Our Oklahoma MRC

All the Oklahoma Medical Reserve Corps and the health department have worked collaboratively to develop one application form, one Web site, and one orientation program. Each MRC is dedicated to strengthening their community, but working together we make Oklahoma stronger and safer.

The first MRC to develop in Oklahoma was the Tulsa Medical Reserve Corps. The Tulsa MRC began to organize immediately after receiving their grant in the fall of 2002 with Tulsa Partners as the sponsoring agency. Tulsa MRC's planning is directed by a team including Tulsa Citizens Corps and the Emergency Medical Services Authority, organized under the office of the Mayor.

The next year, three more Oklahoma organizations received grants to begin organizing an MRC. The 2003 grantees included the Oklahoma City MRC sponsored by the City of Oklahoma City and the Lawton MRC sponsored by the City of Lawton. The fourth MRC, Oklahoma MRC Nurses, was sponsored by the Oklahoma Nurses Association with the goal of recruiting and training RNs, LPNs, and nursing students on a state-wide basis. Nurses represent the largest group of healthcare professionals within the state. The Oklahoma MRC Nurses and the Oklahoma State Department of Health focus on state-wide coverage to help out our rural areas for Strategic National Stockpile volunteers and to help with surge capacity in hospitals.

In Oklahoma, the Medical Reserve Corps work closely with the existing disaster response organizations. The Oklahoma State Department of Health has not only been actively involved in participating with the MRCs, but is also developing a state database of healthcare volunteers that will track volunteer training and education. The four MRCs also work with the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management, which provides photo identification badges and processes the Oklahoma Security Background Investigation for MRC volunteers.