Erie County Department of Health’s Public Health Preparedness program oversees activities and planning that aim to prevent and lessen injury, disease, and premature death during emergencies or disasters such as:
- Disease outbreaks
- Fires
- Natural disasters like floods or extreme weather
- Power outages
- Hazardous material incidents
- Violent or terrorist acts such as biological attacks
Program activities include:
- MRC volunteer recruitment and training
- Provide education and training on emergency preparedness for the public
- Provide guidance and support to Erie County residents during an emergency
- Develop and update plans on how Erie County can respond to different kinds of emergencies, which include coordinating:
- Incident response and public health emergency operations
- The release of timely and critical incident information
- Medicine and supplies
- Medical services
In the event of an emergency response, program staff serve as the county’s public health representative to local, state, and federal government entities and to private organizations in the community such as hospital systems and nonprofits.
For details or questions about the program, email ecdhinfo@eriecountypa.gov.
Learn More about Public Health Preparedness
- Pennsylvania Department of Health
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Erie County, PA Emergency and Disaster Resource
Medical Reserve Corps – Membership
Volunteers with or without medical or health care experience who wish to share time & expertise are welcome to register for the Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps (MRC). Anyone wishing to volunteer in public health activities can sign up to be a volunteer with the MRC.
The Medical Reserve Corps is a national network of community-based volunteers that:
- Helps make communities stronger and healthier
- Adds to community preparedness & resilience with activities such assisting with community vaccination clinics
- Prepares for and responds to natural disasters like floods or blizzards and public health emergencies such as disease outbreaks
Examples of deployment activities may include providing rapid vaccinations in response to local outbreaks, operating first aid stations at community events, or attending/providing emergency response trainings.
The Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps serves Crawford, Erie, Forest, Venango, and Warren counties. It accepts volunteers from these counties as well.
To register:
- Visit the State Emergency Registry of Volunteers in Pennsylvania website Serv.pa.gov.
- Select “Northwest Pennsylvania MRC”
The Northwest Pennsylvania Medical Reserve Corps is overseen by the Erie County Department of Health. For details, contact mrc@eriecountypa.gov or 814-823-7805.