Kern Medical Reserve Corps

The Kern Medical Reserve Corps (KMRC) was founded in 2006 through Kern County Department of Public Health Services to coordinate the efforts of volunteers with medical and non-medical backgrounds to respond in the event of an emergency incident throughout Kern County. Start your membership today by registering on the Disaster Healthcare Volunteer (DHV) web page. For more information regarding KMRC please call 661-321-3000 for assistance.

Medical Reserve Corps (MRC)

Purpose – to develop teams of medical, non-medical and mental health volunteers who are pre-screened, pre-credentialed and pre-trained to effectively augment healthcare facilities and workers in their local communities

Disaster Healthcare Volunteers Of California (DHV)

What is it?
A secure database of disaster volunteers nationwide

Who should register on it?
All KMRC members. In order to become an active KMRC member, you must be registered on the DHV.

What are the benefits of registering on the DHV?

• This database will be used to activate and schedule KMRC members to disaster/emergency service
• Medical licenses are verified on a daily basis
• Members can indicate if they would like to be deployed outside Kern County and/or outside California

How do I register on it?

• www.healthcarevolunteers.ca.gov
• Set up your personal account
• Check “yes” to affiliate with MRC. Check “yes” to affiliate with KMRC.
• Indicate your deployment preference – Kern County only, outside Kern County and/or outside California

What do I do after I register on the DHV?

• Respond as soon as you can to messages you receive from the DHV
• Update your account as your personal information (i.e. contact info) changes

KMRC volunteers are encouraged to participate in the trainings below to ensure they are ready to deploy to local, state or federal requests for assistance.

Volunteers Building Strong, Healthy, and Prepared Communities

In any disastrous event, local healthcare resources may be overwhelmed and additional medical, non-medical and mental health volunteers will be needed.

KMRC volunteers can play a crucial role in making this happen by being part of a pre-identified, pre-credentialed and pre-trained team of potential responders.

KMRC is a unit of the national Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). KMRC is sponsored by the Kern County Department of Public Health. In an official local disaster or emergency, KMRC volunteers will be activated under the Kern County Emergency Operations Plan.

Benefits of KMRC Membership

• Be part of a volunteer team that can be called to service efficiently to help our communities recover as quickly as possible
• Reduce injuries, save lives
• Be trained in disaster response

KRMC Member

• DHV Registration
• KMRC Orientation (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• IS-100.b Introduction to the Incident Command System

Core Training

• Kern County Emergency Operations Center (EOC) & Emergency Communications Center (ECC) tour (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• SEMS/NIMS Introductory Class (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• First Aid/CPR trained to your appropriate level (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)

Red Star Member – Eligible for local deployment

• Psychological First Aid (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• START Triage (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• IS-700.a National Incident Management System (NIMS) An Introduction

White Star Member – Eligible for state deployment

• IS-200.b ICS for Single Resource and Initial Action Incidents
• IS-800.b National Response Framework, An Introduction

Blue Star Member – Eligible for federal deployment

• Homeland Security Exercise and Evaluation Program (HSEEP) Training (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• ICS-300 Intermediate ICS for Expanding Incidents (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• ICS-400 Advanced ICS (contact KMRC Coordinator for details)
• IS-102.c Preparing for Federal Disaster Operations: FEMA Response Partners

Meeting Schedule
To be determined

If you are a new member please arrive at 10:00 AM. Meeting starts at 10:30 AM for current members.

For information please contact:

• Chris Parks: Parksc@kerncounty.com
• Tori Yip: toriy@kerncounty.com

FAQs

How do I join?
Register online at DHV Registration Page

Who can join?

• Members must be 18 years of age or older
• Medical (licensed and non-licensed), non-medical and mental health personnel

What will my obligation be?

• Attend New Member Orientation to get a photo ID, sign paperwork so you can be covered by Workers’ Comp at an official KMRC training or if activated to a disaster/emergency and learn disaster response skills
• Follow KMRC protocols and KMRC Code of Conduct (see KMRC Handbook for details)

Can I join if I live and/or work outside Bakersfield?
Yes! Every city/town in Kern County needs its own KMRC Team! Our goal is to have members throughout Kern County.

What will I do in an emergency?
No one will be asked to work outside the scope of his/her training or license. Medical volunteers may be asked to perform triage, treatment, mass vaccinations, first aid, or work in hospitals, clinics, shelters or Alternate Care Sites. Non-medical members may be asked to do clerical work, crowd control, supplies, computers, safety/traffic, translation or a variety of support functions. Mental health professionals may be asked to provide disaster critical incident stress management support.

Do I have to work at a disaster if I’m called?
No. Your family and job come first. You can accept or refuse any disaster volunteer assignment.

Can I be called to disasters outside Kern County? Outside California?
Yes, if you want to. The choice is always yours.

How will medical licenses be checked?
After registering with Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California (DHV), the DHV system verifies the status on a daily basis of those who possess medical licenses.

How will I be called to work at a local disaster?
After joining, all KMRC members will be directed to register on the Disaster Healthcare Volunteers of California (DHV) website. This website will send messages about disasters to all KMRC members. Assignments will be described and KMRC members will be given directions to respond if they can accept an assignment, if they cannot accept an assignment, or if they need more information. After members accept an assignment, they will be given directions about where to report, when to report, and what their assignment will be.

How do I learn disaster response techniques?

• Attend KMRC trainings
• Participate in KMRC drills and exercises
• Take online training classes (see Training Opportunities page)

Kern County Health Care Coalition

Entities that sign the PPA are asked to participate in KCHCC. The group meets quarterly to plan for coordinated emergency responses. By actively participating in KCHCC, members benefit from shared information and resources, local training, drills and exercises for staff education and enrollment in the California Health Alert Network (CAHAN).

Mission Statement

The mission of Kern County Health Care Coalition (KCHCC) is to bring local public, private, and non-profit organizations together for the purpose of collaborative disaster medical health planning and training. Collaterally, grant-funding streams that include the Public Health Emergency Preparedness Program (PHEP), CDC (bioterrorism and pan flu), Homeland Security, Regional Disaster Medical Health, and the Hospital Preparedness Program (HPP), are represented in this venue to promote efficiency through inter-disciplinary coordination.

Return on Investment

The Kern County Health Care Coalition (KCHCC) invites you to join us. Membership includes many valuable elements that will assist your agency in preparedness efforts. In addition to your participation, we place a high value on coalition members’ benefits which include, but are not limited to the following:

• Support prior to, during, and after incidents of significance.
• Assistance with facility Preparedness Assessments and Hazard Vulnerability Assessment Plans.
• Assistance with implementing and review of Emergency Operation Plans.
• Opportunity to network.
• Provision of an information sharing environment wherein like-agencies are able to share best practices/lessons learned.
• Support actions that promote more efficient use of resources during exercises and actual events through coordinated emergency preparedness and response.
• Assistance with understanding requirements and regulations from (CMS) Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Emergency Preparedness Final Rule as they apply to specific facilities and operations.
• Eligibility for membership in ReddiNet a web-based emergency medical communications data system that monitors and reports hospital, patient, and emergency event status that also allows for resource requests to be placed in real time during a disaster event.

Who should attend KCHCC Meetings?

Decision makers from public, private, and non-profit organization participants with defining roles and responsibilities with internal and collaborative disaster medical health planning, training, and execution. It is also essential that coalition members with access to ReddiNet, and authorization for the release and request of information as well as coalition member facility resources.

Partner Participation Agreement

2025 Quarterly Schedule

KCHCC Flyer

Please join us at:

Kern County Office of Emergency Services
2601 Panorama Drive, Bakersfield, CA 93306

2000 K. Street, Bakersfield, CA 93301

Contact

For more information or to get involved, contact the following:

Juan Vega, Jr
(661) 868-1212
vegaj@kerncounty.com

Sahan Yagmur
(661) 868-0448
yagmurs@kerncounty.com

Andrew Mattas
(661) 868-5201
mattasa@kerncounty.com