Medical Reserve Corps stands ready to serve
Coordinator updates Township Committee on volunteers’ efforts
BY DAVE BENJAMIN
Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — The Manalapan Medical Reserve Corps (MRC), which was formed in the months following the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on America, has grown to 150 members.

“We have a lot of dedicated volunteers who make my job much easier,” Kim Silverstein, coordinator of the MRC and chairwoman of the Board of Health, told the Township Committee during a recent presentation.

Silverstein said the MRC began with a group of highly motivated people.

“It made me realize how many resources in town we really don’t use,” she said. “There are a lot of people who can help in a crisis without costing the township any extra money.”

Some residents became the first participants in another volunteer group, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). Members of the team learn search and rescue techniques, how to use fire extinguishers, communications and first aid, and they are involved in other necessary emergency response activities.

Over time a decision was made to become an MRC and a total of $150,000 in grants has been received and used for training and equipment, Silverstein said. She said the goal is to have 200 volunteers in the corps.

“The reason you need so many people is because you don’t know how many people will be able to help in an emergency,” she told municipal officials.

In the wake of 9/11, large-scale threats to the public health have taken on new attention.

For example, Silverstein asked officials to consider the type of effort that would be needed to conduct a large-scale inoculation. Manalapan has more than 34,000 residents.

“It’s not as easy as it sounds,” she said. “You need well over 100 or 150 people in order to do it.”

At the end of December, Manalapan’s volunteers were called upon to help search for a missing Matawan man who has Alzheimer’s disease. Several members of the group aided in the search. The man was eventually found in Rutherford, Bergen County.

Members of the group also went to Florida and Louisiana during the hurricane disasters to work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Last year volunteers participated in two “pot luck” drills in Monmouth and Middlesex counties to see how the group would work in a real situation.

The group also participated in a national MRC conference and was asked to present its model of operation. Positive feedback was received, Silverstein said.

“I spoke to the (U.S.) surgeon general several times and one of the programs the surgeon general’s office offers is called the ‘50 Schools in 50 States’ initiative To my knowledge they have not come to a school in New Jersey and I am still working on getting them to come to a school in Manalapan. That would be great for the township to have the surgeon general come to speak with our kids.”

The “50 Schools in 50 States” initiative encourages children and adolescents to make healthy choices, according to information posted on the United States Department of Health and Human Services Internet Web site.

Also on the agenda for the group was a pod point dispensing drill held in conjunction with the Office of Emergency Management, the Manalapan Police Department and the Englishtown-Manalapan First Aid Squad. The effort includes setting up satellite units, controlling vehicular traffic and getting medication to people, Silverstein said.

“We are in much better shape than a lot of towns are right now,” she said.

A new CERT training session will be held this year and about 25 people have already signed up, Silverstein said.

“The benefit of this particular organization is that there is no time commitment. Unlike joining other groups, if you want to sign up and only come out if there is a real big township emergency, that’s OK,” she said.

“For those who want to take part in planning and training and be involved in drills, it’s a great opportunity,” said Silverstein. “There are a million opportunities. It’s open to anyone on any level, medical and non-medical people.”

Preparation is under way for a mass casualty drill to be held April 2 at the Quail Hill Scout Camp off Route 33. Silverstein invited the committee members to attend the drill, make suggestions and see the group in action. She also asked for the reinstitution of an interfaith council which could be called upon to serve in an emergency.

Silverstein asked officials for a permanent location at which the group could store its equipment and supplies, and possibly use as a command center.

Committee members said they would look into the possibility of finding a place for the volunteer group to call home.