Over 60 volunteers join Kane County Medical Reserve Corps

In times of need, the Kane County Health Department has a cadre of volunteers to rely upon: the Medical Reserve Corps.

The Kane County MRC is part of a national network of volunteers, many of them medical and public health professionals, who support public health activities and augment preparedness and response efforts. During this response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, the ranks of Kane County MRC volunteers has nearly tripled to 63 active volunteers.

Volunteers are fully vetted with background and health checks on file, and an updated profile for qualifications and training status. MRC coordinator Claudia Reginato facilitates communication within the volunteer management system. Volunteers affiliated with the Kane County MRC have a sound training background and knowledge of where to find opportunities to work in the event of a public health emergency. Because of their training, they know how deployments work and they are more readily available and better prepared to respond efficiently.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kane County MRC volunteers support four different activities:

• Call Center Support- addresses questions from residents, businesses, organizations and health care providers. This activity is conducted at the Health Department's Aurora location, with all safety precautions in place.

• Case Investigation- this activity requires specific, thorough training. Case investigations are performed remotely with a county-issued phone and a computer with internet access and assigned access to specific information systems.

• Home Isolation Strike Team (HIST) - helps families under home isolation access essential items such as food and prescriptions. Arranges for deliveries or delivers the items to the doorstep.

• Isolation Monitoring- this activity entails doing follow up symptom monitoring for individuals under home isolation. Monitoring is performed remotely with a county-issued phone and a computer with internet access and assigned access to specific information systems.

If you are interested in joining the Medical Reserve Corps, fill out an application online at www.kanehealth.com/Pages/Medical-Reserve-Corps.aspx.

As of June 12, there have been 889 hours total worked since MRC activation for COVID-19 response.

Total hours worked on Call Center Support: 715 hours

Total hours worked on Case Investigation: 138 hours

Total hours worked on Home Isolation Strike Team: 13 hours

Total hours worked on Isolation Monitoring: 5.25 hours.