The Upper Merrimack Valley Medical Reserve Corps received notification on December 26 – over three weeks early! – that the unit’s application for the $10,000 NACCHO 2025 Operational Readiness Award was approved. NACCHO is the National Association of County & City Health Officials, which has a long-standing relationship with the MRC Program Office. We remain grateful for the continuing support and funding opportunities that NACCHO has provided us over many consecutive years.
This new receipt of funding is the highest of two available tiers. The grant will allow us to debut an advanced-level training program for up to 50 dedicated volunteers who are interested in taking on leadership roles. The plan allows for two groups of 25 each to spend a full day at the cutting-edge TILI (MRC Training, Innovation and Leadership Institute) facility in East Warwick, RI that opened in May 2024. As stated in the grant:
At least five of the stations would be appropriate for valuable new UMV MRC certifications:
- Animatronic manikins for triage and treatment
- Care of injured animals and involvement of therapy dogs
- Dynamic touch-screen to select 3D rotational views of anatomy and physiology
- Wet-lab for bleeding control, medications, and IV fluid replacement
- 270-degree 4K immersive simulation center
The complete grant application is here. Details about proposed grant activities are on pages 5 (Background) through 9 (Sustainability).
We will begin to implement the plan in early 2025, requesting member involvement and lining up activities through September. Stay tuned for details!
