www.mivolunteerregistry.org/, will be used as an initial database by the eight Medical Bio-Defense Networks in Michigan (Michigan’s emergency preparedness regions - visit www.2south.org/public/viewNews.php?NewsID=206 on the Region 2 South web site for more details on the eight Michigan emergency preparedness regions) to track individuals that are willing to provide assistance in a disaster. This site also will send email alerts to volunteers to let them know when they are needed.
In addition to collecting information on volunteers, the site also offers information on various training and exercise opportunities that may be posted from time to time on the volunteer group homepages.
If you have ever had the desire to dedicate your expertise to those in need during an emergency, then the answer is YES. Signing up does not obligate you to respond to any events, but it will streamline the process if you want to respond. Remember the response to Hurricane Katrina? This site will help better organize responses to events like Katrina.
Many people may wonder: If I work for a hospital or EMS agency where I will be needed in a disaster, should I volunteer? As indicated above, if you’ve ever experienced the desire to volunteer in an emergency, then the answer is YES. As we saw with the Katrina response which did not directly impact Michigan, there was a need for Michigan volunteers (particularly health care volunteers) at the Katrina evacuee processing center in Detroit. In addition, you can also volunteer to respond to other counties in Michigan if there is a disaster that affects other areas, but not the one you work in. Remember, you are not obligated to respond as a volunteer if your duties prevent you from doing so.
A brochure and poster for the Michigan Volunteer Registry can be accessed at the top of this page.
If you have any additional questions, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions on the registry’s web site.
Visit the web site at www.mivolunteerregistry.org/ and follow the simple directions. This process should take less than ten minutes. Each individual must register themselves on the site to become a volunteer. Each volunteer is responsible for maintaining their his/her own contact information on the site to keep it current.
If you need assistance with the Volunteer Registry, contact 866-636-6324 or help-mivolunteerregistry@michigan.gov.
Link: http://www.mivolunteerregistry.org
Last Modified:March 19, 2009